SALONINA wife of GALLIENUS 255AD Ancient Silver Roman Coin i45918

Item: i45918

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

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

Silver Antoninianus 20mm (3.05 grams) Antioch mint circa 255-256 A.D.
Reference: RIC 67
SALONINAAVG – Diademed, draped bust right on crescent.
 ROMAEAETERNAE – Gallienus standing right on left, receiving Victory from

Roma seated to right.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

In
ancient Roman religion
, Victoria was the
personified
goddess of victory. She is the
Roman equivalent
of the
Greek goddess

Nike
, and was associated with
Bellona
. She was adapted from the
Sabine
agricultural goddess
Vacuna
and had a
temple
on the
Palatine Hill
. The goddess
Vica Pota
was also sometimes identified with
Victoria.

Unlike the Greek
Nike
, the goddess Victoria (Latin
for “victory”) was a major part of Roman society. Multiple temples were erected
in her honor. When her statue was removed in 382 CE by Emperor
Gratianus
there was much anger in Rome. She was
normally worshiped by
triumphant
generals returning from war.

Also unlike the Greek Nike, who was known for success in athletic games such
as
chariot races
, Victoria was a symbol of victory
over death and determined who would be successful during war.

Victoria appears widely on Roman coins, jewelry, architecture, and other
arts. She is often seen with or in a
chariot
, as in the late 18th-century sculpture
representing Victory in a
quadriga
on the
Brandenburg Gate
in
Berlin
, Germany; “Il Vittoriano”
in Rome has two.

Winged figures, very often in pairs, representing victory and referred to as
“victories”, were common in Roman official iconography, typically hovering high
in a composition, and often filling spaces in
spandrels
or other gaps in architecture. These
represent the spirit of victory rather than the goddess herself. They continued
to appear after Christianization of the Empire, and slowly mutated into
Christian angels
.

Julia Cornelia Salonina (d. 268,
Mediolanum
) was an
Augusta
, 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”).