Salonina Valerian I doughter in law Rare Ancient Roman Coin Sexual virtue i46886

Item: i46886

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Salonina – Roman Empress: 253-268 A.D. – Wife of Gallienus

Bronze Antoninianus 20mm (2.61 grams) Struck at the mint of Rome: 260-268 A.D.
Reference: RIC 25, C 94
SALONINAAVG – Diademed, draped bust right on crescent.
PVDICITA Exe: VI – Pudicitia seated left, holding patera and scepter.

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Authenticity.

Pudicitia (“modesty” or “sexual virtue”) was a central concept in
ancient Roman sexual ethics
. The word is
derived from the more general pudor, the sense of shame that regulated an
individual’s behavior as socially acceptable. Pudicitia was most often a
defining characteristic of women, but men who failed to conform to
masculine sexual norms
were said to exhibit
feminizing impudicitia, sexual shamelessness. The virtue was
personified
by the
Roman goddess
Pudicitia, whose
Greek equivalent
was
Aidôs
.

Statue of a woman, perhaps the
empress

Vibia Sabina
, dressed as Pudicitia

As virtue

Romans, both men and women, were expected to uphold the virtue of
pudicitia, a complex ideal that was explored by many ancient writers,
including Livy
,
Valerius Maximus
,
Cicero
and
Tacitus
. Livy describes the legendary figure of
Lucretia
as the epitome of pudicitia.
She is loyal to her husband and is modest, despite her incredible beauty. The
story of Lucretia shows that the more virtuous a woman was, the more appealing
she was to potential adulterers.

Pudicitia was not only a mental attribute but also physical; a
person’s appearance was seen as an indicator of their morality. The way a man or
woman presented him or herself in public, and the persons they interacted with
caused others to pass judgment on their pudicitia. For example, if a
woman was seen associating with men other than her husband people would make a
negative judgment on her pudicitia. Romans idealized the woman who was
univira, a “one-man” woman, married once, even though by the time of Cicero
and Julius Caesar
,
divorce
was common, the subject of gossip
rather than social stigma.
Modest self-presentation indicated pudicitia. The opposite of
pudicitia was impudicitia, “shamelessness” or “sexual vice.” An
assault on pudicitia was
stuprum
, sexual misconduct or “sex crime.”

Romans associated the loss of pudicitia with chaos and loss of
control. In Cicero’s
oration against Verres
, he discusses many of
the governor’s transgressions including sexual misconduct with both men and
women. In the Imperial age,
Augustus
enacted a program of moral legislation
to encourage pudicitia.

The goddess

According to Livy
, there were two temples of Pudicitia in
Rome. The original one was for women of the
patrician
class only, but when
Verginia
was excluded on account of marrying a
plebeian

consul
, she and a group of plebeian matrons
founded an altar of Pudicitia for women of the
plebeian
class as well. Livy states that the
plebeian shrine of Pudicitia eventually fell into disuse after its sacred
character had been abused.

Julia

Cornelia Salonina (d. 268,

Mediolanum
)

was an

, wife of

Roman

Emperor
Gallienus

and mother of

Valerian

II
, Saloninus

, and

Marinianus

.

Julia Cornelia Salonina’s origin is unknown. According to a modern theory,

she was born of Greek

origin

in Bithynia
,

then part of the province of

Bithynia et

Pontus
,

Asia Minor

. However, there exists some scepticism on that.

She was married to Gallienus about ten years before his accession to the throne.

When her husband became joint-emperor with his father

Valerian

in 253, Cornelia Salonina was named Augusta.

Cornelia was the mother of three princes,

Valerian

II
, Saloninus

and

Marinianus

.

Her fate, after the murder of Gallienus, during the siege of

Mediolanum

in 268, is unknown. It is likely that either her life was spared

or the she was executed together with other members of her family, at the orders

of the Senate of Rome^.

Her name is reported on coins with Latin legend as Cornelia Salonina;

however, from the Greek coinage come the names Iulia Cornelia Salonina,

Publia Licinia Cornelia Salonina, and Salonina Chrysogona

(attribute that means “begotten of gold”).