The Coins Of Claudius, Faustina I, And Marcus Aurelius

Claudius was the third emperor of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. He was born on 1 August 10 BC at Lagdunnum in Gaul. He was the son of Drusus Cladius Nero and Augustus’s wife Livia. But, he was then adopted by his uncle Tiberius. Claudius was born with defects that led him to limping, drooling, stuttering, and always being ill. His family members kept him out of the public so, there was no embarrassment. His whole childhood and teenage years was spent indoors, hidden away from everyone. He spent every day reading, which led him to learning liberal arts and history which helped him when he had more power.

The emphasis accorded these contingencies of physiognomy and the resolute refusal of any concession to our - or, so it would appear, antiquity’s - ideas of desirable physical appearance lead one easily to the conclusion that those portraits are uncompromising attempts to transcribe into plastic form the reality of what is seen, innocent of any “idealization” or programmatic bias. These are the portraits of the conservative nobility (and of their middle-class emulators) (luring the death-agonies of the Roman republic. There is no need to doubt that much of their character refers to quite real qualities of their subjects. These are men in later life because the carefully prescribed ladder of public office normally allowed those who followed it to attain only gradually and after many years to such eminence as would allow the signal honor of a public statue. One may well suppose that these hard-bitten and rather unimaginative faces closely reflect the prevailing temperament of the class and society to which they belong, and the twisted and

having a friend that was better at publicly speaking and/or more experienced with the law and the courts to speak on your behalf and present your defense for you. Not a while after, the Greeks banned the right to request a “great speaker” and furthermore made it a rule that no one could accept a fee to plead the case of another. This stopped the orators form being able to present themselves as legal professionals or experts. The new rules also made it impossible to establish organized and professional lawyer services, like those that are available today, and, therefore, slowed the progression of the legal profession almost to a stop.

The Roman Empire is well known for their patriarchal society, and for being a society in which a person’s morals and virtues were a prudent portion of their identity. In ancient times, Roman’s based a majority of their philosophy off of their moralistic standards. The Romans began to distinguish themselves through applying their morals and virtues to their philosophy, and in turn became a society in which an individual’s actions were governed in large part, by their moral compass. A classic example of this application can be seen in the Roman concept of pietas. For Roman citizens, the idea of pietas, or “dutifulness” was a highly important aspect of an individual’s life (Sayre, 2015). Although the concept of pietas was applicable to all Roman citizens, it was especially important to males, particularly fathers, who were to be regarded with the upmost respect and revered to the greatest extent possible. The following essay will discuss the definition and significance of the Roman concept of pietas, and will provide the reader with a example of how Roman’s applied this concept to their everyday lives.

Based on this picture, or primary source, we can assume that the figure shown is a hero or a respected person in society. This person obviously was part of a higher level of society, judging by the fact that he has a statue made of him to allow his legacy to live. Statues usually signal some form of legacy or something that should be recognized. Based on my extra research, I have found out that Cincinnatus is said to have won a war against an entire army in one day, and triumphed over Rome. He then proceeded to resign and go back to his small farm. He was a hard-working civilian who took over as dictator for a short time to help out and

Power is always important in human society since society’s existence. Emperors, kings, queens and presidents in every culture and history have tried everything to solidify their reign and enhance their power. One thing they all did is to build a strange and powerful image of themselves. Politicians nowadays use social media and press to build their images which are smart, powerful or trustworthy, Just like things the emperors did in thousands years ago.

It was considered taboo for a man to put his visage on coins whilst he was still alive perhaps in reference to the Greek influenced predecessor where the usage of divine figures or Gods were used. Thus would mean one could be implying some sort of association with the divine and that they were in fact a God, which refers to the concept of deifying powerful leading figures only after they are dead. Yet in 44 BCE Julius Caesar became the first living person in Rome to put his own portrait onto the faces of coins [See Figure.1]. By placing his image on the coins Caesar had gone against the Republican norm, as well as ensuring his portrait was recorded in the Republican veristic style which depicts his features with wrinkles and his receding hairline . Along with the laurel wreath to symbolise victory and the inscription that translates to 'Dictator for Life' would summarise and enforce a public opinion of Caesar and his accomplishments simply by being distributed to the Roman community in the form of coins . Perhaps this disregard of the typical modesty most Romans would display and, instead would appear arrogant is what added fuel to the fires which resulted in Caesars' death on the Ides of March. Nevertheless this type of self portraiture on the coinage became a method of political expression and a ways for rulers or Emperors as in the case of Emperor Augustus, Caesars' adoptive son and nephew by blood, to spread his ideals, accomplishments and ensure the favour of his people through cleverly designed political

One of the most infamous emperor during the Roman Empire was named Nero Claudius Caesar (37-68 A.D). He was hedonistic, cruel and violent with people. Nero would always have lavish parties had no sympathy for people. As an always wanted to raise to the top even if he had to murder his own family. Since he mostly grew up with his mother Agrippina the Younger, he had a high chance to become ruler of

Based on ancient Greek belief, Caesar’s work as a man had already been done and he was awarded the title Divus after his death, symbolizing his apotheosis to divine status. Caesar was deified after his death, at a level that had been done before only in honor of Romulus, the founder of Rome. Caesar had transcended man and become a god that once walked among men. Caesar’s accomplishments were not beyond conceivable for a man, although rare. By awarding Caesar honors and awards while he was alive, the Senate was creating a dictator that was beyond their own control. The Senate had deified Caesar as more than a man so they could justify his assassination. However, by the time Caesar was assassinated he had already changed the course of history, leaving an heir and a trail of followers that saw it was more than possible for one man to control Rome. Caesar’s apotheosis was a turning point for the Roman republic that impacted and attributed to its decline in 27 B.C.E.

The Romans' everyday routines explain how funerary customs played a central role in society from the late Republic to early Empire. More importantly, examining the rituals will illustrate if there was a connection to the increasing popularity of inhumation at that time. There was a blurred line between life and death that made it appear as if there was a paradoxical attitude towards death. The observation can be made that death was an end to a person's physical life on earth but it did not stop the deceased from being a part of the Roman society.7 Keeping the memory of the deceased alive was vital in family homes. For this to occur the dead could not be cremated; the funerary rites to follow would not allow it because the physical body was necessary. The idea of honoring the recently deceased as an ancestor was stressed in society.8 The funerals of Roman aristocrats were quite extravagant and the deceased aristocrats were treated as if they were still a part of the living. This wouldn't be possible with a cremated body, so another option was to properly clean the body for the display in the atrium of the family household before the final disposal of the

Drusilla’s centre-stage position on the sestertius coin reflects, as well, the special position she had in Caligula’s life. Of all sisters, Drusilla was apparently the source of Caligula’s infatuation. There are plenty of insinuations in the historians’ accounts of Caligula often indulging in incest with his sisters; yet, this seems to apply more to the case of Drusilla, whom Caligula had always had a soft spot for and with whom he started copulating from a very young age. In 37 CE and with a move that essentially defied every sense of tradition, Drusilla was named heir to the throne —something which quite expectedly caused an uproar in imperial politics. This decision might appear at first odd, but it has often been interpreted as an attempt

The world of Late Antiquity is written by Peter Brown, a Professor of History at Princeton University. This book is an entertaining introductory text to the Late Antique period, AD 150 to 750. Brown delivers an entertaining account and perspective of how and why the Late Antique world came to differ from “Classical civilization.” Instead of focusing on the cause and effect of the civilization’s downfall, Brown emphasizes the changes that occurred and men’s reaction to them. His thesis centers around social and cultural changes and specifically states:

The ethos of the Roman nobility at the time of the second century BCE was driven by ambitious military and political careers. These where brought about by a rigorous set of ideals which were built upon Rome’s cultural foundations. “The four terms that ascribe such a rigorous set of ideals are gloria, nobilitas, virtus and auctoritas ”.

Emperor Carausius formed an independent British Empire from 287-294 CE after successfully rebelling against the Romans. During his reign, he successfully deflected and fought back Roman attempts to retake Britain. In order to better understand what type of ruler Carausius was and how he ruled, careful analysis of his coins can be used in lieu of reliable written records. The 1,097 documented ancient coins minted during the reign of Carausius offers a critical perspective into the most important messages he was attempting to convey to his subjects. As a rebellious emperor, Carausius utilized numerous, positive depictions of the Roman gods in order to increase the legitimacy of his reign amongst his people throughout Britannia.

There is the argument that Rome did completely change the British coins. Which, many argue because of the image of Apollo and Diana in many coins. But against this argument you can see the very uniquely British characters on the reverse or obverse of these coins. The British created their own unique iconography. Even with roman influence their coins never took on the Roman weight standard or the style on a full coin.