The Lion of Chaeronea

Aureus (diameter=20 mm; weight=7.02 g) minted by the Roman emperor Septimius Severus (r. 193-211 CE) in 204. The coin celebrates Septimius' previous campaign in 198 against the Parthian Empire (which had supported Pescennius Niger, a rival claimant to the Roman throne), culminating in the sack of the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon and the annexation of northern Mesopotamia. (This campaign was to have dire consequences for Rome later on: the weakened Parthians were succeeded by the far stronger Sassanian dynasty, which would threaten the Roman/Byzantine East until the Arab conquests of the seventh century.) The obverse depicts the bust of Septimius, who stresses his piety with the cognomen PIUS and the title P(ONTIFEX) M(AXIMUS). On the reverse is the figure of Victory, holding a laurel wreath and palm frond and surrounded by the legend VICTORIA PARTHICA MAXIMA. This aureus is the only one of its kind known to exist and may have been part of a limited issue, perhaps connected to the Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games) that Septimius held in 204 to celebrate the anniversary of Rome's founding. Photo credit: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com

Denarius of Julia Mamaea (180-235 CE). During the Severan dynasty, Julia was one of several women who enjoyed great prominence in the Imperial household (her aunt, Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus, was a major intellectual and cultural force who maintained her own salon during Septimius' reign). When Julia Mamaea's son Severus Alexander ascended to the throne following the assassination of his cousin Elagabalus, Julia became his chief advisor. Though Alexander was initially far more popular than Elagabalus, he made the mistake of alienating the army, and the Rhine legions killed both him and his mother during a mutiny in 235; this marked both the end of the Severan dynasty and the beginning of the fifty-year period of turmoil and civil conflict that would end only with the accession of Diocletian.

On the obverse, the bust of Julia Mamaea; on the reverse, the figure of Juno Conservatrix (Juno the Preserver). The goddess holds a patera (sacrificial dish) and is accompanied by a peacock, her sacred bird. The denarius was minted between 225 and 235 and was found in Essex, England, UK. Photo credit: The Portable Antiquities Scheme/ The Trustees of the British Museum.

Denarius of the notorious Roman emperor Elagabalus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus; r. 218-222 CE). Responsible, under the aegis of his mother Julia Soaemias and grandmother Julia Maesa, for introducing the cult of his native solar deity Elagabal to Rome, Elagabalus became a byword for decadence and impropriety. Infamously, he took a Vestal Virgin as his second wife, despite the religious law demanding that any unchaste Vestal be buried alive. Eventually Elagabalus was pressured by his grandmother into adopting his far more popular cousin Severus Alexander as his heir; following several failed attempts to do away with Alexander, Elagabalus, together with his mother, was murdered by the Praetorian Guard. He was eighteen years old.

On this coin, Elagabalus is cast in a light that stresses his supreme position in Roman religion and his role as representative of the Roman people to the gods. On the obverse, he is shown crowned with laurel, a horn emerging from his forehead. On the reverse, he is shown as SUMMUS SACERDOS ("Highest Priest"); he holds a patera (sacrificial dish) topped by a star -- a mark of divine favor ever since the deification of Julius Caesar by Octavian/Augustus.

Photo credit: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com

The so-called Severan Tondo. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus (r. 193-211 CE) and his wife Julia Domna are shown with their sons Caracalla (L. Septimius Bassianus) and Geta. Geta's face has been destroyed as part of the damnatio memoriae he underwent following his assassination by Caracalla. Tempera on panel, artist unknown; ca. 200 CE. Now in the Altes Museum, Berlin. Photo credit: © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Denarius of Septimius Severus, minted in 204 CE to celebrate his holding of the Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games). Held (theoretically) every 110 years, the Ludi Saeculares were intended to commemorate and re-establish Rome's relationship with the deities who safeguarded its prosperity and power. On the obverse, the laureate head of Septimius. On the reverse, the inscription DI PATRII (Ancestral Gods) surrounding images of Bacchus and Hercules. Bacchus holds a wine-cup and his characteristic thyrsus and has a panther at his feet, while Hercules holds his club and lionskin. Photo credit: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com

Aureus of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus, founder of the Severan dynasty, minted in 193 CE to mark Septimius' elevation to the purple. On the obverse, the laureate bust of Septimius, identified as L(UCIUS) SEPT(IMIUS) SEV(ERUS) PERT(INAX) AUG(USTUS) (Septimius styled himself the avenger of Pertinax, who had been murdered by the Praetorian Guard earlier that year). On the reverse, a Roman eagle between two legionary standards, with an inscription honoring Legio XIIII (XIV) Gemina Martia Victrix, the legion that had first proclaimed Septimius emperor. Photo credit: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com

Bronze coin of the ill-fated Roman emperor Geta. Elevated to the rank of Augustus alongside his brother Caracalla in 209 CE by their father, Septimius Severus, he was murdered by Caracalla less than a year after Septimius' death in 211. On the obverse, the bust of Geta; on the reverse, the temple of Petra (in present-day Jordan), showing a statue of Tyche (Fortune). Photo credit: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com

Denarius of Julia Mamaea, mother of the Roman emperor Severus Alexander (r. 222-235 CE).  On the obverse, a portrait of Mamaea; on the reverse, the goddess Juno Conservatrix, holding a patera (ritual dish).  Found in Essex, England, UK; now in the British Museum.  Photo credit: The Portable Antiquities Scheme/ The Trustees of the British Museum.

Denarius of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus (r. 193-211 CE), found in Suffolk, England.  Now in the British Museum.  Photo credit: Portable Antiquities Scheme/The Trustees of the British Museum.

Aureus of the short-lived Roman emperor Macrinus (r. 217-218 CE).  On the obverse, Macrinus, wearing a laurel wreath; on the reverse, Macrinus and his son Diadumenian (who shared his imperial power) distribute coins, accompanied by a personification of Liberalitas (Generosity) and the inscription LIBERALITAS AUG(USTORUM).  Photo credit: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com

Geta Dying in His Mother’s Arms, Jacques Pajou (1766-1828)

Ancient Roman relief sculpture depicting a military commander, perhaps the emperor Caracalla (r. 198-211 [jointly with his father Septimius Severus]; 211-217 CE [as sole ruler]).  Now in the World Museum, Liverpool.

Portrait bust of the ill-fated Roman Emperor Macrinus (r. 217-218 CE), who seized the throne after the assassination of Caracalla and ruled alongside his son Diadumenianus.  Now in the Capitoline Museums.  Photo credit: Sailko/Wikimedia Commons.

Head from a bronze statue of the Roman emperor Severus Alexander (r. 222-235 CE), last emperor of the Severan dynasty.  Found at Ryakia, Pieria, Greece; now in the Archaeological Museum, Dion.

Bust of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus.  Plautianus served as consul (203 CE) and then praetorian prefect under Septimius Severus, but his personal feud with Severus’ son Caracalla led to his downfall and death in 205.  The bust was previously wrongly identified as Pertinax.  Artist unknown; now in the Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican City.  Photo credit: Giovanni Dall’Orto/Wikimedia Commons.

The head of the Roman Emperor Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Severus Augustus Antoninus; r. 198-211 [jointly with his father Septimius Severus], 211-217 [as sole Emperor]).  Now in the National Museum of Rome - Palazzo Massimo alle Terme.  Photo credit: Folegandros.

Gold medallion bearing a portrait of the Roman Emperor Elagabalus (r. 218-222 CE).  Now in the Louvre.