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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ryro, post: 8050895, member: 91461&quot;]THE GRACCHI BROTHERS, MARIUS, SULLA, CAESAR, POMPEY!</p><p>The power vacuum that the late republic produced created some of the most powerful and resourceful men the world would ever know.</p><p>If that sounds like hyperbole then I&#039;ve no better case in point then the prolific tale of Pompey the Great.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1394143[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Given the nickname of Magnus (Great) by Sulla due to his likeness to Alexander. In both his looks, or at least how Pompey would style his hair after the truly GREAT one, and skyrocketing to stardom at an extremely young age.</p><p>But how? How could someone in such a conservative government (senate, senatus, in Latin literally translates, group of old men) with so many restrictions in place achieve so much at such a young age?</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1394152[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Much like Napoleon, Pompey was a product of amazing potential mixed with a much needed political expediency.</p><p>23 year old Pompey would raise an army, off of his old man&#039;s name and prestige, to go snuff out the remaining of Marius supporters for Sulla.</p><p>Sulla gave the wunderkind the first triumph ever awarded a man/boy after not completing the most maiorum, way of the ancestors, by going through the preset political expectations established and followed for hundreds of years (and yeah, that was the time that Pompey tried to ride an elephant in through the gates but the elephant was too big! Many believed this a metaphor for Pompey&#039;s ego) as well as electing him as the youngest council ever.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1394161[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>For all his help and assistance, Pompey would be the one to remind Sulla that, &quot;Most worship the rising than the setting sun.&quot; Aaaand don&#039;t let the door hit ya where Jupiter split ya on the way out, old man!</p><p>Sulla would set Pompey on his path to be the greatest Roman, not general, of all time...until the rise of THE greatest Roman and general. A man named Caesar.</p><p>Anyways, here is a dream coin that I&#039;ve tried to get my greedy little grubbers on for years.</p><p>A Pompey the Great portrait on a denarius. And what a wild reverse (I almost made this a Neptune post, and probably would have gotten more replies as there are many more coins with Neptune on them then Pompey but couldn&#039;t resist the story of Pompey):</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1394144[/ATTACH]</p><p>Sextus Pompeius.</p><p>Denarius, Sicily circa 42-40, AR 19.6 mm, 3.19 g. MAG·PIVS·IMP·ITER Head of Cn. Pompeius Magnus r.; behind, jug and before, lituus. Rev. PRAEF Neptune standing l., r. foot on prow, holding aplustre; on either side one of the Catanaean brothers carrying his father on his shoulder. In exergue, CLAS·ET·ORæ / [MARIT·EX·S·C]. Syd. 1344. B. Pompeia 27. C 17. Cr. 511/3a.</p><p>Very rare. Struck on large flan. F-VF Purchased from GN Damian Marciniak October 2021</p><p><br /></p><p>Some other coins of his and his supporters:</p><p><br /></p><p>Say what you want about the man, but he had a SOLID head of hair. Strike that last remark. Express nothing but admiration and whisper sweet nothings about this great amongst mortals:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1394148[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1394145[/ATTACH]</p><p>Cilicia, Soli-Pompeiopolis. Pompey the Great. 1st century B.C. Æ (19 mm, 7.20 g, 12 h). Bare head of Pompey right / [ΠΟΜΠΗΙΟ]ΠΟΛЄΤΩΝ, Nike advancing right, holding wreath and palm; in right field, ΔΙ monogram. Cf. SNG BN 1213-7 (control); cf. SNG Levante 880-2 (same). Dark patina. Very fine. Ex Zeus</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1394157[/ATTACH]</p><p>Faustus Cornelius L.f. L.n. Sulla</p><p>56 B.C.E. AR fourrée denarius (18.5 mm, 3.15 g, 7 h). Rome mint. Bust of Hercules right, in lions skin; SC behind / Globe between jeweled wreath and three triumphal wreaths. Cf. Crawford 426/4b; Cf. Sydenham 884; Cf. RSC Cornelia 62. aVF. Rare.</p><p>&quot;The head of Hercules recalls that Pompey while still young had, like his hero, extended his conquests over the world. The three lower wreaths refer to the three triumphal wreaths granted to Pompey for his victories in three continents. The jewelled wreath above is the gold chaplet he was authorized to wear at public functions (RSC, I, p.40).&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Ok ,OK. I gave this one to my pops for Father&#039;s day a few years back. It&#039;s an image of father and son. But I&#039;m calling in squatters rights (I squatted in my folks basement for several years in my early twenties).</p><p>Kinda sad thinking when this was minted it was a boy celebrating his relationship with his murdered father.</p><p>Caesar supposedly cried when given Pompey&#039;s head by those idiot Egyptians. After all, Pompey was the husband of Caesar&#039;s only daughter, Julia, whom died trying to give birth to their first child.</p><p>Augustus would later kinda emulate the design with him and JC with opposite facing portraits:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1394149[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Please post all things Pompey,&nbsp; Pompeian, late Roman Republic or whatever adds to the greatness![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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