The Roman Empire
Domitian


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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Coin Description:
Grade: NGC AU Strike: 4/5 Surface: 3/5
Owner: Kohaku
 
Set Category: Ancients
Set Name: The Roman Empire
Slot Name: Domitian
Research: Currently not available

Owner's Description

In modern usage, nemesis refers to an inescapable agent of someone's or something's downfall; alternatively, it refers to a long-standing rival, an archenemy. Derived from the Greek word νέμειν, meaning to “give what is due,” either good or bad, the moniker applied to the Greek goddess responsible for punishing those demonstrating hubris, or arrogance, before the gods. In ancient times, Nemesis attracted a cult of faithful followers, her visage appearing on paintings, statues, and, of course, coinage. A striking illustration can be found on the verso of this ancient bronze. The goddess’ winged figure therein is particularly interesting, considering the subject of the obverse – the confronted bare head of Nero and the draped bust of his mother, Agrippina Junior (15-59 AD). The latter, also referred to as Agrippina the Younger or Agrippina Minor, was daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina Senior. From an early age, the younger Agrippina experienced the decadence and depravations of Rome’s aristocracy. When she was a toddler, she lost her father, widely thought a victim of poisoning. When she turned thirteen, Agrippina’s granduncle Emperor Tiberius arranged her marriage to a cousin known for being despicable and dishonest. The teenaged Agrippina survived the death of her two eldest brothers, Nero and Drusus Caesars, victims of the treacherous Praetorian Prefect Sejanus. Even before reaching her second decade, Agrippina had already received misfortune seemingly past her due. In 37 AD, Agrippina grieved the passing of Emperor Tiberius and watched her capricious brother Caligula ascended Rome’s throne. Later that same year, she gave birth to Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, better known as the future Emperor Nero. During that early period in Caligula’s reign, Agrippina, along with her sisters Drusilla and Julia Livilla, appeared to be on favorable terms. If ancient sources are accurate, Agrippina and her sisters received more than their usual share of attention from their brother, including incestuous interludes from an early age. Agrippina’s fortunes took a turn for the worse upon the death of Drusilla, widely described as Caligula’s “favorite”. Thereafter, the young Emperor’s temperament and relationship with his surviving sisters deteriorated. According to ancient sources, Agrippina conspired against her brother. The gambit failed, resulting in banishment. While in exile, Agrippina lost her first husband, who died of natural causes. She also lost her fortune (appropriated by Caligula), and her son (who was sent away to live with an aunt). Those setbacks, however, were only temporary. As Nemesis would have it, Caligula was murdered two years later, and Agrippina was rehabilitated under Rome’s new Emperor, none other than her uncle Claudius. Agrippina reunited with her son, and set both their sights on his political advancement. To this end, she married a wealthy and influential patrician, who died soon thereafter. During that period, Agrippina distanced herself from Rome’s intrigues. She did so in order to avoid conflict with Claudius’ wife, Valeria Messalina, who eliminated potential rivals, including Livilla. Reportedly, Messalina also tried to have Nero assassinated, since she favored Rome's throne for her son by Claudius, namely Britannicus. That attempt failed, as did an attempt to betray Claudius. In 48 AD, Messalina paid the price her sedition, paving the way for Agrippina to become Claudius’ next (and final) wife. The marriage between Agrippina and her uncle took place on New Year’s Day, 49 AD. Now Rome’s most powerful woman, it was Agrippina’s turn to eradicate anyone suspected of sympathy for her predecessor. She also used her increased influence to position Nero as the leading succession candidate. By 54 AD, Agrippina deemed the time was ripe for her ultimate move. She murdered her husband Claudius by feeding him poisonous mushrooms, and hailed her son Nero as Rome’s next Emperor. Early in Nero’s reign, Agrippina wielded even more influence than ever before. She enjoyed many privileges and honors, including beholding her own visage on coinage. She became the only woman honored for three imperial roles - sister, wife, and mother to three different Roman Emperors. Notably, several imperial and provincial coins portray her on their obverse, a distinction usually reserved for the Emperor himself. The current coin, wherein Agrippina shares the obverse with Nero, is one such example. It was struck in Smyrna, a prominent ancient city strategically located in western Anatolia on the Aegean Sea. Smyrna had sown ties with Rome ever since Hellas’ wane in 2nd century BC; specifically, the Smyneans created a cult of Rome. Besides the goddess Roma, Smyrna was also famed as a site for worshiping the goddess Nemesis, who appropriately appears on this coin’s reverse. In this case, the deity famous for duality as punisher/balancer appears in the guise of Eirene-Nemesis, associated with peace (known to the Romans as Pax-Nemesis). An analogous duality characterized Agrippina’s relationship with Nero, whom she treated with tough love and a heavy hand. Perhaps their last collaboration was the murder of Britannicus by poison in 55 AD. In the absence of any rightful rivals, Nero grew weary of his mother’s interventions. Agrippina found herself expelled from her son’s palace, and deprived of her hard-fought honors and powers. For the next several years, Agrippina constantly guarded against Nero’s assassination attempts. In 59 AD, the Emperor finally managed murder, as recorded through the lens of ancient historians’ anti-Nero bias. Public opinion aside, Agrippina left behind a remarkable legacy, with equally valid viewpoints of her as the quintessential victim and villainess. For a Roman woman, her exceptional tributes included the naming of a Roman colony, post as priestess of the imperial cult, and attendance at Senate meetings (albeit behind a curtain). She wielded the power to appoint Rome’s most powerful offices, including the Praetorian Guard. Most impressive of all, Agrippina managed to place Nero on Rome’s throne, even if her son repaid the effort with matricide. For that perfidy, Nero reportedly felt remorse to the point he had nightmares and visions of his mother’s ghost. These apparitions must have been harrowing indeed, given the contemporaneous belief in the nemesis of the dead - the power to punish the living according to their due. Coin Details: SMYRNA, Agrippina Junior with Nero, Aulos Gessios Philopatris, strategos, AE Trihemiassarion Æ (19mm, 4.39 g), NGC Grade: AU, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 3/5, Obverse: Draped bust of Agrippina and bare head of Nero facing one another, NЄPΩNA ΣЄBAΣTON AΓPIΠΠINAN ΣЄBAΣTHN, Reverse: Eirene-Nemesis advancing right, holding out fold of dress and caduceus, serpent at feet to right, AV ΓEΣΣIOΣ ΦIΛOΠATPIΣ ZMV, References: RPC I 2479; BMC 287.

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