Gordian III Nicopolis ad Istrum Moesia HUGE Ancient Roman Coin Health i32398

Item: i32398

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Gordian III – Roman Emperor: 238-244 A.D. –

Bronze 26mm (10.66 grams)
from the city Nicopolis ad Istrum in Moesia Inferior under magistrate Modestus
AVT K M ANT ΓOPΔIANOC AVΓ, laureate, draped bust right.
VΠ CAB MOΔECTOV NIKOΠOΛЄITΩN ΠPOC ICTPO, Hygeia standing right, feeding serpent
from patera.

You are bidding on the exact

Guarantee of Authenticity.

In
Greek
and
Roman mythology
, Hygieia (also Hygiea
or Hygeia, Greek Ὑγιεία or
Ὑγεία, Latin Hygēa or Hygīa),
was the daughter of the god of medicine,
Asclepius
, and
Epione
. She was the goddess/personification of
health, cleanliness and sanitation.

Hygieia
and her five sisters each performed a facet of
Apollo
‘s art: Hygieia (“Hygiene” the
goddess/personification of health, cleanliness, and sanitation),
Panacea
(the goddess of Universal remedy),

Iaso (the goddess of recuperation from illness),
Aceso
(the goddess of the healing process).

Hygieia also played an important part in her father’s
cult
. While her father was more directly
associated with healing, she was associated with the prevention of sickness and
the continuation of good health. Her name is the source of the word “hygiene“.
She was imported by the Romans as the Goddess Valetudo, the goddess of personal
health, but in time she started to be increasingly identified with the ancient
Italian goddess of social welfare,
Salus
.

History

At Athens, Hygieia was the subject of a local cult since at least the 7th
century BC. “Athena Hygieia” was one of the cult titles given to
Athenaa
, as Plutarch recounts of the building of
the Parthenon
(447-432 BC):

However, the cult of Hygieia as an independent goddess did not begin to
spread out until the
Delphic oracle
recognized her, and after the
devastating
Plague of Athens
(430-427 BC) and in Rome in
293 BC.

In the 2nd century AD,
Pausanias
noted the statues both of Hygieia and
of Athena Hygieia near the entrance to the
Acropolis
of Athens.

Worship

Hygieia’s primary temples were in
Epidaurus
,
Corinth
,
Cos
and Pergamon
.
Pausanias
remarked that, at the Asclepieion
of Titane
in
Sicyon
(founded by
Alexanor
, Asclepius’ grandson), statues of
Hygieia were covered by women’s hair and pieces of
Babylonian
clothes. According to inscriptions,
the same sacrifices were offered at
Paros
.

Ariphron
, a Sicyonian artist from the 4th
century BC wrote a well-known

hymn celebrating her. Statues of Hygieia were created by
Scopas
,
Bryaxis
and
Timotheus
, among others, but there is no clear
description of what they looked like. She was often depicted as a young woman
feeding a large snake that was wrapped around her body or drinking from a jar
that she carried. These attributes were later adopted by the
Gallo-Roman
healing goddess,
Sirona
. Hygieia was accompanied by her brother,
Telesphorus
.

In

Greekek

and

Roman mythology

, Hygieia,

or Hygeia, was a daughter

of the god of medicine,

Asclepius
.

She was the goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation and afterwards, the

moon. She also played an important part in her father’s

cult

. While her father was more directly associated with healing, she was

associated with the prevention of sickness and the continuation of good health.

Her name is the source of the word “hygiene“.

//

At Athens, Hygieia was the subject of a local cult since at least the

7th

century BC
. “Athena Hygieia” was one of the cult titles given to

Athena
, as

Plutarch recounts of the building of the

Parthenon

(447-432 BC):

However, the cult of Hygieia as an independent goddess did not begin to

spread out until the

Delphic oracle

recognized her, and after the devastating

Plague of Athens

(430-27 BC) and in Rome in 293 BC.

In the second century AD,

Pausanias

noted the statues both of Hygieia and of Athena Hygieia near the

entrance to the

Acropolis

of Athens.

Hygieia’s primary temples were in

Epidaurus
,

Corinth

, Cos
and

Pergamon
.

Pausanias

remarked that, at the Asclepieion of

Titane
in

Sicyon
(founded

by Alexanor
,

Asclepius’ grandson), statues of Hygieia were covered by women’s hair and pieces

of Babylonian

clothes. According to inscriptions, the same sacrifices were offered at

Paros
.

Ariphron
,

a Sicyonian artist from the

4th

century BC
wrote a well-known

hymn celebrating

her. Statues of Hygieia were created by

Scopas
,

Bryaxis
and

Timotheus
,

among others, but there is no clear description of what they looked like. She

was often depicted as a young woman feeding a large snake that was wrapped

around her body or drinking from a jar that she carried.

These attributes were later adopted by the

Gallo-Roman

healing goddess,

Sirona
. Hygieia

was accompanied by her brother,

Telesphorus

.

“Hygieia” was used as a greeting among the

Pythagoreans

.

Nicopolis ad Istrum was a

Roman

and Early

Byzantine

town founded by Emperor

Trajan
around

101–106, at the junction of the Iatrus (Yantra)

and the Rositsa

rivers, in memory of his victory over the

Dacians
. Its

ruins are located at the village of

Nikyup

, 20 km north of

Veliko Tarnovo

in northern

Bulgaria
.

The town reached its apogee during the reigns of Trajan,

Hadrian
, the

Antonines

and the

Severan dynasty

.

The classical town was planned according to the orthogonal system. The

network of streets, the forum surrounded by an Ionic colonnade and many

buildings, a two-nave room later turned into a basilica and other public

buildings have been uncovered. The rich architectures and sculptures show a

similarity with those of the ancient towns in Asia Minor. Nicopolis ad Istrum

had issued coins, bearing images of its own public buildings.

In

447 AD

, the town was destroyed by

Attila’s

Huns
.

Perhaps it was already abandoned before the early 400s.

In the 6th century, it was rebuilt as a powerful fortress enclosing little more

than military buildings and churches, following a very common trend for the

cities of that century in the Danube area.The largest area of the extensive ruins (21.55 hectares) of the classical

Nicopolis was not reoccupied since the fort covered only one fourth of it (5.75

hectares), in the southeastern corner.

The town became an episcopal centre during the early Byzantine period. It was

finally destroyed by the Avar invasions at the end of the 6th century. A

Bulgarian medieval settlement arose upon its ruins later (10th-14th century).

Nicopolis ad Istrum can be said to have been the birthplace of

Germanic

literary tradition. In the 4th century, the

Gothic
bishop,

missionary and translator

Ulfilas
(Wulfila)

obtained permission from Emperor

Constantius II

to immigrate with his flock of converts to Moesia and settle

near Nicopolis ad Istrum in 347-8.

There, he invented the

Gothic alphabet

and translated the

Bible
from

Greek

to

Gothic

.

Marcus Antonius Gordianus Pius (January

20, 225

–

February

11
, 244
),

known in

English

as Gordian III,

was

Roman

Emperor
from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of

Antonia Gordiana

and his father was an unnamed Roman Senator who died before

238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor

Gordian I

and younger sister of Emperor

Gordian II
.

Very little is known on his early life before becoming Roman Emperor. Gordian

had assumed the name of his maternal grandfather in 238.

Following the murder of emperor

Alexander Severus

in Moguntiacum (modern

Mainz
), the

capital of the

Roman province

Germania Inferior

,

Maximinus Thrax

was acclaimed emperor, despite strong opposition of the

Roman senate

and the majority of the population. In response to what was

considered in Rome as a rebellion, Gordian’s grandfather and uncle, Gordian I

and II, were proclaimed joint emperors in the

Africa Province

. Their revolt was suppressed within a month by Cappellianus,

governor of Numidia

and a loyal supporter of Maximinus Thrax. The elder Gordians died,

but public opinion cherished their memory as peace loving and literate men,

victims of Maximinus’ oppression.

Meanwhile, Maximinus was on the verge of marching on Rome and

the Senate elected

Pupienus

and Balbinus

as joint emperors. These senators were not popular men and the population of

Rome was still shocked by the elder Gordian’s fate, so that the Senate decided

to take the teenager Gordian, rename him Marcus Antonius Gordianus as his

grandfather, and raise him to the rank of

Caesar

and imperial heir.

Pupienus

and Balbinus

defeated Maximinus, mainly due to the defection of several

legions
,

namely the

Parthica II

who assassinated Maximinus. But their joint reign was

doomed from the start with popular riots, military discontent and even an

enormous fire that consumed Rome in June 238. On

July 29
,

Pupienus and Balbinus were killed by the

Praetorian guard

and Gordian proclaimed sole emperor.

Rule

Due to Gordian’s age, the imperial government was surrendered

to the aristocratic families, who controlled the affairs of Rome through the

senate. In 240,

Sabinianus

revolted in the African province, but the situation was dealt quickly. In 241,

Gordian was married to Furia Sabinia

Tranquillina

, daughter of the newly appointed praetorian prefect,

Timesitheus

. As chief of the Praetorian guard and father in law of the

emperor, Timesitheus quickly became the de facto ruler of the Roman

empire.

In the 3rd century, the Roman frontiers weakened against the

Germanic tribes across the

Rhine
and

Danube
, and the

Sassanid

kingdom across the

Euphrates

increased its own attacks. When the Persians under

Shapur I

invaded Mesopotamia

, the young emperor opened the doors of the

Temple of Janus

for the last time in Roman history, and sent a huge army to

the East. The Sassanids were driven back over the Euphrates and defeated in the

Battle of Resaena

(243). The campaign was a success and Gordian, who had

joined the army, was planning an invasion of the enemy’s territory, when his

father-in-law died in unclear circumstances. Without Timesitheus, the campaign,

and the emperor’s security, were at risk.

Marcus Julius Philippus, also known as

Philip the Arab

, stepped in at this moment as the new Praetorian Prefect and

the campaign proceeded. In the beginning of 244, the Persians counter-attacked.

Persian sources claim that a battle was fought (Battle

of Misiche) near modern

Fallujah
(Iraq)

and resulted in a major Roman defeat and the death of Gordian III^[1].

Roman sources do not mention this battle and suggest that Gordian died far away,

upstream of the Euphrates. Although ancient sources often described Philip, who

succeeded Gordian as emperor, as having murdered Gordian at Zaitha (Qalat es

Salihiyah), the cause of Gordian’s death is unknown.

Gordian’s youth and good nature, along with the deaths of his

grandfather and uncle and his own tragic fate at the hands of another usurper,

granted him the everlasting esteem of the Romans. Despite the opposition of the

new emperor, Gordian was deified by the Senate after his death, in order to

appease the population and avoid riots.

Securitas – Security, as a goddess worshipped by the Romans, is delineated in

a great variety of ways on their imperial coins. She appears for the most part

under the form of a woman in matronly costume; though in some few instances she

is but half clothed, having a veil thrown over the lower extremities. Sometimes

she is quietly seated, as if perfectly at her ease and having nothing to fear.

That is to say, her right or her left elbow rests on her chair, and the hand

supports her head, as in Nero. Or else one of her arms is placed above the head;

an attitude which ancient artists regarded as characteristic of repose. She

holds in one or other of her hands either a sceptre, or a scipio, or the hasta

pura, or a cornucopia, or a patera, or a globe. On some medals there is near her

a lighted altar; on others she stands leaning against, or with her arm upon, a

column or cippus, having sometimes the legs crossed in a tranquil, easy posture,

carrying one of the above-mentioned symbols, or otherwise holding before her a

branch or a crown of olive, or a palm branch. The meaning of these various

attitudes and attributes is on the whole too evident to require explanation.
There are medals of nearly all the emperors (with flagrant inappropriateness to
most of the reigns) from Otho and Vitellius to Constans and Constantius jun.,
which have for the type of their reverses this figure of Security, and present
for their legend the word SECVRITAS, with the addition of the words, AVGVSTI, or
AVGVSTORVM (security of the emperor or of the emperors); ORBIS (security of the
world) ; PVBLICA (public security) ; PERPETVA (perpetual security) ; POPVLI
ROMANI (security of the Roman people) TEMPORVM (of the Times) ; IMPERII (of the
empire) SAECVLI (of the age) ; REPVBLICAE (of the republic), etc.