Tacitus Rare 275AD Authentic Ancient Roman Coin Pax Pease Cult i52849

Item: i52849

 Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Tacitus –

Roman Emperor
: 275-276 A.D. –

Bronze Antoninianus 24mm (2.95 grams) Rome mint: 275-276 A.D.

Reference: RIC 150f
IMPCMCLTACITVSAVG – Radiate, cuirassed bust right.
PAXAVGVSTI Exe: P – Pax standing left, holding branch and scepter.

You are bidding on the exact

Guarantee of Authenticity.

In

Roman mythology

, Pax (Latin

for peace
)

(her

Greek

equivalent was

) was recognized as a

goddess

during the rule of

Augustus
.

On the

Campus Martius

, she had a temple called the

Ara Pacis
,

and another temple on the

Forum Pacis

. She was depicted in art with

olive
branches, a

cornucopia

and a scepter. There was a festival in her honor on January 3. Daughter of

Jupiter

and

Iustitia

. Pax was often associated with spring.

Eirene, or Irene  Greek for “peace”; the
Roman
equivalent was
Pax
, one of the
Horae
, was the personification of peace, and
was depicted in art as a beautiful young woman carrying a
cornucopia
,
sceptre
and a torch or
rhyton
. She is said sometimes to be the
daughter of Zeus
and
Themis
.

She was particularly well regarded by the
citizens of Athens
. After a naval victory over
Sparta
in 375 BC, the Athenians established a
cult for Eirene, erecting
altars
to her. They held an annual state
sacrifice to her after 371 BC to commemorate the
Common Peace
of that year and set up a votive
statue in her honour in the
Agora of Athens
. The statue was executed in
bronze by
Cephisodotus the Elder
, likely the father or
uncle of the famous sculptor
Praxiteles
. It was acclaimed by the Athenians,
who depicted it on vases and coins.

Although the statue is now lost, it was copied in marble by the Romans; one
of the best surviving copies (right) is in the
Munich

Glyptothek
. It depicts the goddess carrying a
child with her left arm –
Ploutos
, the god of plenty and son of
Demeter
, the goddess of agriculture. Eirene’s
missing right hand once held a sceptre. She is shown gazing maternally at
Ploutos, who is looking back at her trustingly. The statue is an allegory for
Plenty (Ploutos) prospering under the protection of Peace (Eirene); it
constituted a public appeal to good sense. The copy in the Glyptothek was
originally in the collection of the
Villa Albani
in Rome but was looted and taken
to France by
Napoleon I
. Following Napoleon’s fall, the
statue was bought by
Ludwig I of Bavaria
.

Marcus Claudius Tacitus (ca. 200 – June 276) was a

Roman Emperor

from September 25 275, to June 276.

 Biography

He was born in Interamna

(Terni), in

Italia

. He circulated copies of the historian

Gaius Cornelius Tacitus

‘ work, which was barely read at the time, and so we

perhaps have him to thank for the partial survival of Tacitus’ work; however,

modern historiography

rejects his claimed descent from the historian as forgery. In the course of his

long life he discharged the duties of various civil offices, including that of

consul
in 273,

with universal respect.

After the assassination of

Aurelian
,

he was chosen by the

Senate

to succeed him, and the choice was cordially ratified by the army. His first

action was to move against the barbarian tribes that had been gathered by

Aurelian for his Eastern campaign, and which had plundered the Eastern Roman

provinces after Aurelian had been murdered and the campaign cancelled. His

half-brother, the Praetorian Prefect

Florianus
,

and Tacitus himself won a victory against these tribes, among which

Heruli
, which

granted the emperor the title Gothicus Maximus.

Tacitus probably died of fever (according to

Aurelius Victor

,

Eutropius

and the

Historia Augusta

) – though

Zosimus

claims he was assassinated – at

Tyana
in

Cappadocia

in June 276.