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Probus
–
Roman Emperor
: 276-282
A.D. –
Bronze Antoninianus 24mm (3.60 grams) Lugdunum mint
276 A.D.
Reference: RIC 37f, Bastien 166
IMPCMAVRPROBVSAVG – Radiate, cuirassed bust right.
MARSVICTOR Exe: II – Mars advancing right, holding spear and trophy.
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are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a
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Authenticity.
Mars (Latin:
Martis) was
the Roman
god of war
and also an
agricultural
guardian,
a combination characteristic of early
Rome
. He was second in
importance only to
Jupiter
, and he was the
most prominent of the military gods in the
religion of the Roman army
.
Most of his
festivals
were held in
March, the month named for him (MartiusLatin
),
and in October, which began and ended the season for
military campaigning and farming.
Mars was
identified with
the
Greek god
Ares
, whose
myths
were
reinterpreted in
Roman literature
and
art
under the name of
Mars. But the character and dignity of Mars differed in
fundamental ways from that of his Greek counterpart, who
is often treated with contempt and revulsion in
Greek literature
.Mars
was a part of the
Archaic Triad
along
with Jupiter and
Quirinus
, the latter of
whom as a guardian of the Roman people had no Greek
equivalent. Mars’ altar in the
Campus Martius
, the
area of Rome that took its name from him, was supposed
to have been dedicated by
Numa
, the peace-loving
semi-legendary second
king of Rome
. Although
the center of Mars’ worship was originally located
outside the sacred boundary of Rome (pomerium),
Augustus
made the god a
renewed focus of
Roman religion
by
establishing the Temple of Mars Ultor in
his new forum
.
Although Ares was viewed primarily as a destructive
and destabilizing force, Mars represented military power
as a way
to secure peace
, and
was a father (pater) of the Roman people. In the
mythic
genealogy
and
founding myths of Rome
,
Mars was the father of
Romulus and Remus
with
Rhea Silvia
. His love
affair with
Venus
symbolically
reconciled the two different traditions of Rome’s
founding; Venus was the divine mother of the hero
Aeneas
, celebrated as
the
Trojan refugee
who
“founded” Rome several generations before Romulus laid
out the city walls.
The importance of Mars in establishing religious and
cultural identity within the
Roman Empire
is
indicated by the vast number of
inscriptions
identifying him with a local deity, particularly in the
Western provinces
.
Venus
and Mars
The union of Venus and Mars held greater appeal for
poets and philosophers, and the couple were a frequent
subject of art. In Greek myth, the adultery of Ares and
Aphrodite
had been
exposed to ridicule when her husband
Hephaestus
(whose Roman
equivalent was
Vulcan
) caught them in
the act by means of a magical snare. Although not
originally part of the Roman tradition, in 217 BC Venus
and Mars were presented as a complementary pair in the
lectisternium
, a
public banquet at which images of
twelve major gods of the Roman state were
presented on couches as if present and participating.
Wall painting (mid-1st century AD) from
which the House of Venus and Mars at
Pompeii
takes its name
Scenes of Venus and Mars in
Roman art
often ignore
the adulterous implications of their union, and take
pleasure in the good-looking couple attended by
Cupid
or multiple Loves
(amores). Some scenes may imply marriage, and the
relationship was romanticized in funerary or domestic
art in which husbands and wives had themselves portrayed
as the passionate divine couple.
The uniting of deities representing Love and War lent
itself to
allegory
, especially
since the lovers were the parents of
Harmonia
. The
Renaissance philosopher
Marsilio Ficino
notes
that “only Venus dominates Mars, and he never dominates
her”.In ancient Roman and Renaissance art, Mars is often
shown disarmed and relaxed, or even sleeping, but the
extramarital nature of their affair can also suggest
that this peace is impermanent.
Sacred
animals
She-wolf and twins from an altar to Venus
and Mars
Temples and topography
The earliest center in Rome for cultivating Mars as a
deity was the Altar of Mars (Ara
Martis) in the
Campus Martius
(“Field
of Mars”) outside the sacred boundary of Rome (pomerium).
The Romans thought that this altar had been established
by the semi-legendary
Numa Pompilius
, the
peace-loving successor of Romulus. According to Roman
tradition, the Campus Martius had been consecrated to
Mars by their ancestors to serve as horse pasturage and
an equestrian training ground for youths.[49]
During the
Roman Republic
(509–27
BC), the Campus was a largely open expanse. No temple
was built at the altar, but from 193 BC a covered
walkway connected it to the
Porta Fontinalis
, near
the office and archives of the
Roman censors
. Newly
elected censors placed their
curule chairs
by the
altar, and when they had finished conducting the census,
the citizens were collectively
purified
with a
suovetaurilia there. A
frieze
from the
so-called
“Altar” of Domitius Ahenobarbus
is thought to depict the census, and may show Mars
himself standing by the altar as the procession of
victims advances.
The main Temple of Mars (Aedes
Martis) in the Republican period also lay outside
the sacred boundary and was devoted to the god’s warrior
aspect. It was built to fulfill a vow (votum)
made by a
Titus Quinctius
in 388
BC during the
Gallic siege of Rome
.[53]
The founding day (dies
natalis) was commemorated on June 1, and
the temple is attested by several inscriptions and
literary sources. The sculpture group of Mars and the
wolves was displayed there.Soldiers sometimes assembled
at the temple before heading off to war, and it was the
point of departure for a major parade of
Roman cavalry
held
annually on July 15.
A temple to Mars in the
Circus Flaminius
was
built around 133 BC, funded by
Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus
from war booty. It housed a colossal statue of Mars and
a nude Venus.
The Campus Martius continued to provide venues for
equestrian events such as
chariot racing
during
the
Imperial period
, but
under the first emperor
Augustus
it underwent a
major program of urban renewal, marked by monumental
architecture. The Altar of Augustan Peace (Ara
Pacis Augustae) was located there, as was
the
Obelisk of Montecitorio
,
imported from
Egypt
to form the
pointer (gnomon)
of the
Solarium Augusti
, a
giant
sundial
. With its
public gardens, the Campus became one of the most
attractive places in the city to visit.
Augustus chose the Campus Martius as the site of his
new Temple to Mars Ultor, a manifestation of Mars he
cultivated as the avenger (ultor) of the
murder of Julius Caesar
and of the military disaster suffered at the
Battle of Carrhae
. When
the legionary standards lost to the Parthians were
recovered, they were housed in the new temple. The date
of the temple’s dedication on May 12 was aligned with
the
heliacal setting
of the
constellation
Scorpio
, the
house
of war. The date
continued to be marked with
circus games
as late as
the mid-4th century AD.
A large statue of Mars was part of the short-lived
Arch of Nero
, which was
built in 62 AD but dismantled after
Nero
‘s suicide and
disgrace (damnatio
memoriae).
Mars
Quirinus
Mars celebrated as peace-bringer on a Roman
coin issued by
Aemilianus
Marcus
Aurelius Probus
(c. August 19,
232–September/October, 282) was a
Roman Emperor
(276–282).
A native of
Sirmium
(now
Sremska Mitrovica
,
Serbia
), in
Pannonia
, at an early age he entered the army, where
he distinguished himself under the Emperors
Valerian
,
Aurelian
and
Tacitus
. He was appointed governor of the East by
Tacitus, at whose death he was immediately proclaimed
his successor by the soldiers (276).
Florianus
, who had claimed to succeed his
half-brother Tacitus, was put to death by his own troops
after an indecisive campaign. Probus moved to the West,
defeated the Goths acquiring the title of Gothicus
(280), and saw his position ratified by the
Senate
.
The reign of Probus was mainly spent
in successful wars by which he re-established the
security of all the frontiers. The most important of
these operations were directed to clearing
Gaul
of German invaders (Franks,
Longiones
,
Alamanni
and
Burgundians
), allowing Probus to adopt the titles of
Gothicus Maximus and Germanicus Maximus.
One of his principles was never to allow the soldiers to
be idle, and to employ them in time of peace on useful
works, such as the planting of vineyards in Gaul,
Pannonia and other districts, in order to restart the
economy in these devastated lands.
In 279–280, Probus was, according to
Zosimus
, in
Raetia
,
Illyricum
and
Lycia
, where he fought the
Vandals
. In the same years, Probus’ generals
defeated the
Blemmyes
in
Egypt
; Probus ordered the reconstruction of bridges
and canals along the Nile, where the production of grain
for the Empire was centered.
In 280–281, Probus had also put down
three usurpers,
Julius Saturninus
,
Proculus
and
Bonosus
. The extent of these revolts is not clear,
but there are clues that they were not just local
problems.
In 281, the emperor was in Rome, where he celebrated his
triumph
.
Probus was eager to start his eastern
campaign, delayed by the revolts in the west. He left
Rome in 282, moving first towards Sirmium, his birth
city, when the news that
Marcus Aurelius Carus
, commander of the
Praetorian Guard
, had been proclaimed emperor
reached him. Probus sent some troops against the new
usurper, but when those troops changed sides and
supported Carus, Probus’s soldiers then assassinated him
(September/October 282).
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