Salonina – Roman Empress: 253-268 A.D. – Wife of Gallienus Bronze Antoninianus 21mm (4.09 grams) Rome mint, struck 259-260 A.D. Reference: RIC V 26 (Rome) and 57 (Milan); MIR 36, 935t; ; Toffanin 34; RSC 44 (Rome and Milan). SALONINA AVG, draped bust right, wearing stephane, set on crescent. FECVNDITAS AVG, Fecunditas standing right, holding infant and extending hand to child standing to left.
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In Roman mythology, Fecunditas (Latin: “fecundity, fertility”) was the goddess of fertility. She was portrayed as a matron, sometimes holding a cornucopia or a hasta pura, with children in her arms or standing next to her. Nero dedicated a temple at Rome to Fecunditas, on occasion of his daughter’s birth in 63 AD.
Julia Cornelia Salonina (d. 268, Mediolanum) was an Augusta, wife of Roman Emperor Gallienus and mother of Valerian II, Saloninus, and Marinianus.
Julia Cornelia Salonina’s origin is unknown. According to a modern theory, she was born of Greek origin in Bithynia, then part of the province of Bithynia et Pontus, Asia Minor. However, there exists some scepticism on that. She was married to Gallienus about ten years before his accession to the throne. When her husband became joint-emperor with his father Valerian in 253, Cornelia Salonina was named Augusta.
Cornelia was the mother of three princes, Valerian II, Saloninus and Marinianus. Her fate, after the murder of Gallienus, during the siege of Mediolanum in 268, is unknown. It is likely that either her life was spared or the she was executed together with other members of her family, at the orders of the Senate of Rome.
Her name is reported on coins with Latin legend as Cornelia Salonina; however, from the Greek coinage come the names Iulia Cornelia Salonina, Publia Licinia Cornelia Salonina, and Salonina Chrysogona (attribute that means “begotten of gold”).
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