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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Julius Germanicus, post: 3324222, member: 80783&quot;]Here comes my first arrival of this year. The flan is a little short, but I find that the quality of the portrait is hard to beat for a Sestertius of this Empress:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]881057[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>IVLIA SOAEMIAS AVG – Bust right, wearing paludamentum, stephane on head</p><p>VENVS CAELESTIS S C – Venus seated left on throne, holding long sceptre and showing apple, child at her feet.</p><p>Sestertius, Rome AD 221</p><p>30 mm, 17,77 g</p><p>RIC 406, Cohen 18, BMCRE 378, Sear 7725, Banti 5 (30 specimens)</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]881056[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Julia Soaemias, mother of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus III, who would go down into history as Elagabalus, was described as a voluptuous and promiscuous woman by the ancient sources.</p><p><br /></p><p>Venus Caelestis was a lunar fertility goddess of punic origin, known to the Phoenicians as Astarte and the Assyrians and Babylonians as Isthar. She was married to the sun god Heliogabalus in a ceremony that paralleled the wedding of the &quot;false Antoninus&quot;&nbsp; to Annia Faustina in June or July of 221, which was arranged by Julia Soaemias´ mother Julia Maesa in order to stabilize&nbsp; her grandson´s bizarre regime after he was divorced from the Vestal virgin Aquilia Severa.</p><p>When he divorced Annia Faustina and re-married Aquilia Severa in late 221, Elagabalus did however not see any reason to divorce his deity from Venus Caelestis.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]881074[/ATTACH]</p><p>Sestertius of Elagabalus</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]881075[/ATTACH]</p><p>Sestertius of Julia Maesa</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Julia Soaemias shared her son´s fate on March 11, 222, when her beheaded, nude body was dragged through the streets of Rome and tossed into the Tiber by the pretorian guards and the roman plebs.</p><p><br /></p><p>I do not have coins of any of the three wives of Elagabalus yet - their Sestertii cost more than my budget for roman empresses allows.</p><p><br /></p><p>Please show your Sestertii or any other interesting coins of this dysfunctional family![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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