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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 2980718, member: 75937&quot;]Ever since I purchased a Domitian Minerva denarius from [USER=76086]@Ken Dorney[/USER] , I have wondered, &quot;What kind of bizarre garment is that on Minerva&#039;s back?&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]733424[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="3">Domitian, AD 81-96 </font></p><p><font size="3">Roman AR denarius; 3.43 g, 18 mm </font></p><p><font size="3">Rome, AD 91 </font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR XI (error; should read TR P XI), laureate head, right </font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: IMP XII COS XV CENS P P P, Minerva advancing right, brandishing a javelin and holding a shield </font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 156; RIC² 724; BMCRE p. 336, note; Cohen 269; RCV --</font></p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s a closeup:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]733417[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Well, thanks to a tip from [USER=58462]@Nemo[/USER] , who describes the figure of Minerva on a similar coin in [USER=74968]@Orfew[/USER] &#039;s <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/rare-domitian-denarius.310207/#post-2980585" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/rare-domitian-denarius.310207/#post-2980585">Domitian denarius thread</a> as &quot;Minerva standing right ... aegis draped over back with snakes around,&quot; and some googling, I now have a much better understanding of the iconography of this coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now, <i>aegis</i> (αἰγίς) literally means &quot;goatskin&quot; in ancient Greek, and that&#039;s what Zeus&#039; aegis was made of, and at first I thought the spiky things on the garment on Minerva&#039;s back might be the legs of the goat used for the skin. But Nemo&#039;s coin description says &quot;snakes around,&quot; so I checked the <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dai)gi%2Fs" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dai)gi%2Fs" rel="nofollow">online version of Liddell &amp; Scott&#039;s Greek Lexicon</a>, which goes into more detail:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]733420[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>That clearly states that Athena/Minerva&#039;s aegis is bordered &quot;with a fringe of snakes.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>So, a bit of googling found these images, <a href="http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/K8.6.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/K8.6.html" rel="nofollow">front</a> and <a href="http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Athena.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Athena.html" rel="nofollow">back</a>, on pottery in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, respectively:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]733422[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]733423[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>So, snakes they are!</p><p><br /></p><p>Post anything you feel is relevant, of course![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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