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Spes -- The Final Frontier. JK, She's the Goddess of Hope.
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<p>[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 7895327, member: 75937"]<i>Spes</i> in Latin, in general, means "the expectation of something desired, <i>hope</i>."[1] Spes was an early Cretan goddess called Ἐλπίς (Elpis) in Greek. She was the one force left in Pandora's box after evil had escaped into the world. Spes was ruler of the underworld and of death's cousin, sleep. Her plant was the poppy, but otherwise nothing is known of her legends and meaning. In Greece and Rome, Spes became the personification of hope, worshiped in temples dedicated to her as early as the fourth century BC.[2]</p><p><br /></p><p>In Roman mythology, Spes was originally a nature goddess. She represented at first the hope of fruitful gardens and fields, then of abundant offspring, and lastly of prosperity to come and good fortune in general, being hence invoked on birthdays and at weddings.[3]</p><p><br /></p><p>Of her numerous temples at Rome, the most ancient was appropriately in the <i>Forum Holitorium</i> (vegetable market), built by Aulus Atilius Calatinus at the time of the First Punic War, and burnt down and restored several times since then. Its columns have since been incorporated into the San Nicola in Carcere church.[4]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1362951[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">San Nicola in Carcere, Roma, Italia. Photograph by Patrick Denker, 28 July 2006. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roma-sannicolaincarcere02.jpg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roma-sannicolaincarcere02.jpg" rel="nofollow">Used with permission</a>.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>The day of this temple's dedication (August 1) corresponded with the birthday of Claudius, which explains the frequent occurrence of Spes on the coins of that emperor.[5]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1362957[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Claudius. AD 41-54. Æ Sestertius, RIC I 115. Classical Numismatic Group, Electronic Auction 497, <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=8405084" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=8405084" rel="nofollow">Lot 428</a>, 4 August 2021.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>On coins, Spes typically appears as a young woman, standing, or walking left, holding in her right hand a tender flower, for where a flower appears there is hope of fruit to come, and with her left hand, lifting up the hem of her stola.[6] Sometimes she wears a garland of flowers on her head, or holds a cornucopiae, ears of corn, or poppy-heads in her hand, symbolical of a prosperous harvest.[7] These attributes are more common in art than on coinage.[8]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1362969[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Marble statue of Spes, part of a larger statue of Dionysus. Roman, Augustan or Julio-Claudian, c. 27-68 CE. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. S.v. Spes, "The World of Religion." Online Companion: Religion, feminaeromanae.org/religion.html. Photo <a href="http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/dionysus_spes2.jpg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/dionysus_spes2.jpg" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1362967[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Sculpture by Bertel Thorvaldsen (born c.1770; died 1844), dated 1817, in the Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark. Photography permitted in the museum without restriction. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Goddess_of_Hope_-_Thorvaldsens_Museum_-_DSC08694.JPG" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Goddess_of_Hope_-_Thorvaldsens_Museum_-_DSC08694.JPG" rel="nofollow">Public domain</a>.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>For more than a quarter millennium, Spes appeared, walking left across the coins of Claudius, Vespasian, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Pescennius Niger, Albinus, Septimius Severus, Caracalla, Geta, Diadumenian, Elagabalus, Severus Alexander, Philip senior and junior, Herennius, Hostillian, Aemilian, Gallienus, Postumus, Tetricus senior and junior, Quietus, Claudius Gothicus, Tacitus, Probus, Carausius, Allectus, Julianus II, Valens, <i>et pauci</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here are some of my coins featuring Spes. Be sure to check out <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/when-hope-is-a-bad-thing-elpis-and-pandora’s-“box”.375671/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/when-hope-is-a-bad-thing-elpis-and-pandora’s-“box”.375671/">this thread</a> by [USER=83845]@Curtisimo[/USER] for other examples and more information. <i>Let's see yours!</i></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/aelius-spes-sestertius-jpg.1018604/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Aelius, Caesar AD 136-138.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Roman orichalcum sestertius, 27.19 g, 30.6 mm, 7 h.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Rome, AD 137</font></p><p><font size="3"> Obv: L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head, right</font></p><p><font size="3"> Rev: TR POT COS II, Spes advancing left, holding flower and raising skirt</font></p><p><font size="3"> Refs: RIC 1055; BMCRE 1914; Cohen 56; RCV 3986; UCR 825.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/faustina-jr-avgvsti-pii-fil-spes-denarius-jpg.1348815/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina II, AD 147-175.</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman AR denarius, 3.44 g, 16.6 mm, 7 h.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rome, August, AD 156-157. </font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. </font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL, Spes standing left, holding flower and raising skirt. </font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 497; BMCRE 1106-08; Cohen 24; RCV 4702; Strack 518; CRE 217.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/faustina-jr-avgvsti-pii-fil-s-c-spes-sestertius-jpg.1348816/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina II, AD 147-175.</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman orichalcum sestertius, 29.89 g, 31.0 mm, 6 h.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rome, August, AD 156-157.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL S C, Spes standing left, holding flower and raising skirt. </font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 1371; BMCRE 2200-01; Cohen 25; RCV 4711; Strack 1332.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/domna-bona-spes-denarius-jpg.879230/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Julia Domna, AD 193-217.</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman AR denarius, 3.40 g, 17 mm, 12 h.</font></p><p><font size="3">Eastern mint, AD 194-195.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: IVLIA DO MNA AVG, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: BONA SPES, Spes standing left, holding flower and lifting fold of skirt.</font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 614; BMCRE 412-13; Cohen/RSC 8; RCV 6575; CRE 387.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/tetricus-ii-spes-avg-jpg.765874/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Tetricus II, Caesar AD 273-274.</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman Æ antoninianus, 18.1 mm, 3.48 g.</font></p><p><font size="3">Mainz or Trier, AD 273 - spring 274.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: C PIV ESV TETRICVS CAES, radiate and draped bust right, seen from behind.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: SPES AVGG, Spes advancing left, holding flower and lifting skirt.</font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 270A; Cohen 88; Hunter 11; RVC 11292; Cunetio 2647; Elmer 791; Schulzki AGK 9a.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>~~~</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Notes</b></p><p><br /></p><p>1. <i>A Latin Dictionary Founded on Andrews' edition of Freund's Latin dictionary: revised, enlarged, and in great part rewritten by Charlton T. Lewis, Ph.D. and. Charles Short, LL.D</i>. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1879. Online version available at the Perseus Project; <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=spes" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=spes" rel="nofollow">s.v. spes</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>2. Monaghan, Patricia. <i>The New Book of Goddesses & Heroines</i>. Llewellyn Publications, 1998.</p><p><br /></p><p>3. "Spes." <i>Theodora.com - ENCYCLOPEDIA</i>, theodora.com/encyclopedia/s2/spes.html.</p><p><br /></p><p>4. "Forum HOLITORIUM." <i>Wikipedia</i>, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 July 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_Holitorium</p><p><br /></p><p>5. Theodora.com, <i>op. cit</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p>6. Stevenson, Seth William, et al. <i>A Dictionary of Roman Coins, Republican and Imperial</i>. G. Bell and Sons, 1889, p. 756.</p><p><br /></p><p>7. Theodora.com, <i>op. cit</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p>8. "Elpis or Spes." <i>Forum Ancient Coins</i>, <a href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=1896" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=1896" rel="nofollow">www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=1896</a>.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 7895327, member: 75937"][I]Spes[/I] in Latin, in general, means "the expectation of something desired, [I]hope[/I]."[1] Spes was an early Cretan goddess called Ἐλπίς (Elpis) in Greek. She was the one force left in Pandora's box after evil had escaped into the world. Spes was ruler of the underworld and of death's cousin, sleep. Her plant was the poppy, but otherwise nothing is known of her legends and meaning. In Greece and Rome, Spes became the personification of hope, worshiped in temples dedicated to her as early as the fourth century BC.[2] In Roman mythology, Spes was originally a nature goddess. She represented at first the hope of fruitful gardens and fields, then of abundant offspring, and lastly of prosperity to come and good fortune in general, being hence invoked on birthdays and at weddings.[3] Of her numerous temples at Rome, the most ancient was appropriately in the [I]Forum Holitorium[/I] (vegetable market), built by Aulus Atilius Calatinus at the time of the First Punic War, and burnt down and restored several times since then. Its columns have since been incorporated into the San Nicola in Carcere church.[4] [ATTACH=full]1362951[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]San Nicola in Carcere, Roma, Italia. Photograph by Patrick Denker, 28 July 2006. [URL='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roma-sannicolaincarcere02.jpg']Used with permission[/URL].[/SIZE][/INDENT] The day of this temple's dedication (August 1) corresponded with the birthday of Claudius, which explains the frequent occurrence of Spes on the coins of that emperor.[5] [ATTACH=full]1362957[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Claudius. AD 41-54. Æ Sestertius, RIC I 115. Classical Numismatic Group, Electronic Auction 497, [URL='https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=8405084']Lot 428[/URL], 4 August 2021.[/SIZE][/INDENT] On coins, Spes typically appears as a young woman, standing, or walking left, holding in her right hand a tender flower, for where a flower appears there is hope of fruit to come, and with her left hand, lifting up the hem of her stola.[6] Sometimes she wears a garland of flowers on her head, or holds a cornucopiae, ears of corn, or poppy-heads in her hand, symbolical of a prosperous harvest.[7] These attributes are more common in art than on coinage.[8] [ATTACH=full]1362969[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Marble statue of Spes, part of a larger statue of Dionysus. Roman, Augustan or Julio-Claudian, c. 27-68 CE. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. S.v. Spes, "The World of Religion." Online Companion: Religion, feminaeromanae.org/religion.html. Photo [URL='http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/dionysus_spes2.jpg']here[/URL].[/SIZE][/INDENT] [ATTACH=full]1362967[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Sculpture by Bertel Thorvaldsen (born c.1770; died 1844), dated 1817, in the Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark. Photography permitted in the museum without restriction. [URL='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Goddess_of_Hope_-_Thorvaldsens_Museum_-_DSC08694.JPG']Public domain[/URL].[/SIZE][/INDENT] For more than a quarter millennium, Spes appeared, walking left across the coins of Claudius, Vespasian, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Pescennius Niger, Albinus, Septimius Severus, Caracalla, Geta, Diadumenian, Elagabalus, Severus Alexander, Philip senior and junior, Herennius, Hostillian, Aemilian, Gallienus, Postumus, Tetricus senior and junior, Quietus, Claudius Gothicus, Tacitus, Probus, Carausius, Allectus, Julianus II, Valens, [I]et pauci[/I]. Here are some of my coins featuring Spes. Be sure to check out [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/when-hope-is-a-bad-thing-elpis-and-pandora’s-“box”.375671/']this thread[/URL] by [USER=83845]@Curtisimo[/USER] for other examples and more information. [I]Let's see yours![/I] [IMG]https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/aelius-spes-sestertius-jpg.1018604/[/IMG] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Aelius, Caesar AD 136-138. Roman orichalcum sestertius, 27.19 g, 30.6 mm, 7 h. Rome, AD 137 Obv: L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head, right Rev: TR POT COS II, Spes advancing left, holding flower and raising skirt Refs: RIC 1055; BMCRE 1914; Cohen 56; RCV 3986; UCR 825.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [IMG]https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/faustina-jr-avgvsti-pii-fil-spes-denarius-jpg.1348815/[/IMG] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman AR denarius, 3.44 g, 16.6 mm, 7 h. Rome, August, AD 156-157. Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL, Spes standing left, holding flower and raising skirt. Refs: RIC 497; BMCRE 1106-08; Cohen 24; RCV 4702; Strack 518; CRE 217.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [IMG]https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/faustina-jr-avgvsti-pii-fil-s-c-spes-sestertius-jpg.1348816/[/IMG] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman orichalcum sestertius, 29.89 g, 31.0 mm, 6 h. Rome, August, AD 156-157. Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL S C, Spes standing left, holding flower and raising skirt. Refs: RIC 1371; BMCRE 2200-01; Cohen 25; RCV 4711; Strack 1332.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [IMG]https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/domna-bona-spes-denarius-jpg.879230/[/IMG] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Julia Domna, AD 193-217. Roman AR denarius, 3.40 g, 17 mm, 12 h. Eastern mint, AD 194-195. Obv: IVLIA DO MNA AVG, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: BONA SPES, Spes standing left, holding flower and lifting fold of skirt. Refs: RIC 614; BMCRE 412-13; Cohen/RSC 8; RCV 6575; CRE 387.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [IMG]https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/tetricus-ii-spes-avg-jpg.765874/[/IMG] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Tetricus II, Caesar AD 273-274. Roman Æ antoninianus, 18.1 mm, 3.48 g. Mainz or Trier, AD 273 - spring 274. Obv: C PIV ESV TETRICVS CAES, radiate and draped bust right, seen from behind. Rev: SPES AVGG, Spes advancing left, holding flower and lifting skirt. Refs: RIC 270A; Cohen 88; Hunter 11; RVC 11292; Cunetio 2647; Elmer 791; Schulzki AGK 9a.[/SIZE][/INDENT] ~~~ [B]Notes[/B] 1. [I]A Latin Dictionary Founded on Andrews' edition of Freund's Latin dictionary: revised, enlarged, and in great part rewritten by Charlton T. Lewis, Ph.D. and. Charles Short, LL.D[/I]. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1879. Online version available at the Perseus Project; [URL='http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=spes']s.v. spes[/URL]. 2. Monaghan, Patricia. [I]The New Book of Goddesses & Heroines[/I]. Llewellyn Publications, 1998. 3. "Spes." [I]Theodora.com - ENCYCLOPEDIA[/I], theodora.com/encyclopedia/s2/spes.html. 4. "Forum HOLITORIUM." [I]Wikipedia[/I], Wikimedia Foundation, 23 July 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_Holitorium 5. Theodora.com, [I]op. cit[/I]. 6. Stevenson, Seth William, et al. [I]A Dictionary of Roman Coins, Republican and Imperial[/I]. G. Bell and Sons, 1889, p. 756. 7. Theodora.com, [I]op. cit[/I]. 8. "Elpis or Spes." [I]Forum Ancient Coins[/I], [URL='http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=1896']www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=1896[/URL].[/QUOTE]
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Spes -- The Final Frontier. JK, She's the Goddess of Hope.
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