I am thrilled to add this wonderful example of a most intriguing type from the late Republic. Minted by the moneyer Publius Accoleius Lariscolus in 43 BC, the denarius celebrates the ancient and mysterious cult of Diana Nemorensis on the shores of Lake Nemi. The sacred sanctuary, a day’s ride south from Rome, is most famous for being presided over by the Rex Nemorensis or ‘King of the Wood’ – a warrior-priest who was always a runaway slave, and gained the position by fighting the reigning Rex in a duel to the death... It is now widely agreed that the enigmatic triad of goddesses on the reverse represents the three-bodied cult statue of Diana which stood in the Nemi sanctuary and was described by writers like Ovid, Horace, and Virgil. Here she was worshipped as Diana 'Triformis', she who is invoked in three ways; a unified trinity of the deities Diana the huntress, Selene the moon goddess, and Hecate, goddess of the underworld. The triform cult statue faces us, with Diana the huntress on the left holding a bow, and Selene on the right, interpreted as holding a sleep-inducing poppy. The goddesses are joined by a beam raised on their shoulders emphasising their connection; above which rises a grove of five cypress trees. To the ancients, cypresses symbolised death and the underworld, with cypress notably being the wood traditionally used for coffins. The divine twins Diana and Apollo were also said to have been born in a cypress grove on the island of Ortygia. There are many intriguing historical connections surrounding this coin: the moneyer Accoleius Lariscolus is believed to have been a native of Aricia overlooking Lake Nemi; as was the famous Atia, mother of the 19-year-old Octavian who was consul at the time. It is possible that Lariscolus, with his shared Arician heritage, may have been handpicked for his job as moneyer in 43 BC, as Octavian focused on consolidating his position and building his power base in Rome. Atia would, in fact, die in the very year this denarius was minted – perhaps making this coin tribute to her native home on the mystic shores of Lake Nemi all the more fitting. For a fuller exploration of the coin’s backstory, please visit my latest blog post here: https://www.harneycoins.com/post/diana-nemorensis-and-the-bloody-king-of-the-wood With the coin’s golden toning and near-perfect centering, I strongly suspected that I would find the denarius in a historic auction, however searches of the Sixbid archive, the Schaefer binders and the CoinCabinet AI have so far returned no hits. If anyone spots this in a sales catalogue anywhere, please do let me know!
