Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Gavin Richardson, post: 7829042, member: 83956&quot;]I take <i>patri </i>going with <i>marti</i>. <i>Patri </i>is the dative singular of <i>pater</i>; if Mars is the &quot;defender <u>of the fatherland</u>,&quot; I might expect the genitive form of <i>pater</i>, but we don&#039;t have that. So I would gloss the legend as &quot;Father Mars the Fighter.&quot; </p><p><br /></p><p>Coins honoring Mars were struck for Constantine through 315. I&#039;ve got a long essay on the early coins of Constantine in the works. Who knows if it will ever see the light of day. But here&#039;s my discussion of the legends. Corrections and disagreements are welcome. I&#039;m still working out my own thinking about the coin&#039;s iconography and legend.</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Two reverse types honor Mars, with reverse legends MARTI PATRI PROPVGNATORI and MARTI PATRI CONSERVATORI. <i>Propugnator</i> is a somewhat bellicose term; <i>pugnator</i> denotes a combatant; the <i>pro</i>- prefix means that the fighter is going <i>forth</i> to fight, which is consistent with the reverse image of Mars advancing, shield up and spear in hand, ready for battle.<a href="https://www.cointalk.com/#_ftn1" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/#_ftn1">[1]</a> While a <i>propugnator</i> may indeed fight to defend Rome, the common translation of “Father Mars the Defender” may obscure the fundamentally aggressive posture of coin and legend. “Father Mars the Fighter” might be a better gloss of <i>Pater Mars Propugnator</i>, and it contrasts better with <i>Pater Mars Conservator</i> of COINX. The word <i>conservator</i> generally means <i>keeper</i>, <i>preserver</i>, <i>defender</i>, and even <i>savior</i> in later Latin; the MARTI PATRI CONSERVATORI (To Father Mars the Preserver) coin shows Mars at rest, facing right, hand on shield, with spear shaft planted firmly on the ground. Here a more staid god stands as Constantine’s protective deity...&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/#_ftnref1" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/#_ftnref1">[1]</a> Certain aurei from the Beaurains hoard (RIC VI Trier 59-63) show only a bust of Mars on the reverse with the bellicose MARTI PROPVGNATORI legend.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in