Faustina II
–
Roman Empress
& Wife of
Emperor
Marcus Aurelius
–
161-175 A.D. –
Bronze 24mm (6.52 grams) of
Perinthus
in
Thrace
Reference: Varbanov -; Moushmov -; Schönert-Geiss
-; Mionnet -. RPC IV online temp 10709
ΦAVCTЄINA CEBACTH,
Draped bust right.
ΠΕΡΙΝΘΙΩΝ,
Isis
Pharia standing right with a billowing
sail in her hands.
* Numismatic Note: This depiction of Isis Pharia is only seen on ancient
coins of
Alexandria
in Egypt. Isis Pharia was the patron deity of the Pharos of Alexandria,
better known as the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the
wonders of the ancient world. Super rare coin.
You
are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a
Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.
Isis
or in original
more likely Aset was a goddess in
Ancient Egyptian
religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the
Greco-Roman world
. She
was worshiped as the ideal mother and wife as well as
the matron of nature and magic. She was the friend of
slaves, sinners, artisans, the downtrodden, as well as
listening to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens,
aristocrats and rulers. Isis is the Goddess of
motherhood
,
magic
and
fertility
.
The goddess Isis (the mother of
Horus
) was the first
daughter of
Geb
, god of the Earth,
and
Nut
, the goddess of the
Overarching Sky, and was born on the fourth
intercalary day
. At
some time Isis and
Hathor
had the same
headdress. In later myths about Isis, she had a brother,
Osiris
, who became her
husband, and she then was said to have conceived
Horus
. Isis was
instrumental in the resurrection of Osiris when he was
murdered by
Set
. Her magical skills
restored his body to life after she gathered the body
parts that had been strewn about the earth by Set. This
myth became very important in later Egyptian religious
beliefs.
Isis nursing Horus, wearing the headdress of Hathor
Isis is also known as the goddess of
simplicity
, protector
of the dead and goddess of children from whom all
beginnings arose. In later myths, the Ancient
Egyptians
believed that
the
Nile River
flooded
every year because of her tears of sorrow for her dead
husband, Osiris. This occurrence of his death and
rebirth was relived each year through rituals. The
worship of Isis eventually spread throughout the
Greco-Roman world, continuing until the suppression of
paganism
in the
Christian era.
Marmara Ereğlisi is a town and district of
Tekirdağ Province
in
the
Marmara
region of
Turkey
. The mayor is
İbrahim Uyan (CHP).
Ereğli is 30 km east of the town of
Tekirdağ
, and 90 km
west of
Istanbul
near a small
pointed headland on the north shore of the
Marmara Sea
. It is
called Marmara Ereğlisi (or Marmara Ereğli in
colloquial usage) to distinguish it from the two other
large towns in Turkey with the name Ereğli (deriving
from the
Greek
name
Heraclea
), one in
Konya Province
(Konya
Ereğlisi), the other on the
Black Sea
coast (Karadeniz
Ereğli).
An
ancient Greek
colony of
the island of
Samos
was founded here
in 600 BC. The area was known in Ancient Greek as
Perinthos (Πέρινθος) later called Heraclea (Ἡράκλεια),
It is said to have been a
Samian
colony, founded
about
599 BC
. According to
John Tzetzes
, its
original name was Mygdonia; later it was called Heraclea
(Heraclea Thraciae, Heraclea Perinthus).
It is famous chiefly for its stubborn and successful
resistance to
Philip II of Macedon
in
340 BC
; at that time it
seems to have been more important than
Byzantium
itself.
Christian virgin
Saint Glyceria
suffered
her martyrdom at Heraclea (modern Marmara Ereğli) in the
year
177
.
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
Romee
.
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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