MAXIMIAN 301AD Rare Big Ancient Roman Coin GENIUS Protection Wealth i57501

Silvered

Bronze

 Follis 28mm (10.27 grams) Lugdunum mint 301-303 A.D.
Reference: RIC 108b (VI, Lugdunum)
IMPMAXIMIANVSAVG – Laureate, cuirassed bust right.
 GENIOPOPVLIROMANI Exe: Δ/PLG – Genius
standing left, sacrificing over altar
and holding cornucopia.

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In
ancient Roman religion
, the genius was
the individual instance of a general divine nature that is present in every
individual person, place, or thing.

 

Winged genius facing a woman with a tambourine and mirror, from
southern Italy, about 320 BC.

Nature of the genius

The rational powers and abilities of every human being were attributed to
their soul, which was a genius. Each individual place had a genius
(genius
loci) and so did powerful objects, such as volcanoes. The concept
extended to some specifics: the genius of the theatre, of vineyards, and of
festivals, which made performances successful, grapes grow, and celebrations
succeed, respectively. It was extremely important in the Roman mind to
propitiate the appropriate genii for the major undertakings and events of their
lives.

Specific genii

 

Bronze genius depicted as
pater familias
(1st century CE)

Although the term genius might apply to any divinity whatsoever, most
of the higher-level and state genii had their own well-established names.
Genius applied most often to individual places or people not generally
known; that is, to the smallest units of society and settlements, families and
their homes. Houses, doors, gates, streets, districts, tribes, each one had its
own genius.The supreme hierarchy of the Roman gods, like that of the
Greeks, was modelled after a human family. It featured a father,
Jupiter
(“father god”), who, in a
patriarchal society
was also the supreme divine
unity, and a mother,
Juno
, queen of the gods. These supreme
unities were subdivided into genii for each individual family; hence, the
genius of each female, representing the female domestic reproductive
power, was a Juno. The male function was a Jupiter.

The juno was worshipped under many titles:

• Iugalis, “of marriage”
• Matronalis, “of married women”
• Pronuba, “of brides”
• Virginalis, “of virginity”

Genii were often viewed as protective spirits, as one would propitiate
them for protection. For example, to protect infants one propitiated a number of
deities concerned with birth and childrearing
:
Cuba (“lying down to sleep”), Cunina (“of the cradle”) and
Rumina (“of breast-feeding”). Certainly, if those genii did not
perform their proper function well, the infant would be in danger.

Hundreds of lararia, or family shrines, have been discovered at
Pompeii
, typically off the
atrium
, kitchen or garden, where the smoke
of burnt offerings could vent through the opening in the roof. A lararium
was distinct from the penus (“within”), another shrine where the
penates
, gods associated with the storerooms,
was located. Each lararium features a panel fresco containing the same
theme: two peripheral figures (Lares)
attend on a central figure (family genius) or two figures (genius
and Juno) who may or may not be at an altar. In the foreground is one or
two serpents crawling toward the genius through a meadow motif.
Campania
and
Calabria
preserved an ancient practice of
keeping a propitious house snake, here linked with the genius. In
another, unrelated fresco (House
of the Centenary) the snake-in-meadow appears below a depiction of
Mount Vesuvius
and is labelled Agathodaimon,
“good
daimon
“, where daimon must be regarded
as the Greek equivalent of genius.

History of the concept

Origin

Etymologically
genius
(“household guardian spirit”) has
the same derivation as nature from
gēns
(“tribe”, “people”) from the
Indo-European
root *gen-, “produce.”
It is the indwelling nature of an object or class of objects or
events that act with a perceived or hypothesized unity. Philosophically the
Romans did not find the paradox of the one being many confusing; like all other
prodigies they attributed it to the inexplicable mystery of divinity. Multiple
events could therefore be attributed to the same and different divinities and a
person could be the same as and different from his genius. They were not
distinct, as the later guardian angels, and yet the Genius Augusti was
not exactly the same as Augustus either. As a natural outcome of these
beliefs, the pleasantness of a place, the strength of an oath, an ability of a
person, were regarded as intrinsic to the object, and yet were all attributable
to genius; hence all of the modern meanings of the word. This point of
view is not attributable to any one civilization; its roots are lost in
prehistory. The Etruscans had such beliefs at the beginning of history, but then
so did the Greeks, the native Italics and many other peoples in the near and
middle east.

Genii under the
monarchy

No literature of the monarchy has survived, but later authors in recounting
its legends mention the genius. For example, under
Servius Tullius
the triplets
Horatii
of Rome fought the triplets Curiatii of
Alba Longa
for the decision of the war that had
arisen between the two communities. Horatius was left standing but his sister,
who had been betrothed to one of the Curiatii, began to keen, breast-beat and
berate Horatius. He executed her, was tried for murder, was acquitted by the
Roman people but the king made him expiate the Juno of his sister and the
Genius Curiatii, a family genius.

Republican genii

The genius appears explicitly in Roman literature relatively late as
early as Plautus
, where one character in the play,
Captivi
, jests that the father of another
is so avaricious that he uses cheap Samian ware in sacrifices to his own
genius, so as not to tempt the genius to steal it.In this passage,
the genius is not identical to the person, as to propitiate oneself would
be absurd, and yet the genius also has the avarice of the person; that
is, the same character, the implication being, like person, like genius.

Implied geniuses date to much earlier; for example, when
Horatius Cocles
defends the
Pons Sublicius
against an Etruscan crossing at
the beginning of the
Roman Republic
, after the bridge is cut down he
prays to the Tiber to bear him up as he swims across: Tiberine pater te,
sancte, precor …, “Holy father Tiber, I pray to you ….” The Tiber so
addressed is a genius. Although the word is not used here, in later
literature it is identified as one.

Horace

describes the genius as “the companion which controls the natal star; the god of
human nature, in that he is mortal for each person, with a changing expression,
white or black”.

Imperial genii

 

Genius of Domitian

Octavius Caesar
on return to Rome after the
final victory of the
Roman Civil War
at the
Battle of Actium
appeared to the Senate to be a
man of great power and success, clearly a mark of divinity. In recognition of
the prodigy they voted that all banquets should include a libation to his
genius. In concession to this sentiment he chose the name
Augustus
, capturing the numinous meaning of
English “august.” This line of thought was probably behind the later vote in 30
BC that he was divine, as the household cult of the Genius Augusti dates
from that time. It was propitiated at every meal along with the other household
numina.The vote began the tradition of the
divine emperors
; however, the divinity went
with the office and not the man. The Roman emperors gave ample evidence that
they personally were neither immortal nor divine.

 

Inscription on votive altar to the genius of
Legio VII Gemina
by L. Attius Macro
(CIL
II 5083)

If the genius
of the
imperator
, or commander of all troops, was
to be propitiated, so was that of all the units under his command. The
provincial troops expanded the idea of the genii of state; for example,
from Roman Britain have been found altars to the genii of Roma,
Roman aeterna, Britannia, and to every
legion
,
cohors
,
ala
and
centuria
in Britain, as well as to the
praetorium
of every
castra
and even to the
vexillae
. Inscriptional dedications to
genius were not confined to the military. From
Gallia Cisalpina
under the empire are numerous
dedications to the genii of persons of authority and respect; in addition
to the emperor’s genius principis, were the geniuses of patrons of
freedmen, owners of slaves, patrons of guilds, philanthropists, officials,
villages, other divinities, relatives and friends. Sometimes the dedication is
combined with other words, such as “to the genius and honor” or in the case of
couples, “to the genius and Juno.”

Surviving from the time of the empire hundreds of dedicatory, votive and
sepulchral inscriptions ranging over the entire territory testify to a floruit
of genius worship as an official cult. Stock phrases were abbreviated:
GPR, genio populi Romani (“to the genius of the Roman people”); GHL,
genio huius loci (“to the genius of this place”); GDN, genio domini
nostri (“to the genius of our master”), and so on. In 392 AD with the final
victory of Christianity
Theodosius I
declared the worship of the Genii,
Lares
and
Penates
to be treason, ending their official
terms. The concept, however, continued in representation and speech under
different names or with accepted modifications.

Roman iconography

Coins

The genius of a corporate social body is often a
cameo
theme on ancient coins: a
denarius
from Spain, 76–75 BC, featuring a bust
of the GPR (Genius Populi Romani, “Genius of the Roman People”) on
the
obverse
; an
aureus
of
Siscia
in
Croatia
, 270–275 AD, featuring a standing image
of the GENIUS ILLVR (Genius Exercitus Illyriciani, “Genius of the
Illyrian Army”) on the reverse; an
aureus
of Rome, 134–138 AD, with an image of a
youth holding a cornucopia and patera (sacrificial dish) and the inscription
GENIOPR, genio populi Romani, “to the genius of the Roman people,” on the
reverse.

Scene from Lararium, House of Iulius Polybius, Pompeii  Agathodaimon (“good divinity”), genius of the soil around Vesuvius  Unknown Roman genius near Pompeii, 1st century BC  Genius of Augustus   Genius of Antoninus Pius

Modern-era
representations

Genius of love, Meister des Rosenromans, 1420-1430  Genius of victory, Michelangelo (1475-1564  Genius of Palermo , Ignazio Marabitti, c. 1778  Genius of liberty, Augustin Dumont , 1801-1884  Genius of Alexander, Marie Louise Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1814  Genius of war, Arturo Melida y Alinara (1849-1902)  Genius of Beethoven

Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius (c. 250 – c. July 310),

commonly referred to as Maximian, was

Caesar

(junior

Roman

Emperor
) from July 285

and

Augustus

(senior Roman Emperor) from April 1, 286

to

May 1, 305.

He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior,

Diocletian
,

whose political brain complemented Maximian’s military brawn. Maximian

established his residence at

Trier
but spent

most of his time on campaign. In the late summer of 285, he suppressed rebels in

Gaul known as the

Bagaudae
.

From 285 to 288, he fought against Germanic tribes along the Rhine frontier.

Together with Diocletian, he ran a

scorched earth

campaign deep into the territory of the

Alamanni

tribes in 288, temporarily relieving the Rhenish provinces from the threat of

Germanic invasion.

The man he appointed to police the

Channel

shores,

Carausius
,

rebelled in 286, causing the secession of Britain and northwestern Gaul.

Maximian failed to oust Carausius, and his invasion fleet was destroyed by

storms in 289 or 290. Maximan’s subordinate,

Constantius

, campaigned against Carausius’ successor,

Allectus
,

while Maximian held the Rhenish frontier. The rebel leader was ousted in 296,

and Maximian moved south to combat

Moorish
pirates

in Iberia and

Berber

incursions in

Mauretania
.

When these campaigns concluded in 298, he departed for Italy, where he lived in

comfort until 305. At Diocletian’s behest, Maximian abdicated on May 1, 305,

gave the Augustan office to Constantius, and retired to southern Italy.

In late 306, Maximian took the title of Augustus again and aided his son

Maxentius
‘

rebellion in Italy. In April 307, he attempted to depose his son, but failed and

fled to the court of Constantius’ successor,

Constantine

, in Trier. At the Council of

Carnuntum

in November 308, Diocletian and his successor,

Galerius
,

forced Maximian to renounce his imperial claim again. In early 310, Maximian

attempted to seize Constantine’s title while the emperor was on campaign on the

Rhine. Few supported him, and he was captured by Constantine in Marseille.

Maximian committed suicide in the summer of 310 on Constantine’s orders. During

Constantine’s war with Maxentius, Maximian’s image was purged from all public

places. However, after Constantine ousted and killed Maxentius, Maximian’s image

was rehabilitated, and he was deified.

One of the members of the Tetrarchy, Maximianus had a
convoluted reign that started when he and Diocletian began ruling as equals in
286. Maximianus was in charge of the western portion of the empire along with
Constantius I, his junior in command, while Diocletian and Galerius ruled the
eastern half. After several years of putting down revolts and usurpers, both he
and Diocletian abdicated to let their Caesars take their place in 306. However,
this peaceful arrangement would come to an end soon when Maximianus’s son
Maxentius initiated a revolt of his own. Seeing that it would lend an air of
legitimacy to his claims, Maxentius requested his father to return to assume the
high post along with him. Maximianus, although possibly reluctant initially,
took up his son’s offer. He had abdicated less than voluntarily under
Diocletian’s scheme and now he was caught up in the fervor of Maxentius’s drive
to become sole ruler. In time, Maxentius met with failure after he lost several
key battles to Constantine and Maximianus found himself in the awkward position
of being an emperor with no rightful claim nor army willing to proceed with his
agenda. Increasingly isolated, Constantine cornered him and he was either
executed or committed suicide.