Faustina II –
Roman Empress & Wife of
Emperor
Marcus Aurelius –
161-175 A.D. –
Bronze 17mm (3.24 grams) of
Pautalia in
Thrace
Reference: Varbanov 4478
ΦAVCTEINA CEBACTH, draped bust right.
OVΛΠIAC ΠAVTAΛIAC, Hera standing left holding patera and
scepter.
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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
polos
(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
Augusta
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
Augustan History
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:
-
Annia Aurelia Galeria Faustina
(147-after 165)
-
Gemellus Lucillae (died around
150), twin brother of Lucilla
-
Annia Aurelia Galeria
Lucilla
(148/50-182), twin sister of Gemellus,
married her father’s co-ruler
Lucius Verus
-
Titus Aelius Antoninus (born
after 150, died before 7 March 161)
-
Titus Aelius Aurelius (born after
150, died before 7 March 161)
-
Hadrianus (152-157)
-
Domitia Faustina (born after 150,
died before 7 March 161)
-
Fadilla
(159-after 211)
-
Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor
(160-after 211)
-
Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus
(161-165), twin brother of Commodus
-
Commodus
(161-192), twin brother of Titus
Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, later emperor
-
Marcus Annius Verus Caesar
(162-169)
- Vibia Aurelia Sabina (170-died before 217)
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