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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;zumbly, post: 3172887, member: 57495&quot;]Nice additions to this old thread, guys.&nbsp; Seeing as it&#039;s been resurrected, I really should add this Marcus Aurelius Temple of Mercury sestertius because of all the neat stuff it has in the pediment.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]815894[/ATTACH] <b>MARCUS AURELIUS</b></p><p>AE Sestertius. 29.44g, 31mm. Rome mint, AD 173. RIC 1075; Cohen 535. O: M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVII, laureate head right. R: IMP VI - COS III, Mercury standing left on pedestal, holding caduceus and purse, within a tetrastyle temple with telamons as columns; <b>semicircular pediment containing, from left to right, tortoise, cockerel, ram, winged helmet, caduceus, and purse</b>; S-C in field, RELIG AVG in exergue.</p><p>Notes: <i>This type is popularly associated with the Rain Miracle of the Legio XII Fulminata (Thundering 12th Legion). According to Cassius Dio, the 12th Legion under the command of Marcus Aurelius had found themselves encircled and heavily outnumbered by a Quadi Army. Stricken with fatigue, thirst, and the heat, they were on the verge of capture when an Egyptian magician named Anurphis, a companion of the emperor, invoked the aid of Mercury as god of the wind and air. A sudden storm rose in the midst of the battle, reviving the Romans with rain while destroying their enemies with hail and lightning. </i>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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