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Julia Domna
–
Roman Empress
Wife of
Emperor
Septimius Severus
193-211 A.D. –
Bronze 16mm (2.68 grams) of
Nicopolis ad Istrum
in Moesia Inferior
Draped bust right.
Cretan
bull walking left. (Astrological Taurus Symbol, and 7th Labor of
Hercules)
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,
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In
Greek mythology
, the Cretan Bull (Greek:
Κρὴς ταῦρος) was the bull
Pasiphaë
fell in love with, giving birth to the
Minotaur
.
The Seventh
Labour of Heracles
Whistling merrily at his success so far,
Heracles
was then sent to capture the bull by
Eurystheus
as his
seventh task
. He sailed to
Crete
, whereupon the King,
Minos
, gave Heracles permission to take the
bull away as it had been wreaking havoc on Crete by uprooting crops and
leveling orchard walls. Heracles sneaked up behind the bull and then used his
hands to strangle it, and then shipped it to Eurystheus in Tiryns. Eurystheus,
who hid in his pithos
at first sight of the creature,
wanted to sacrifice the bull to
Hera, who hated Heracles. She refused the sacrifice because it
reflected glory on Heracles. The bull was released and wandered into Marathon,
becoming known as the Marathonian Bull. Theseus would later sacrifice the bull
to Athena
and/or
Apollo
. Eurystheus then sent Heracles to bring
back the man-eating
Mares of Diomedes
.
Capture by Theseus
Androgeus
, a son of Minos and Pasiphaë,
competed in the games held by
Aegeus
,
King of Athens
. He won all the games, so
angering Aegeus that he had the young man killed (some legends claim that he was
sent to confront the Bull itself). Devastated, Minos went to war with Athens and
won. As punishment, the
Athenians
had to send
several youths every 9 years
to be devoured by
the Minotaur
.
Aegeus’ own son,
Theseus
, set to try to capture the Bull. On the
way to
Marathon
, Theseus sought shelter from a storm
in the shack owned by an old lady named
Hecale
. She swore to make a sacrifice to
Zeus if Theseus was successful in capturing the bull. Theseus did
capture the bull, but when he returned to Hecale’s hut, she was dead. Theseus
built a deme
in her honor. He then dragged the Bull to
Athens where he sacrificed it.
Theseus then went to Crete where he killed the Minotaur with the help of
Minos’ daughter Ariadne
.
Origin
When the moon has reached the constellation of
Taurus
, it has passed over an area that the
ancients referred to as the sea – the region from Capricorn to the region
containing Aries. It was referred to as the sea due to the high concentration of
constellations identified as sea creatures within it, Aries being identified as
a golden flying ram who flew over the sea. Crete is in a direct line from the
natural harbor of Argo, a direction which due the shape of Argo’s harbor, and
surrounding coastline, requires that all ships initially take this course.
Apart from being a bull, Taurus contains a very bright and red star (Aldebaran),
meaning that many took it to be evil. Some forms of Greek mythology associated
the constellation with the tame white bull, in some versions
Zeus in disguise, that seduced
Europa
and took her to Crete (Minos),
whereas others associate it with the white bull that fathered the
Minotaur
. The Cretan Bull which fathered the
Minotaur was originally calm and sent from
Poseidon
, but king Minos whom it was sent to
fell out of favor with Poseidon, and so in some versions of the story, Poseidon
made the bull angry.
The myth of Poseidon sending the bull (which seduced Minos’ wife) may simply
be an earlier version of the myth of Zeus seducing Europa, as in earlier
Mycenean
times, Poseidon had significantly more
importance than Zeus. The change of gods was due to the replacement of the
Mycenean culture and religion, with a later one favoring Zeus. Poseidon and
Zeus, may be the result of the parallel evolution of the same original god in
separate cultures, one (Poseidon – who is also associated with horses) becoming
associated more with the sea (due to change in the main source of trade), and
thus eventually becoming noticeably different.
Hercules is the Roman name for the Greek
divine
hero Heracles
, who was the son of
Zeus (Roman equivalent
Jupiter
) and the mortal
Alcmene
. In
classical mythology
, Hercules is famous for his
strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the Greek hero’s iconography and myths for their
literature and art under the name Hercules. In later
Western art
and literature and in
popular culture
, Hercules is more
commonly used than Heracles as the name of the hero. Hercules was a
multifaceted figure with contradictory characteristics, which enabled later
artists and writers to pick and choose how to represent him. This article
provides an introduction to representations of Hercules in the
later tradition
.
Labours
Hercules is known for his many adventures, which took him to the far reaches
of the
Greco-Roman world
. One cycle of these
adventures became
canonical
as the “Twelve Labours,” but the list
has variations. One traditional order of the labours is found in the
Bibliotheca
as follows:
- Slay the
Nemean Lion
.
- Slay the nine-headed
Lernaean Hydra
.
- Capture the
Golden Hind of Artemis
.
- Capture the
Erymanthian Boar
.
- Clean the Augean
stables in a single day.
- Slay the
Stymphalian Birds
.
- Capture the
Cretan Bull
.
- Steal the
Mares of Diomedes
.
- Obtain the girdle of
Hippolyta
, Queen of the
Amazons
.
- Obtain the cattle of the monster
Geryon
.
- Steal the apples of the
Hesperides
.
- Capture and bring back
Cerberus
.
The Latin
name Hercules was borrowed through
Etruscan
, where it is represented variously as
Heracle
, Hercle, and other forms. Hercules was
a favorite subject for
Etruscan art
, and appears often on
bronze mirrors
. The Etruscan form Herceler
derives from the Greek Heracles via
syncope
. A mild oath invoking Hercules (Hercule!
or Mehercle!) was a common
interjection
in
Classical Latin
.
Baby Hercules strangling a
snake
sent to
kill him in his
cradle
(Roman marble, 2nd century CE)
Hercules had a number of
myths
that were distinctly Roman. One of these
is Hercules’ defeat of
Cacus
, who was terrorizing the countryside of
Rome. The hero was associated with the
Aventine Hill
through his son
Aventinus
.
Mark Antony
considered him a personal patron
god, as did the emperor
Commodus
. Hercules received various forms of
religious veneration
, including as a
deity concerned with children and childbirth
,
in part because of myths about his precocious infancy, and in part because he
fathered countless children. Roman brides wore a special belt tied with the “knot
of Hercules“, which was supposed to be hard to untie.[4]
The comic playwright
Plautus
presents the myth of Hercules’
conception as a sex comedy in his play
Amphitryon
;
Seneca
wrote the tragedy Hercules Furens
about his bout with madness. During the
Roman Imperial era
, Hercules was worshipped
locally from Hispania
through
Gaul.
Medieval mythography
After the Roman Empire became
Christianized
, mythological narratives were
often reinterpreted as
allegory
, influenced by the philosophy of
late antiquity
. In the 4th century,
Servius
had described Hercules’ return from the
underworld as representing his ability to overcome earthly desires and vices, or
the earth itself as a consumer of bodies. In medieval mythography, Hercules was
one of the heroes seen as a strong role model who demonstrated both valor and
wisdom, with the monsters he battles as moral obstacles. One
glossator
noted that when
Hercules became a constellation
, he showed that
strength was necessary to gain entrance to Heaven.
Medieval mythography was written almost entirely in Latin, and original Greek
texts were little used as sources for Hercules’ myths.
Renaissance
mythography
The Renaissance
and the invention of the
printing press
brought a renewed interest in
and publication of Greek literature. Renaissance mythography drew more
extensively on the Greek tradition of Heracles, typically under the Romanized
name Hercules, or the alternate name
Alcides
. In a chapter of his book
Mythologiae (1567), the influential mythographer
Natale Conti
collected and summarized an
extensive range of myths concerning the birth, adventures, and death of the hero
under his Roman name Hercules. Conti begins his lengthy chapter on Hercules with
an overview description that continues the moralizing impulse of the Middle
Ages:
Hercules, who subdued and destroyed monsters, bandits, and criminals, was
justly famous and renowned for his great courage. His great and glorious
reputation was worldwide, and so firmly entrenched that he’ll always be
remembered. In fact the ancients honored him with his own temples, altars,
ceremonies, and priests. But it was his wisdom and great soul that earned
those honors; noble blood, physical strength, and political power just
aren’t good enough.
Julia
Domna (unknown date–217)
was a member of the
Severan dynasty
of the
 Roman
Empire. Empress and wife of
Roman
Emperor
Lucius
Septimius Severus
and mother of Emperors
Geta
and Caracalla
, Julia was among the most important women ever to exercise power
behind the throne in the Roman Empire.
//
Family
background
Julia was of Syrian origin from the ancient city of
Emesa. Her
ancestors were Kings Priest of the famous temple of
Baal. The family
lost its kingdom to Rome but continued domination of the temple of Baal. The
family had an enormous wealth and was promoted to Roman senatorial aristocracy.
She was the youngest daughter of high-priest Gaius
Julius Bassianus
and her eldest sister was
Julia
Maesa
.
Reign
In the late 180s, Julia married future Emperor
Septimius Severus
who himself was in part of
Punic
background. The marriage proved to be a happy one and Severus
cherished his wife and her political opinions, since she was very well read and
keen on philosophy. Together, they had two sons, Lucius Septimius Bassianus (Caracalla)
in 186 and
Publius Septimius Geta
in 189.
Civil
War
When Severus became emperor in 193 he had a civil war waiting
for him, against rivals such as
Pescennius Niger
and
Clodius Albinus
. Julia accompanied him in his campaigns in the East, an
uncommon event in a time when women were expected to wait in Rome for their
husbands. Nevertheless, she remained with the emperor and among the several
proofs of affection and favour are the minting of coins with her portrait and
the title mater castrorum (mother of the camp).
Julia now had complete power and ruled behind the Roman
Empire. Many early Romans disliked the fact of her ruling over the throne when
Septimius Severus was at war.
Controversy
and transition of power
As empress, Julia was often involved in intrigues and had
plenty of political enemies who accused her of treason and adultery. None of
these accusations were proven, Severus continued to favour his wife and insisted
on her company in the campaign against the
Britons
that started in 208. When Severus died, in 211 in
York, Julia became
the mediator between their two sons.
Caracalla
and
Geta
who were to rule as joint emperors, according to their father’s wishes
expressed on his will. But the two young men were never fond of each other and
quarrelled frequently. Geta was murdered by Caracalla’s soldiers in the same
year.
Caracalla was now sole emperor, but his relations with his
mother were difficult, as attested by several sources, probably due to his
involvement in Geta’s murder. Nevertheless, Julia accompanied Caracalla in his
campaign against the
Parthian empire
in 217. During this trip, Caracalla was assassinated and
succeeded (briefly) by
Macrinus
.
On hearing about the rebellion, Julia chose to commit suicide. Her body was
brought to Rome and placed in the Sepulcrum C. et L. Caesaris (perhaps a
separate chamber in the
Mausoleum of Augustus
). Later, however, both her bones and those of Geta
were transferred by her sister
Julia
Maesa
to the
Mausoleum of Hadrian
.
She was later deified.
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