SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS Ancient Roman Coin Bisexual Hero ‘Farnese’ HERCULES i22630

Item: i22630

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Septimius Severus – Roman Emperor: 193-211 A.D. –

Bronze 18mm (3.23 grams) of Nicopolis ad Istrum in Moesia Inferior 193-211 A.D.

AV K Λ
CE CEVHPO, laureate head right.

NIKOΠOΛI
ПPOC ICTP, the “Farnese” Hercules, head
right, resting hand on hip
and placing left on club set on rock, lion skin beside club.

The model for this reverse type is the famed marble Farnese
Hercules statue that was discovered in the excavations of the Btahs of Caracalla
in 1546. It stood for over 200 year sin the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, from whence
it gained its name, and was moved to Naples in 1787, where it is now displayed
in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale. The statue is thought to be an enlarged
copy sculpted in early 3rd Century AD by Glykon based on an original by Lysippos
dating to the 4th century BC. The statue depicts Hercules at rest after
completing his labors: he is shown standing with his club, draped in the skin of
the Nemean lion, set upright on a rock, propped under his left arm supporting
the weight of his muscular frame, his head slightly nodding forward in a weary
attitude, and he holds the apples of the Hesperides behind his back in his right
hand. The sculpture was apparently well-liked by the Romans, and copies have
been found in Roman palaces and gymnasiums.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

The Farnese Hercules is an ancient sculpture, probably an enlarged
copy made in the early third century AD and signed by a certain Glykon, from an
original by Lysippos
(or one
of his

circle) that would have been made in the fourth century BC. The copy was
made for the Baths of
Caracalla

in Rome (dedicated in 216 AD),
where it was recovered in 1546.

 History

The heroically-scaled Hercules
is one of the most famous sculptures of
Antiquity
, and has fixed the image of the mythic hero in the European
imagination. It quickly made its way into the collection of
Cardinal Alessandro Farnese
, grandson of
Pope Paul III.
Alessandro Farnese was well placed to form one of the greatest collections of
classical sculpture that has been assembled since Antiquity.

It stood for generations in its own room at
Palazzo Farnese, Rome
, where the hero was surrounded by frescoed depictions
of his feats by Annibale Carracci
and his studio, executed in the 1590s.

The Farnese statue was moved to Naples
in 1787 and is now displayed in the
Museo Archeologico Nazionale
.

The type was well known in Antiquity: a Hellenistic or Roman bronze
reduction, found at Foligno

is conserved in the Musée
du Louvre
; a small marble, probably Greek of the Roman period, is to be seen
in the Museum of the Ancient Agora, Athens (illustration).

The Farnese Hercules is a massive and muscular marble statue,
following a lost original
cast
in bronze
through a
method called
lost wax casting
. It depicts a weary
Hercules leaning on his
club, which has his lion-skin draped over it. He is performing one of the last
of
The Twelve Labours
, which is suggested by the
apples of
the Hesperides
he holds behind his back. This prominently-sited statue was
well liked by the
Romans
,
and copies have been found in Roman palaces and gymnasiums: another, coarser,
stood in the courtyard of Palazzo Farnese; one with the feigned (but probably
ancient) inscription “Lykippos” has stood in the court of
Palazzo Pitti,
Florence, since the sixteenth century.

Guglielmo
della Porta, the head had been recovered separately, from a well in
Trastevere, and was bought
for Farnese through the agency of della Porta, whose legs made to complete the
figure were so well regarded that when the original legs were recovered from
ongoing excavations in the Baths of Caracalla, della Porta’s were retained, on
Michelangelo‘s advice,
in part to demonstrate that modern sculptors could bear direct comparison with
the ancients. The original legs, from the
Borghese
collection, were not reunited with the sculpture until 1787.
Goethe
, in his Italian Journey, recounts his differing impressions upon
seeing the Hercules with each set of legs, marvelling at the clear superiority
of the original ones.

Hercules is caught in a rare moment of repose. Leaning on his knobby club
which is draped with the pelt of the
Nemean Lion
, he holds the apples of the
Hesperides in his right
hand, but conceals them behind his back like a baseball pitcher with a
knuckleball. Many engravings and woodcuts spread the fame of the Farnese’s
Hercules. By 1562 the find was already included in the set of engravings for
Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (“Mirror of Rome’s Magnificence”)
and connoisseurs, artists and tourists gaped at the original, which stood in the
courtyard of the Palazzo Farnese, protected under the arcade. In 1590-91, during
his trip to Rome, Hendrik Goltzius
sketched the statue in the palazzo courtyard. Later (in
1591) Goltzius recorded the less-common rear view, in a bravura engraving (illustration,
right), which emphasizes the already exaggerated muscular form with swelling
and tapering lines that flow over the contours.
The young
Rubens
made quick sketches of the Hercules’ planes and massing. Before
photography, prints were the only way to put the image into many hands.

The Farnese Hercules, engraved by
Hendrick Goltzius
, 1591. Two onlookers give scale.

The sculpture was admired from the start, reservations about its exaggerated
musculature only surfacing in the later eighteenth century.
Napoleon remarked to
Antonio Canova that
its lack in the museum he accumulated in Paris was the most important gap in the
collection, and the sculpture was more than once crated ready for shipment to
Paris before the Napoleonic regime fled Naples.

Wealthy collectors could afford one of the numerous bronze replicas in sizes
for table-top display. A full-size marble copy that belonged to the Bourbons of
Naples is at the National Museum, Naples.

Copies of the Farnese Hercules appeared in 16th- and 18th-century gardens
throughout Europe. During construction of the
Alameda de Hercules
(1574) in Seville
, the oldest
public garden
preserved in Europe, on the cover were installed two columns
from a Roman temple, an unquestionable sign of admiration for the Roman
archaeological sites, elements of a building still preserved in the Marble
Street. On them were placed two sculptures by
Diego de Pesquera
, in 1574, of the Farnese Hercules, as founder of the city,
and of Julius Caesar
,
restorer of Híspalis. The first was a copy of the Farnese Hercules, near the
monumental size of the famous Roman marble from the
Baths of Caracalla.
At
Wilhelmshöhe
, near Kassel
,
a colossal version 8.5 m high produced by Johann Jacob Anthoni, 1713–1717, has
become the city’s mascot. André Le Nôtre
placed a full-size gilded version against the skyline at the
far end of the main vista at
Vaux-le-Vicomte. That
at
Versailles
is a copy by
Jean Cornu
, 1684–1686. In Scotland
a rare copy in lead
,
of the first half of the 18th century, is sited incongruously in the central
Highlands
, overlooking the recently restored Hercules Garden in the grounds
of Blair Castle.

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

.

Lucius Septimius Severus (or rarely Severus I) (April 11,

145/146-February 4, 211) was a

Roman

general, and

Roman

Emperor
from April 14, 193 to 211. He was born in what is now the

Berber
part of

Rome’s historic

Africa Province

.

Septimius Severus was born and raised at

Leptis

Magna
(modern Berber

, southeast of

Carthage
,

modern Tunisia
).

Severus came from a wealthy, distinguished family of

equestrian

rank. Severus was of

Italian

Roman ancestry on his mother’s side and of

Punic

or

Libyan

-Punic^[1]

ancestry on his father’s. Little is known of his father,

Publius Septimius Geta

, who held no major political status but had two

cousins who served as consuls under emperor

Antoninus Pius

. His mother, Fulvia Pia’s family moved from

Italy
to

North

Africa
and was of the

Fulvius
gens,

an ancient and politically influential clan, which was originally of

plebeian

status. His siblings were a younger

Publius Septimius Geta

and Septimia Octavilla. Severus’s maternal cousin was

Praetorian Guard

and consul

Gaius Fulvius Plautianus

.^[2]

In 172, Severus was made a

Senator

by the then emperor

Marcus Aurelius

. In 187 he married secondly

Julia

Domna
. In 190 Severus became

consul
, and in

the following year received from the emperor

Commodus

(successor to Marcus Aurelius) the command of the

legions

in Pannonia
.

On the murder of

Pertinax
by

the troops in 193, they proclaimed Severus Emperor at

Carnuntum
,

whereupon he hurried to Italy. The former emperor,

Didius Julianus

, was condemned to death by the Senate and killed, and

Severus took possession of Rome without opposition.

The legions of

Syria

, however, had proclaimed

Pescennius Niger

emperor. At the same time, Severus felt it was reasonable

to offer

Clodius Albinus

, the powerful governor of Britannia who had probably

supported Didius against him, the rank of Caesar, which implied some claim to

succession. With his rearguard safe, he moved to the East and crushed Niger’s

forces at the

Battle of Issus

. The following year was devoted to suppressing Mesopotamia

and other Parthian vassals who had backed Niger. When afterwards Severus

declared openly his son

Caracalla

as successor, Albinus was hailed emperor by his troops and moved to Gallia.

Severus, after a short stay in Rome, moved northwards to meet him. On

February

19
, 197
,

in the

Battle of Lugdunum

, with an army of 100,000 men, mostly composed of

Illyrian
,

Moesian
and

Dacian
legions,

Severus defeated and killed Clodius Albinus, securing his full control over the

Empire.

Emperor

Severus was at heart a

soldier
, and

sought glory through military exploits. In 197 he waged a brief and successful

war against the

Parthian Empire

in retaliation for the support given to Pescennius Niger.

The Parthian capital

Ctesiphon

was sacked by the legions, and the northern half of

Mesopotamia

was restored to Rome.

His relations with the

Roman

Senate
were never good. He was unpopular with them from the outset, having

seized power with the help of the military, and he returned the sentiment.

Severus ordered the execution of dozens of Senators on charges of corruption and

conspiracy

against him, replacing them with his own favorites.

He also disbanded the

Praetorian Guard

and replaced it with one of his own, made up of 50,000

loyal soldiers mainly camped at

Albanum

, near Rome (also probably to grant the emperor a kind of centralized

reserve). During his reign the number of legions was also increased from 25/30

to 33. He also increased the number of auxiliary corps (numerii), many of

these troops coming from the Eastern borders. Additionally the annual wage for a

soldier was raised from 300 to 500

denarii
.

Although his actions turned Rome into a military

dictatorship

, he was popular with the citizens of Rome, having stamped out

the rampant corruption of Commodus’s reign. When he returned from his victory

over the Parthians, he erected the

Arch of Septimius Severus

in Rome.

According to Cassius Dio,^[3]

however, after 197 Severus fell heavily under the influence of his Praetorian

Prefect,

Gaius Fulvius Plautianus

, who came to have almost total control of most

branches of the imperial administration. Plautianus’s daughter,

Fulvia Plautilla

, was married to Severus’s son, Caracalla. Plautianus’s

excessive power came to an end in 205, when he was denounced by the Emperor’s

dying brother and killed.^[4]

The two following praefecti, including the jurist

Aemilius Papinianus

, received however even larger powers.

Campaigns in Caledonia (Scotland)

Starting from 208 Severus undertook a number of military actions in

Roman

Britain
, reconstructing

Hadrian’s Wall

and campaigning in

Scotland
.

He reached the area of the

Moray

Firth
in his last campaign in Caledonia, as was called Scotland by the

Romans.^[5].

In 210 obtained a peace with the

Picts
that lasted

practically until the final withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain

[6]
,

before falling severely ill in

Eboracum
(York).

Death

He is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: “Be harmonious,

enrich the soldiers, and scorn all other men” before he died at Eboracum on

February 4
,

211^[7].

Upon his death in 211, Severus was

deified

by the Senate and succeeded by his sons,

Caracalla

and

Geta

, who were advised by his wife

Julia

Domna
.^[8]

The stability Severus provided the Empire was soon gone under their reign.

Accomplishments and Record

Though his military expenditure was costly to the empire, Severus was the

strong, able ruler that Rome needed at the time. He began a tradition of

effective emperors elevated solely by the military. His policy of an expanded

and better-rewarded army was criticized by his contemporary

Dio Cassius

and

Herodianus

: in particular, they pointed out the increasing burden (in the

form of taxes and services) the civilian population had to bear to maintain the

new army.

Severus was also distinguished for his buildings. Apart from the triumphal

arch in the Roman Forum carrying his full name, he also built the

Septizodium

in Rome and enriched greatly his native city of

Leptis

Magna
(including another triumphal arch on the occasion of his visit of

203).

Severus and Christianity

Christians were

persecuted

during the reign of Septimus Severus. Severus allowed the

enforcement of policies already long-established, which meant that Roman

authorities did not intentionally seek out Christians, but when people were

accused of being Christians they could either curse

Jesus
and make an

offering to

Roman gods

, or be executed. Furthermore, wishing to strengthen the peace by

encouraging religious harmony through

syncretism
,

Severus tried to limit the spread of the two quarrelsome groups who refused to

yield to syncretism by outlawing

conversion

to Christianity or

Judaism
.

Individual officials availed themselves of the laws to proceed with rigor

against the Christians. Naturally the emperor, with his strict conception of

law, did not hinder such partial persecution, which took place in

Egypt
and the

Thebaid
, as

well as in

Africa proconsularis

and the East. Christian

martyrs
were

numerous in Alexandria

(cf.

Clement of Alexandria

, Stromata, ii. 20;

Eusebius

, Church History, V., xxvi., VI., i.). No less severe were

the persecutions in Africa, which seem to have begun in 197 or 198 (cf.

Tertullian’s

Ad martyres), and included the Christians known in the

as the martyrs of

Madaura
.

Probably in 202 or 203

Felicitas

and

Perpetua

suffered for their faith. Persecution again raged for a short time

under the proconsul

Scapula
in

211, especially in

Numidia
and

Mauritania
.

Later accounts of a Gallic

persecution, especially at

Lyon, are

legendary. In general it may thus be said that the position of the Christians

under Septimius Severus was the same as under the

Antonines
;

but the law of this Emperor at least shows clearly that the

rescript
of

Trajan
^[

neededclarification] had failed to execute its purpose..