Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;John Anthony, post: 1633221, member: 42773&quot;]<b>From political to religious militantism: Constantius II and Gratian.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>I find it interesting to ponder the change in iconography in the small bronzes from Constantius II to Gratian.</p><p><br /></p><p>These coins aren&#039;t in the best condition, but they&#039;re mine, so I&#039;m referring to them as examples. The &quot;falling horseman&quot; motif represents a complete defeat for the enemy. Notice that the Roman soldier isn&#039;t depicted in the same scale as the barbarian: he is larger-than-life, towering over the toppled cavalryman, stepping on his shield, and delivering a decisive, final blow. There is nothing more to the symbolism than the utter defeat of the enemy.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://postimage.org/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://postimage.org/" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://s7.postimage.org/gduk8wat7/constantiuso.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>With Gratian, however, we see the Emperor dragging a captive, wielding a labarum, or sceptre, on which is mounted the ancient Christian symbol Chi-Rho. The enemy will not be utterly destroyed, but WILL be lead forward in the name of the church whether he likes it or not.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://postimage.org/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://postimage.org/" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://s9.postimage.org/5wb60ferz/gracian1.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This symbolism makes perfect sense in light of Gratian&#039;s history: he was considerably influenced by St. Ambrose, he wholeheartedly espoused Christianity, and decreed that everyone should adhere to the tenets of the Nicene Creed. Furthermore, he was the first Emperor to renounce the title of <i>pontifex maximus, </i>or &quot;supreme priest&quot; of traditional Roman paganism. It&#039;s certainly no surprise that those actions eventually lead to his assassination, but what I do find surprising is that although he wasn&#039;t canonized by the Catholic Church, he was in fact posthumously deified by his pagan detractors!</p><p><br /></p><p>What&#039;s striking about the reverse of the latter coin is the blatant expression of religious militantism. I wonder if any other coin does it with such swashbuckling bravado?[/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