Featured Mars vs. Sol in the First Tetrarchy

PHOTO: CNG RESEARCH (NOT MINE, ALAS). Galerius. AD 305-311. Æ Follis (26mm, 6.55 g, 6h). Cyzicus mint, 2nd officina. Struck circa AD 308-309. GAL MAXIMIANVS P F AVG, laureate bust right / VIRTVTI E-XERCITVS, Mars advancing right, holding trophy and transverse spear.

So students of the First Tetrarchy know that Diocletian identified the Eastern Empire with Jove, while the West under Maximian was associated with Hercules. But things get complicated when each Augustus and his Caesar adopt protective deities. I’ve encountered contradictory information on this score.

Paul Stephenson, in Constantine: Roman Emperor, Christian Victor, states, “The situation was complicated further when the Caesars took patron gods of their own, with Constantius favouring Mars, popular in the west, and Galerius venerating the eastern favourite, Sol Invictus” (91).

Timothy Barnes, however, in Constantine: Dynasty, Religion and Power in the Later Roman Empire (56-57) writes that “each Caesar also had his own special individual divine protector. In 303 the governor of Numidia dedicated four altars to the tutelary deities of the Tetrarchs (CIL 8.2343-2345 - ILS 631-633: Thamugadi). The inscriptions of three of them survive: to Jupiter Optimus Maximus the conservator of Diocletian, to Hercules Augustus the conservator of Maximian and to the Genius Virtutum Mars Augustus the conservator of Galerius, whom Lactantius ridicules for claiming to be the son of Mars (Mort Pers. 8.9). Originally there must have been a fourth altar dedicated to the conservator of Constantius, whose tutelary deity was the Unconquered Sun, otherwise known as Apollo (Julian, Orat. 7, 228d, cf. Castritius 1969: 29-30). (Barnes 56-57)

In short, Stephenson claims that Constantius’s protective deity was Mars and Galerius’s was Sol; Barnes reverses that order.

Can anyone clarify the contradiction? Could both be true in some fashion? Is one scholar wrong?

With Galerius striking coins featuring Virtus/Mars, I find more numismatic evidence for Barnes’s position. But both writers are careful scholars. Stephenson’s bibliographical essays at the back of his biography, alas, don’t seem to document this particular detail, unless I missed it.

Any speculation is appreciated, as well as coins of Constantius or Galerius that feature either deity. Constantine adopts Mars as preserver early in his career. Might he have done so out of paternal influence?

 

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Nice and educational thread, I found this coin of Galerius which was struck at Antioch, having Mars on reverse.

 

My coin adds nothing to the question but here it is anyway. It is shop five, dresses Virtus (Mars was not so well attired) adds a wreath and a star in the right field. I bought mine for $31 with the note that there was slight weakness to the reverse strike. The shirt on Virtus could have better detail.


Never place too much faith in the details of what Lactantius had to say about the Pagan rulers of his day. His sole meaning in life was to promote hatred for 'The Persecutors' and to glorify Constantine. The polarization of our modern politicians is minor compared to what was happening in the Empire at this period. The whole is a fun read but at least read chapter XXXIII where you will find the story of Galerius and his worms.
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/texts/lactant/lactperf.html

 

Here's one I found online which appears to be pretty unique.

Galerius Billon Argenteus Treveri (Trier) Mint 305-311 AD
Obverse: IMP MAXIMIANVS AVG Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust left, raising hand and holding globe
Reverse: SOLI INVICTO COMITI Sol driving quadriga left, holding reins and whip; PTR in exergue References: RIC 826 Very Rare Size: 18mm, 2.36g

 

I can't answer the questions either but have a couple of examples....

Alexandria

Antioch

 

Here is another coin that will add to the confusion .


Here is an early follis of Constantine I as Augustus, AD 307-308, Trier Mint: 26 mm, 5.40 gm, 5 h., with Mars on the reverse, lending support for the idea that the father had Mars as a protective deity .

 

I just searched vcoins on
"Constantius 306" [to remove Constantius II coins; 306 is his death date, "Constantius 293" got fewer hits]
and then
"Constantius 305"
and got 145 hits including
mostly Genius types with some others not one of the four gods under discussion, and
2 Hercules
1 VIRTVS (Virtus is not far from Mars)
2 FIDES MILITVM with Fides
2 ants with ORIENS AVG and Sol
0 with Sol

Then I tried
"Galerius"
and got 404 hits (not all actually Galerius)
again mostly Genius types
15 VIRTVS folles, 2 VIRTVS ants
("Galerius Mars" finds 12 of these VIRTVS EXERCITI folles, all as Augustus, and one ant. )
1 FIDES MILITVM
1 ORIENS AVG ant with Sol
"Galerius sol" finds one base-silver argenteus identified as Galerius, but it is really a Maximinus II; I sent the dealer a note to that effect.

There is not much emphasis on Mars and very little on Sol. Galerius has a number of VIRTVS coins, but they are a later type and Constantius might have shared that type had he lived that long. If Galerius had wanted to emphasize Mars, he could have had coins saying "MARTI..." but he didn't.

I don't have any impression of Galerius and Constantius favoring a particular deity the way that Diocletian and Maximian favored Jupiter and Hercules.

I think those deities may have assigned to them by Diocletian and Maximian, but not adopted with any passion. Certainly, the coins do not show they cared at all about Mars or Sol.

I would like to post a Sol or Mars piece of one or the other of Galerius or Constantius, but my pretty serious collection of AE does not have any. Here is VIRTVS on a coin of Galerius:



Galerius as Augustus
26-25 mm. 6.93 grams.
VIRTVTI EXERCITVS
RIC Cyzicus 47.

 

Thanks everyone for this flurry of posts.

It does seem that the number of Galerius coins featuring Mars might favor that association, though I suppose even this point is moot if, as Doug says, the figure on the reverse of the VIRTUS coin is indeed a personification of Virtus and not Mars.

Here is my rare early Constantine Virtus (Mars?) coin.


Nosing around a bit, it seems this coin was struck ca. 306-7 also for:

Maximinus II Daia (Ticinum—Western mint for Eastern Caesar)
Severus II (Aquileia—Western mint for Western Caesar)
Constantine (Ticinum and Aquileia—Western mints for Western Caesar)

In short, there doesn’t seem to be any kind of strict West-East preferential logic for striking coins featuring Mars.

Again, I’m bothered by the idea that this isn’t really Mars at all on the coins, despite RIC’s identification that it is.

Looking at near contemporary folles like the one Al posted, it seems that the reverse figures all look the same, and two are clearly labeled as Mars (Marti, in the dative singular). That might argue for Mars on the VIRTVS reverse. (All below are CNG coins and photos.)


Mars sure has shapely legs for a God of War. I bet Venus would kill for those legs.

I’m not sure we are any closer to an answer to my original query about the contradiction between Barnes and Stephenson, but it’s been a fun thread already.

 

Just saw this generous reply. That's a nice, systematic way to get a quick bead on the numismatic evidence for preferences. Leave it to a mathematician.

I would concur that there's not a lot of evidence to resolve the question, at least from the coinage.

 

The Galerius argenteus I tracked down is SOLI INVICTO COMITI with the obverse legend IMP MAXIMIANVS AVG. I think I saw the one you found that was in fact Maximin Daia (though being offered as Galerius). So unless Galerius is actually Maximian in the coin I posted it appears to be somewhat of an outlier - a Galerius SOL type, as Augustus.

 

The one you found is the one I found and is not Galerius. The seller got the legend wrong.

It is really IMP MAXIMINVS AVG. That type was not minted for Galerius.

 

I saw the one on Ebay that was MAXIMINVS but was listed as Galerius. The one I reference was on vcoins and was listed as Galerius. Here is the link. I believe I see the "A" in the legend. Anyway, let's not beat a dead horse.
https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/ro...acing_quadriga_very_rare/1194609/Default.aspx

 

MAXIMIANUS:

RI MAXIMIANUS HERCULIUS 286-305 CE antoninianus Antioch 292-295 CE Pre-Reform CONCORDIA MILITVM Jupiter RIC V 621 H-officina 8


DIOCLETIAN:

RI Diocletian Ӕ Quinarius 1.46g 16mm Rome AD 284-305 IOVI CONSERVAT AVGG, Jupiter stndng thunderbolt sceptre RIC 193

 

Superb coin and great write-up Gavin!

 

I regret coming on this thread too late to correct it but it really points to the need to read legends and not to assume letters that are not there. I may be wrong but it seems to me that the billon of Maximinus is the worst alloy ever used for Roman coins. A little more of either silver or copper seemed to produce an alloy that had better surface characteristics. Finding this in a good, sharp, pretty, well surfaced coin seems impossible. Mine is ugly but possibly above average???

 

Well, remember that only that Constantine coin is mine. And as far as the write up goes, I’m very good at articulating my own confusion. I wish I was half as good at answering questions as I am at asking them.

 

IMP MAXI-MINVS AVG
This is better example than the one for sale that was illustrated above. It is for Maximinus II (at a mint of Constantine). Therefore it does not tell us anything about whether Galerius used Sol on his coins.

 

Not that this clears anything up, but the figures in the pediment of the temple of this Maxentius follis are sometimes described as the deities of the tetrarchy. The middle two are clearly Jupiter and Hercules, and the one on the extreme right on clearer examples show a half-length figure wearing the radiate crown of Sol. The left figure I always thought looked more like a river-god than anything else, which wouldn't really make sense. I suppose it could be a half-length figure of Virtus/Mars, with his arms held in a similar pose as shown on some of the coins above.


MAXENTIUS
AE Follis. 6.27g, 27.4mm. Rome mint, AD 308-310. RIC VI Rome 208 var. O: IMP C MAXENTIVS PF AVG, laureate head right. R: CONSERV - VRB SVAE, Roma seated facing, head left, within hexastyle temple, holding globe and scepter; shield at base of scepter; in temple pediment, the gods of the tetrarchy, from left to right, Mars (?), Jupiter, Hercules, and Sol; tall standing figures as acroteria; RBP in exergue.

Larger pic of the pediment:

 

The famous hoad discovered at Beaurains / Arras in 1922 included a special emission of Aurei struck at Treveri as a donative to commemorate the decennalias of Constantius and Galerius, featuring a series bearing portraits of the four gods:
Diocletian´s Aureus with the head of Jupiter, Maximian with Hercules, Constantius with Mars, and Galerius with Sol.

That should answer the question

 

Very helpful indeed! Thanks!