FAUSTINA II Marcus Aurelius Wife 161AD Pautalia Thrace HERA Roman Coin i54376

Item: i54376

 Authentic Ancient Coin of:

Bronze 17mm (3.24 grams) of

Thrace

Reference: Varbanov 4478

ΦAVCTEINA CEBACTH, draped bust right.

OVΛΠIAC ΠAVTAΛIAC, Hera standing left holding patera and 

scepter.

You 

Authenticity.

Hera  

is the wife and one of three sisters of

Zeus

in the

Olympian pantheon

of

Greek mythology

and

religion

. Her chief 

function is as the goddess of women and marriage. Her 

counterpart in the

religion of ancient Rome

was

Juno

. The

cow

,

lion

and the

peacock

are sacred to 

her. Hera’s mother is

Rhea

and her father

Cronus

.

Portrayed as majestic and solemn, often enthroned, 

and crowned with the

(a high 

cylindrical crown worn by several of the

Great Goddesses

), Hera 

may bear a

pomegranate

in her 

hand, emblem of fertile blood and death and a substitute 

for the narcotic capsule of the

opium

poppy. A scholar 

of Greek mythology

Walter Burkert

writes 

in Greek Religion, “Nevertheless, there are 

memories of an earlier aniconic representation, as a 

pillar in Argos and as a plank in Samos.”

Hera was known for her jealous and vengeful nature, 

most notably against Zeus’s lovers and offspring, but 

also against mortals who crossed her, such as

Pelias

.

Paris

offended her by 

choosing

Aphrodite

as the most 

beautiful goddess, earning Hera’s hatred.

Kyustendil (Bulgarian:

Кюстендил, 

historically Велбъжд,

Velbazhd) is a town in the far west of

Bulgaria

, the capital 

of

Kyustendil Province

, 

with a population of 58,059 (2005 census). Kyustendil is 

situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, 

90 km southwest of

Sofia

. It was named 

after the medieval lord of the surrounding region,

Constantine Dragaš

.

A

Thracian

settlement was 

founded at the place of the modern town in the

5th

-4th century BC and 

the

Romans

developed it 

into an important stronghold, balneological resort and 

trade junction called Pautalia in the 1st 

century AD.

The Hisarlaka fortress was built in the 4th 

century and the town was mentioned under the

Slavic

name of

Velbazhd (Велбъжд, meaning “camel”) in a 1019 

charter by the

Byzantine

Emperor

Basil II

. It became a 

major religious and administrative centre.

Annia 

Galeria Faustina Minor (((Minor Latin for

the younger), Faustina Minor or Faustina 

the Younger

(February 

16 between 125 and 130-175) was a daughter of

Roman Emperor

Antoninus Pius

and Roman Empress

Faustina the Elder

. She was a Roman Empress and wife 

to her maternal cousin Roman Emperor

Marcus Aurelius

. Though Roman sources give a 

generally negative view of her character, she was held 

in high esteem by soldiers and her own husband and was 

given divine honours after her death.

//

 Biography

Faustina, named after her mother, was 

her parents’ fourth and youngest child and their second 

daughter; she was also their only child to survive to 

adulthood. She was born and raised in

Rome

.

Her great uncle, the Emperor

Hadrian

, had arranged with her father for Faustina 

to marry

Lucius Verus

. On February 25, 138, she and Verus 

were betrothed.

Verus’ father

was Hadrian’s first adopted son and 

his intended heir. However when Verus’ father died, 

Hadrian chose Faustina’s father to be his second adopted 

son, and eventually, he became Hadrian’s successor. 

Faustina’s father ended the engagement between his 

daughter and Verus and arranged for Faustina’s betrothal 

to her maternal cousin,

Marcus Aurelius

; Aurelius was also adopted by her 

father. On May 13, 145, Faustina and Marcus Aurelius 

were married. When her father died on March 7, 161, her 

husband and Lucius Verus succeeded to her father’s 

throne and became co-rulers. Faustina was given the 

title of

and became Empress.

Unfortunately, not much has survived 

from the Roman sources regarding Faustina’s life, but 

what is available does not give a good report.

Cassius Dio

and the

accuse Faustina of ordering 

deaths by poison and execution; she has also been 

accused of instigating the revolt of

Avidius Cassius

against her husband. The Augustan 

History mentions adultery with sailors, gladiators, 

and men of rank. However, Faustina and Aurelius seem to 

have been very close and mutually devoted. Her husband 

trusted her and defended her vigorously against 

detractors.

Faustina accompanied her husband on 

various military campaigns and enjoyed the love and 

reverence of Roman soldiers. Aurelius gave her the title 

of Mater Castrorum or Mother of the Camp. 

Between 170-174, she was in the north, and in 175, she 

accompanied Aurelius to the east. However, these 

experiences took their toll on Faustina, who died in the 

winter of 175, after an accident, at the military camp 

in Halala (a city in the

Taurus Mountains

in

Cappadocia

).

Aurelius grieved much for his wife 

and buried her in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. She 

was deified: her statue was placed in the Temple of 

Venus in Rome and a temple was dedicated to her in her 

honor. Halala’s name was changed to Faustinopolis 

and Aurelius opened charity schools for orphan girls 

called Puellae Faustinianae or ‘Girls of 

Faustina’.^[1] 

The Baths of Faustina in

Miletus

are named after her.

In their thirty years of marriage, 

Faustina bore Marcus Aurelius thirteen children:

1. Annia Aurelia Galeria Faustina

   (147-after 165)

2. Gemellus Lucillae (died around 

   150), twin brother of Lucilla

3. Annia Aurelia Galeria

   Lucilla

   (148/50-182), twin sister of Gemellus, 

   married her father’s co-ruler

   Lucius Verus

4. Titus Aelius Antoninus (born 

   after 150, died before 7 March 161)

5. Titus Aelius Aurelius (born after 

   150, died before 7 March 161)

6. Hadrianus (152-157)

7. Domitia Faustina (born after 150, 

   died before 7 March 161)

8. Fadilla

   (159-after 211)

9. Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor

   (160-after 211)

10. Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus 

    (161-165), twin brother of Commodus

11. Commodus

    (161-192), twin brother of Titus 

    Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, later emperor

12. Marcus Annius Verus Caesar

    (162-169)

13. Vibia Aurelia Sabina (170-died before 217)