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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 3196919, member: 75937&quot;]Tell me, is there anything cooler than Cybele riding in a quadriga pulled by lions? I&#039;ve wanted one of these for years and I was the successful bidder in today&#039;s Leu auction. Post anything you feel is relevant! </p><p><br /></p><p>The Phrygian great mother goddess, Cybele, guardian of vegetation and fertility, was particularly venerated in the Ancient Roman world from the 1st century A.D. on. Towards the end of the 4th century A.D., Emperor Julian the Apostate unsuccessfully tried to revive the cult of the goddess, in an attempt to oppose the growing popularity of Christianity.</p><p><br /></p><p>I was going to write an essay about Cybele as Magna Mater, but I have nothing to add that Bill Welch hasn&#039;t already covered in this excellent piece <a href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/reverse_cybele.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/reverse_cybele.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]826557[/ATTACH] </p><p>Julia Domna, AD 193-217.</p><p>Roman AR denarius, 3.30 g, 19 mm, 6 h.</p><p>Rome, 21st emission, AD 205.</p><p>Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</p><p>Rev: MATER AVGG, Julia Domna, as Cybele, seated left in quadriga of lions and holding branch in her right hand.</p><p>Refs: RIC 562; BMCRE 48; Cohen/RSC 117; RCV 6592; Hill 759; CRE 354.</p><p><br /></p><p>The motif of Cybele in a quadriga drawn by a team of lions is a common one in the ancient world. One of the most famous depictions of this scene is on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parabiago_Plate" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parabiago_Plate" rel="nofollow">Parabiago Plate</a>, found near Milan in 1907. The piece dates from the 4th-5th century, AD. It can be seen in the <a href="http://www.museoarcheologicomilano.it/wps/portal/luogo/museoarcheologico" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.museoarcheologicomilano.it/wps/portal/luogo/museoarcheologico" rel="nofollow">Archeological Museum, Milan</a>:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]826562[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Another depiction is this bronze statuette of Cybele in a cart drawn by lions from the second half of the second century, AD. It can be seen at the <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/246700" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/246700" rel="nofollow">Metropolitan Museum of Art</a>:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]826563[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Coins featuring Cybele are an interest of mine. You may see other examples from my collection in <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/cybele-riding-a-lion.317117/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/cybele-riding-a-lion.317117/">this thread</a> from earlier this year.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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