DOMITIAN 81AD Ancient Roman Coin Nike Victory Serpent i19619

Item: i19619

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Domitian – Roman Caesar: 69-81 A.D. Emperor: 81-96 A.D. –
Bronze 16mm (3.22 grams) of PAMPHYLIA, Side
Reference: RPC 1527; SNG France 79
ΔOMITIAN-OC KAICAP, laureate head right.
CIΔ-HT, Nike advancing left, holding pomegranate and spear in extended right hand and shield with left; serpent at feet to left.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

In
Greek mythology
,

Nike was a
goddess
who personified
victory
, also known as the Winged Goddess of
Victory. The Roman equivalent was
Victoria
. Depending upon the time of various
myths, she was described as the daughter of
Pallas
(Titan) and

Styx (Water) and the sister of
Kratos
(Strength),
Bia
(Force), and
Zelus
(Zeal). Nike and her siblings were close
companions of Zeus
, the dominant deity of the
Greek pantheon
. According to classical (later)
myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when

the
god was assembling allies for the
Titan War
against the older deities. Nike
assumed the role of the divine
charioteer
, a role in which she often is
portrayed in Classical Greek art. Nike flew around battlefields rewarding the
victors with glory and fame.

Nike is seen with wings in most statues and paintings. Most other winged
deities in the Greek pantheon had shed their wings by Classical times. Nike is
the goddess of strength, speed, and victory. Nike was a very close acquaintance
of Athena
, and is thought to have stood in
Athena’s outstretched hand in the statue of Athena located in the Parthenon.
Nike is one of the most commonly portrayed figures on Greek coins.

Names stemming from Nike include amongst others:
Nicholas
, Nicola, Nick, Nikolai, Nils, Klaas,
Nicole, Ike, Niki, Nikita, Nika, Niketas, and Nico.

Titus Flavius Domitianus
(24 October 51 – 18

September 96), known as Domitian, was a

Roman

Emperor

who

reigned from 14 September 81 until his death. Domitian was the third and last

emperor of the

Flavian dynasty

, the house which ruled the

Roman

Empire
between 69 and 96 and encompassed the reigns of Domitian’s father

Vespasian

(69–79), his older brother

Titus
(79–81),

and that of Domitian himself.

Domitian’s youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his

brother Titus, who gained military renown during the

First Jewish-Roman War

. This situation continued under the rule of

Vespasian, who became emperor on 21 December 69 following the

civil war

known as the

Year of the Four Emperors

. While Titus effectually reigned as co-emperor

with his father, Domitian was left with honours but no responsibilities.

Vespasian died on 23 June 79 and was succeeded by Titus, whose own reign came to

an unexpected end when he was struck by a fatal illness on 13 September 81. The

following day Domitian was declared emperor by the

Praetorian Guard

, commencing a reign which lasted fifteen years—longer than

any man who had governed Rome since

Tiberius
.

As emperor, Domitian strengthened the economy by revaluing the

Roman coinage

, expanded the border defenses of the Empire, and initiated a

massive building programme to restore the damaged city of

Rome. Significant

wars were fought in Britain, where

Gnaeus Julius Agricola

expanded the Roman Empire as far as modern day

Scotland
,

and in Dacia
,

where Domitian was unable to procure a decisive victory against king

Decebalus
.

Domitian’s government nonetheless exhibited

totalitarian

characteristics. As emperor, he saw himself as the new

Augustus
,

an enlightened despot destined to guide the Roman Empire into a new era of

Flavian renaissance. Religious, military, and cultural

propaganda

fostered a

cult of personality

, and by nominating himself perpetual

censor
,

he sought to control public and private morals. As a consequence, Domitian was

popular with the people and the army but despised by members of the

Roman

Senate
as a tyrant.

Domitian’s reign came to an end on 18 September 96 when he was assassinated

by court officials. The same day he was succeeded by his friend and advisor

Nerva
, who

founded the long-lasting

Nerva-Antonine dynasty

. After his death, Domitian’s memory was

condemned to oblivion

by the Roman Senate, while senatorial authors such as

Tacitus
,

Pliny the Younger

and

Suetonius

published histories propagating the view of Domitian as a cruel and paranoid

tyrant. Modern history has rejected these views, instead characterising Domitian

as a ruthless but efficient autocrat, whose cultural, economic and political

programme provided the foundation of the peaceful 2nd century.