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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DonnaML, post: 6286356, member: 110350&quot;]Come now. Apollo and Dionysos/Bacchus were far prettier on their worst day than Steven Tyler ever was on his best. And his best days were a very long time ago, although I never found him the least bit appealing.</p><p><br /></p><p>Bacchus:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1249029[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Dionysos:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1249030[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Apollo:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1249033[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Apollo or Bonus Eventus:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1249035[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Conversely, there are any number of Roman Republican coins on which Roma could be mistaken for a man because of her androgynous or masculine appearance, even apart from her helmet. The same is true of Virtus on this Republican coin, which I believe is one of only two on which she&#039;s depicted on the obverse:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1249038[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>This masculine/feminine interplay is true of Virtus in general in her reverse portrayals, given that despite being female she was the personification of quintessentially masculine &quot;virtue,&quot; encompassing valor, etc. And certainly on the reverse of this coin Virtus has rather suggestively masculine attributes, counterbalanced by her bare right breast:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1249041[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>In fact, the bare right breast is not only a telltale signifier of Virtus&#039;s femaleness -- which might not be apparent otherwise -- but the same can be true of Roma herself, who is often portrayed in Roman art with one bare breast; in other words, like an Amazon. See the discussions of Roma and Virtus throughout this preview on Google Books of a book by Myles McDonnell entitled &quot;Roman Manliness:<i> Virtus</i> and the Roman Republic&quot;:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Roman_Manliness/v2vefi2_ojYC?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Roman_Manliness/v2vefi2_ojYC?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1" rel="nofollow">https://www.google.com/books/edition/Roman_Manliness/v2vefi2_ojYC?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1</a> . See also the discussion of Virtus&#039;s numismatic iconography at <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/reverse_virtus.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/reverse_virtus.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/reverse_virtus.html</a>.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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