Claudius's Issue of Silver Didrachms in Alexandria Emperor's Children

Home , AD 38, AD 40, AD 41, Britannicus, Lebedus, Messalina

INSTITUT DES CULTURES MÉDITERRANÉENNES ET ORIENTALES DE L’ACADÉMIE POLONAISE DES SCIENCES ÉTUDES et TRAVAUX XXVI 2013

BARBARA LICHOCKA

Claudius’s Issue of Silver Didrachms in Alexandria Emperor’s Children and Crossed Cornucopias 428 BARBARA LICHOCKA

In the third year of Emperor Claudius’s reign (AD 42/43) the Alexandrian mint issued a silver didrachms with the motif on the reverse of crossed cornucopias surmounted by confronted busts and a third bust in the middle (Fig. 1).1 The busts above the cornucopias have been attributed to the emperor’s daughters: Claudia Antonia and Claudia Octavia, daughters of Aelia Paetina and Valeria Messalina, his second and third wife respectively. The third bust facing right was the youngest of the siblings, Britannicus, son of Claudius and Messalina. The large upper part of each cornucopia has a proﬁ led edge, the lower part is decorated with two spreading leaves. The inscription under the bust of Britannicus, between the cornucopias, AYTO/KPA, is typical of legends on coins of Claudius minted in Alexandria. The obverse bears a bare head of Claudius turned to the right and the legend TIB KΛAY KAI CEBAC ΓEPM; the date in front of the head is L Γ. The issue, considered as ‘experimental’ and known from a few dozen specimens (Tab. I), coincided with the issue of silver drachmas depicting a bust of Serapis on the reverse.2 The representation on the reverse side of the didrachms is paralleled closely by that on the reverse of undated copper coins minted by Patras in Achaea (Fig. 2).3 The main difference is the presence on the Alexandrian coins of the bust attributed to Britannicus in left and not right proﬁ le. On the coins of Patras the upper edge of each cornucopia is framed with two clusters of grapes and small globules (drawing unclear below the bust on the right side) to indicate fruit of some kind or perhaps a pinecone or a poppy head. The lower parts of the cornucopias were left plain. The text above the busts reads LIBERIS; below, between the cornucopias AVG; at the bottom, below the cornucopias COL A A P. On the obverse, the bust of Claudius is shown turned to the left and accompanied by the legend TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG GERM. The children’s busts on the coins from Patras are more distinct and apparently better crafted, although this effect may be due to a better impression of the die on preserved examples. The number of registered specimens is approximately the same as the number of preserved Alexandrian didrachms.

1 J. VOGT, Die alexandrinischen Münzen. Grundlegung einer alexandrinischer Kaisergeschichte I–II, Stutt- gart 1924 [= Die Münzen], I, p. 25; II, p. 5; A. BURNETT, M. AMANDRY, P.P. R IPOLLÈS, Roman Provincial Coins I. From the death of Caesar to the death of Vitellius (44 BC – AD 69), London-Paris 1992 [= RPC I], pp. 700, 701, No 5135, Pl. 184 (London, British Museum); cf. D.L. VAGI, Coinage and History of the Roman Empire c. 82 B.C.–A.D. 480, I. History. 2. Coinage, Chicago-London 1999 [= Coinage I–II], II, p. 270, No 633; W. T RILLMICH, Familienpropaganda der Kaiser Caligula und Claudius. Agrippina Maior und Antonia Augusta auf Münzen, AMuGS VIII, Berlin 1978 [= Familienpropaganda], pp. 158–159, Pl. 15.16 (Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Münzkabinett); FR. IMHOOF-BLOOMER, Britannicus auf Münzen. Kaisareia, Nikomedia, Kotys, Kreta, Apameia, NumZ VIII, 1915, p. 91, No 7; E. CHRISTAINSEN, The Roman coins of Alexandria during the reign of Claudius, RivItNum XCIV, 1992, pp. 91–112; not listed by J. BABELON, Numismatique de Britannicus, [in:] Hommages à Léon Herrmann, CollLatomus XLIV, Bruxelles 1960 [= Numismatique], pp. 124–137. 2 RPC I, p. 701, No 5136, Pl. 184, cf. p. 700; B. LICHOCKA, Claudius’s issue of silver drachmas in Alexan- dria: Serapis anastole, [in:] N. Holmes (Ed.), Proceedings of the XIVth Numismatic Congress Glasgow 2009 I, Glasgow 2011 [= Serapis], pp. 800–808. 3 RPC I, p. 260, No 1255, Pl. 63; cf. VAGI, Coinage II, p. 271, No 635; TRILLMICH, Familienpropaganda, p. 159, n. 594; IMHOOF-BLOOMER, NumZ VIII, 1915, p. 91, No 6; BABELON, Numismatique, p. 133, Pl. V.4; also LHS Numismatik AG Auction 96 (8.05.2006), lots 543 and 544 (accessed 26.02.2013). CLAUDIUS’S ISSUE OF SILVER DIDRACHMS IN ALEXANDRIA ... 429

Tab. 1. Alexandria, Claudius’s didrachms, year 3 (AD 42/43).

Weight Diam No Collection (g) (mm)

1 Athens, Numismatic Museum, Demetrio Collection (F. FEUARDENT, 6.64 18.5 Numismatique. Égypte ancienne 2. Domination romaine, Paris [1873], p. 22, No 656, Pl. XIII)

2* Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Münzkabinett, Löbbecke Collection (TRILLMICH, 6.40 18 x Familienpropaganda, Pl. 15.16) 3* Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Cabinet des médailles AF 852 6.20 19 (S. BAKHOUM, SNG. France 4. Dépt. des monnaies, médailles et antiques. Ale- xandrie 1, Auguste-Trajan, Paris 1998 [= SNG France 4. Alexandrie 1], No 176) 4 Numismatik Lanz München Auktion 154 (11.06.2012), lot 304; http://www. 6.18 19 acsearch.info/record.html?id=582166 (accessed 3.11.2012) 5* Vienna, Kunsthistorishes Museum, Die Münzen- und Medaillensammlung 5.93 23820

6* London, British Museum, Dept. of Coins and Medals (BMC Alex., No 68) 5.72 19x 7* Fritz Rudolf Künker Münzhandlung GmbH & Co.KG, Auction 89 5.70 19 x (8.04.2004), lot 1738; http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=127 (accessed 21.04.2012) (U. KAMPMANN, TH. GANSCHOW, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria, Battenberg 2008, p. 50, No 1224) 8 UBS Gold & Numismatics, Auction 83 (8.09.2009), lot 171; http://www. 5.57 ubs.com/numismatics (accessed 11.05.2012) 9* Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Cabinet des médailles AF 853 5.30 19 (SNG France 4. Alexandrie 1, No 177) 10* Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Die Münzen- und Medaillensammlung 5.15 23821 11* New York, American Numismatic Society 1944.100.69659; http:// 5.09 19 numismatics.org/collection/1944.100.69659 (accessed 3.09.2012) 12 Alexandria, Kom el-Dikka, Polish Archaeological Mission Excavations 4.00 19 91/91 (unpublished)

13* Dattari Collection (G. DATTARI, Monete imperiali greche. Numi Augg. 19x Alexandrini. Catalogo della collezione G. Dattari compilato dal proprietario, Cairo 1901 [= DATTARI], No 118, Pl. I (rev.); A. Savio (Ed.), Numi Augg. Alexandrini. Catalogo della Collezione Dattari, Trieste 20072, Pl. I.118)

14 Curtis Collection (J.W. CURTIS, The Coinage of Roman Egypt: A Survey, 18 x The Numismatist, January-August 1956, pp. 40–41, Pl. XXIX (rev.)) 15 Lewis Collection (Catalogue de monniaes romaines antiques composant 19 x la collection de H.C. Lewis, vente de Lucerne, le 18–20 juin 1925. Naville & Cie., Ars Classica XI, Genève 1925, p. 23, No 352, Pl. 15 ; cf. HORNBOSTEL, Serapis, p. 346, n. 4) 16 Senatus Consulto, Frederiksberg, Copenhagen; http://www.trocadero.com/ Senatus/items/949740/item949740store.html (accessed 12.11.2012)

* indicates specimens listed in RPC I (see above, n. 1). x indicates diameter taken from photographs in publications. 430 BARBARA LICHOCKA

1. Egypt, Alexandria, Claudius, AD 42/43, AR, didrachms: a. Athens, Numismatic Museum, Demetrio Collection (© Numismatic Museum, Athens); b. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Cabinet de médailles AF 852 (Phot. B. Lichocka).*

2. Achaea, Patras, Claudius, AD 42/43(?), AE; LHS 3. Rome, Tiberius, AD 22–23, AE, sesterce; Numis- Numismatic AG, Auction 96 (08.05.2006), lot 544; matica Ars Classica AG, Auction 51 (05.03.2009), lot http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=173715 171; http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=202309 (accessed 28.01.2013; courtesy of LHS Numismatic (accessed 18.06.2012; courtesy of Numismatica Ars AG). Classica AG).

The representations on Claudius’s coins may have taken after a design on imperial sestertii struck in the reign of Tiberius in AD 22–23 (Fig. 3).4 The anepigraphic obverse of the coins shows crossed cornucopias bearing confronted children’s busts and a winged caduceus between them in the center. A cluster of grapes, probably topped by a pinecone, can be seen by the top edge of each cornucopia facing the caduceus; the cluster of grapes(?) on the opposite side appears to be smaller. The bottoms of the cornucopias are globular in shape. The busts emerging from the cornucopias are attributed to the emperor’s grandsons: Germanicus and Tiberius Gemelli, born in AD 19, sons of Tiberius’s only son Drusus Minor and Julia Livilla, who was a daughter of Antonia Minor and Drusus Maior, a sister of Claudius. On the reverse, which bears a large S C in the centre, the legend refers to Drusus Minor, who in AD 22 shared tribunitian authority with Tiberius. It was a senatorial issue, dedicated to the ruling family and introducing symbols of prosperity in association with the young members of the domus imperii. A similar representation occurred on the obverse of coins of Antiochus IV of Comma- gene (AD 38–72), but this time the crossed cornucopias ﬂ anked an anchor with a star

* NB – all photos are not to scale. 4 H. MATTINGLY, R.A.G. CARSON, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum I. From 31 BC to AD 69 (repr. 1976), London 1923 [= BMCRE I], p. 133, Nos 95–97, Pl. 24.6; C.H.V. SUTHERLAND, The Roman Imperial Coinage I (rev. ed.), London 1984 [= RIC I], p. 97, No 42, Pl. XI.42; VAGI, Coinage I, p. 129; II, p. 249; E. MEISE, Der Sesterz der Drusus mit den Zwillingen und die Nachfolgepläne des Tiberius, JNG 16, 1966, pp. 7–21. CLAUDIUS’S ISSUE OF SILVER DIDRACHMS IN ALEXANDRIA ... 431

4. Kingdom of Commagene, Antiochus IV (AD 38–72), AE; ArtCoins Roma s.r.l. E-Auction 4 (19.03.1012), lot 147; http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=562140 (accessed 18.02.2013; courtesy of ArtCoins Roma s.r.l.). above (Fig. 4).5 It is not clear whether the lower part of the cornucopias were decorated with leaves. On some specimens there are small globules, positioned by the upper edge, to the right and left of the busts. A legend, BAΣIΛEΩΣ YIOI, indicates, that the heads upon the cornucopias and facing each other represented the ruler’s sons. The reverse bears a representation of a tiara and an ethnikon, all in a wreath. The issues were not dated. The presence of the symbol between crossed cornucopias suggests Tiberius’s coins as a proto- type. Claudius’s issues could have supplied another stimulus. The principal difference with regard to the composition of Claudius’s coins is the replacement of the symbol between the cornucopias with a third bust. Its presence is undoubtedly important despite the lack of attribute. It takes the position of the winged caduceus, a symbol of peace and concord, on Tiberius’s coins. Britannicus was born in AD 41, barely a month after Claudius took power, and from the start was groomed to be his heir.6 Claudius had refused the Senate’s move following the conquest of Britain to bestow on him the title of Britannicus, wishing instead that his son bear it; thus Tiberius Claudius Caesar Germanicus became Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus. Claudius strived to ensure his popularity, while going to great measures to demonstrate family unity.7 Several mints produced coins depicting Claudius’s children together: their busts8 or three standing ﬁ gures.9 On coins of Caesarea Paneas,10 Antonia and Octavia are shown holding big cornucopias, which established a frame for the representation. This composition refers to the iconography of imperial issues as well, in this case the sestertii of Caligula showing his three sisters.11

5 RPC I, p. 573, No 3860, KOMMAΓHNΩN and p. 574, No 3867, ΛAKANATΩN, Pl. 148; p. 542, No 3536, ΛYKAONΩN, Pl. 141. 6 Suet. Claud. 27. 7 BABELON, Numismatique, p. 128; VAGI, Coinage I, p. 159; S. KÜNZL, Die Kinder des Claudius. Porträts von Antonias, Britannicus, Octavia und Drusus, AKorrBl 23, 1993, pp. 95–109; E. CHRISTIANSEN, The Roman Coins of Alexandria during the Reign of Claudius, RivItNum XCIV, 1992, pp. 102, 107. 8 RPC I, p. 243, No 1033, Pl. 57; p. 383, No 2248, cf. p. 382, Pl. 100; VAGI, Coinage II, p. 273, No 647; IMHOOF-BLOOMER, NumZ VIII, 1915, p. 89; see also head of Britannicus on the obverse with standing Octavia and Antonia on the reverse, RPC I, p. 559, No 3656, Pl. 144; VAGI, Coinage, p. 273, No 647; p. 274, No 651. 9 RPC I, p. 554, No 3627, Antonia as daughter of Messalina by mistake, Pl. 144; BMCRE I, p. 199, No 242; RIC I, p. 132, No 124, Pl. 17. 10 RPC I, p. 670, No 4842, Pl. 175. 11 BMCRE I, p. 152, Nos 36–37, Pl. 28.4; RIC I, p. 110, No 33, Pl. 13. Type repeated on coins of Agrippa I, RPC I, p. 683, No 4973, Pl. 179; cf. p. 669, with reference to No 4988 by mistake; TRILLMICH, Familienpropa- ganda, pp. 110–111, Pl. 13.12; pp. 148–149, Pl. 15.10. 432 BARBARA LICHOCKA

The cornucopia, an attribute of Tyche, Plutos, was introduced on coins by the Ptolemies and it is they who combined it as well with a radiate crown of Helios, turning the two into their symbolic regal insignia. Ptolemy IV Philopator (221–205 BC) commemorated his father, Ptolemy III Euergetes, with gold octodrachms bearing his portrait in a radiate crown on the obverse, associated with a cornucopia which was bound with a fi llet and surmounted by a radiate crown on the reverse.12 The cornucopia was fi lled with fruit of the earth with only one cluster of grapes hanging by the upper edge of the cornucopia. This design was copied by the young Ptolemy V Epiphanes (204–181 BC), who ordered a self portrait in radiate crown on the obverse, adding a star right and left to the fi lleted cornucopia, surmounted by a radiate crown on the reverse.13 Overlapping cornucopias bound with a fi llet had appeared earlier on gold octodrachms, struck around 253/252–246 BC by Ptolemy II Philadelpus for his sister-queen Arsinoe, who had died about 270–269 BC.14 The ornament on the double cornucopias was the same as on a single one, that is, tiny leaves and dots symbolizing a fl owering bud, a lotus perhaps. The two horns overfl owed with edibles including a single cluster of grapes from each one of them. Representa- tions of overlapping cornucopias with common bottom, dikeras, characteristic of coins and other Ptolemaic art forms, spread to outside Egypt as well.15 This specifi c composition is embodied perfectly by a marble sculpture from Rodos depicting a dikeras placed on a throne.16 A different composition, that is, two opposing cornucopias emerging from a single fl ower bud at the bottom appeared around 160–140 BC in Lebedos in Ionia. An owl standing on a club was shown between the cornucopias (Fig. 5).17 Each horn was bound with a fi llet and was fi lled with fruit of the earth and a single cluster of grapes hanging from each

12 A. KROMANN, O. MØRKHOLM, SNG. The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals Danish National Museum. Egypt: The Ptolemies, Copenhagen 1977 [= SNG Cop. Ptol.], No 196; B. LICHOCKA, Il ruolo delle monete nella propaganda dinastica dei Tolemei [= Il ruolo], [in:] N. Bonacasa et al. (Eds), Faraoni come dei, Tolemei come Faraoni. Atti del V Congresso Internazionale Italo-Egizio, Torino, Archivio di Stato – 8–12 dicembre 2001, Torino-Palermo 2003 [= Faraoni], pp. 205, 210, Figs 4–5; A. MEADOW, S.-A. ASHTON, [in:] S. Walker, P. Higgs (Eds), Cleopatra of Egypt. From History to Myth, London 2001 [= Cleopatra], p. 83, No 72. 13 SNG. Cop. Ptol., No 196; MEADOW, ASHTON, [in:] Walker, Higgs (Eds), Cleopatra, p. 84, No 73. 14 SNG. Cop. Ptol., Nos 134–136; MEADOW, ASHTON, [in:] Walker, Higgs (Eds), Cleopatra, p. 83, No 69; MEADOW, [in:] ibid., p. 85, No 79; P. FINOCCHI, B: Le donne dei Tolemei, [in:] P. CALABRIA, P. FINOCCHI, Le donne dei Tolemei come le donne dei Faraoni [= Le donne], [in:] Bonacasa et al. (Eds), Faraoni, pp. 185, 188, 191, Fig. 8; D.M. JACOBSON, The Signifi cance of the Caduceus between Facing Cornucopias in Herodian and Roman Coinage [= Signifi cance], [in:] D.M. Jacobson, N. Kokkinos (Eds), Judaea and Rome in Coins 65 BCE–135 CE. Papers Presented at the International Conference Hosted by Spink, 13th–14th September 2010, London 2012 [= Judaea], pp. 146–147, Fig. 3. 15 Also on coins of the Seleucids, cf. L. ANSON, Numismata Graeca. Greek coin-types classifi ed for immedi- ate identifi cation IV, London 1913 [= Numismata], Pls IV–VIII; see infra, n. 31; JACOBSON, Signifi cance, p. 147, Fig. 4. 16 CH. PICARD, Un monument rhodien du culte princier des Lagides, BCH LXXXIII, 1959, pp. 409–413, Fig. 1, Pl. XXIII. 17 M. AMANDRY, Les tétradrachmes à la couronne de feuillage frappées à Lébédos (Ionie), [in:] G. Le Ridder et al. (Eds), Numismatic Studies in Memory of C.M. Kraay and O. Mørkholm, Louvain-la-Neuve 1989, pp. 1–7, Pl. I; Y. MESHORER, A Treasury of Jewish Coins. From the Persian Period to Bar Kokhba, Jerusalem-New York 2001 [= Treasury], p. 34; JACOBSON, Signifi cance, p. 153, Fig. 11. CLAUDIUS’S ISSUE OF SILVER DIDRACHMS IN ALEXANDRIA ... 433

5. Ionia, Lebedos, AR, tetradrachm, c. 160–140 BC; 6. Seleucid Kingdom, Antioch, Alexander II Zebina, Classical Numismatic Group 76 (12.09.2007), lot 714; 128–123 BC, AE (after ANSON, Numismata Graeca, http://www.cngcoins.com; http://www.cngcoins.com/ Pl. VIII.404). Coin.aspx?CoinID=108389 (accessed 28.09.2012; courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group Inc.). one, in front of the owl. Lebedos, which had been named Ptolemais for a certain time (226–190 BC), issued earlier coins with overlapping cornucopias in the ﬁ eld, following the Egyptian pattern.18 The motif of opposing cornucopias became a regular feature in the repertoire of Jewish coins, starting with the issues of John Hyrcanus (154–134 BC).19 Herod (40–4 BC) and his heirs from the Herodian dynasty borrowed it from the last of the Hasmonean kings, Antigonus II Mattathias (40–37 BC).20 On Jewish coins there was an additional symbol between the cornucopias: either a pomegranate, palm branch or winged caduceus. On some examples the cornucopias appeared not so much to spring from a common bottom as to be supported on a globular fruit(?), this being notable especially on the coins of Antigonus II Mattathias.21 This kind of representation could have been the source of inspiration for denarii of Marcus Antonius struck after the treaty of Brindisium, around 40 BC.22 The Second Triumvi- rate gave him authority over the Eastern provinces and it cannot be excluded that the mint workers moving with him suggested an iconography based on known compositions.23 The winged caduceus here was ﬂ anked by two cornucopias, the bottoms of all three elements being placed on a globe. Yet another representations appeared earlier on the coins of the Seleucids. A design of cornucopia bifurcated at about mid-height can be seen on some coins of Antiochus VII

18 A. DIEUDONNÉ, Ptolémais Lebedus, JIAN 5, 1902, pp. 45–46, 50–52, Pl. IV.18–21. 19 MESHORER, Treasury, pp. 33–34, 67, Pls 14–24; JACOBSON, Signifi cance, p. 148. 20 MESHORER, Treasury, p. 43, No 40, Pl. 43.40b; D. ARIEL, J.-PH. FONTANILLE, The Coins of Herod: A Modern Analysis and Die Classifi cation, Leiden 2012, type 15, pp. 73, 167–168, 181–182, Pls 76–79. 21 MESHORER, Treasury, p. 220, No 38B, Pl. 43. 22 M. CRAWFORD, Roman Republican Coinage I–II, Cambridge 1974 [= RRC], I, p. 527, No 520, Pl. LXII; A. ALFÖLDI, Der neue Weltherrscher der vierten Ekloge Vergils, Hermes 65, 1930, p. 379, Pl. LXV.15; H. MÖBIUS, Alexandria und Rom, München 1964 [= Alexandria], pp. 30–31, 40, Pl. XI.3, 5; JACOBSON, Signifi - cance, pp. 153–154. 23 The circumstances of this issue have been interpreted in different ways, cf. MÖBIUS, Alexandria p. 41; CRAWFORD, RRC I, p. 743, n. 1; JACOBSON, The Signifi cance, p. 153. No comments have been offered in the present text on the historical background of each issue, the iconographic analysis having all but exhausted the limits of space set for this volume. 434 BARBARA LICHOCKA

Euergetes (132/1–131/0 BC).24 Each arm contained fruit, whereas the bottom was decorated with a globular shape. Alexander II Zebinas marked his short reign (128–123 BC) with issues depicting not only overlapping, fi lleted cornucopias with a single cluster of grapes, following Ptolemaic design,25 but also images of two interlaced cornucopias bound with a fi llet.26 Similarly as in representations of the Ptolemaic dikeras, one cluster of grapes is hanging of each cornucopia (Fig. 6). Antiochus VIII Epiphanes (125–121 BC) revived the representation of overlapping cornucopias bound with a fi llet.27 The issue of Alexander II Zebina may have inspired the iconography of Nabatean coins.28 A design of crossed cornucopias appeared on the coins of Obodas III (30–9 BC); it became established in the rule of Aretas IV (9 BC–AD 40).29 On several specimens a pomegranate or caduceus was placed between the horns. Each cornucopia was bound with a fi llet. Ptolemaic iconography evidently infl uenced the obverses of coins struck by Aretas IV carrying representations of jugate busts of the ruler and his wife. The wide diffusion of Nabataean coins30 may have been instrumental in popularizing the motif in the East. In similarity to Jewish coins, some Nabataean coins also showed the motif of parallel cornucopias.31 On small bronzes of the fi rst century AD from the Ascalon mint crossed cornucopias can be seen with an ear of corn(?) between them.32 In turn, some coins of a Roman client, the Judaean Kingdom, dated to AD 15 and 16, bore crossed cornucopias with a caduceus in the centre or just crossed cornucopias.33 On coins minted by Agrippa I in AD 40/41 in Caesarea Paneas, which were graced with a bust of young Agrippa II and the inscription BAΣ ΑΓΡΙΠΠΑ ΦΙΛOKAIΣAP on the obverse, the crossed cornucopias seem to be fi lleted

24 A. HOUGHTON, C. LORBER, O. HOOVER, Seleucid Coins. A Comprehensive Catalogue 2. Seleucos IV through Antiochus XIII, Lancaster, PA-New York 2008 [= Seleucid Coins], p. 393, No 2125, ‘splayed double cornucopia’, Pl. 85; commentary, p. 353. This form, unusual on coins, was popular in the minor arts and is frequently referred to as a double cornucopia, see e.g. PICARD, BCH LXXXIII, 1959, pp. 427–428, Fig. 10; CH.G. SCHWENTZEL, Reutilisation de symbols royaux lagides par les julio-claudiens, [in:] N. Bonacasa et al. (Eds), L’Egitto in Italia dall’antichità al medioevo. Atti del III Congresso Internazionale Italo-Egiziano Roma, CNR – Pompei, 13–19 Novembre 1995, Roma 1998 [= Reutilisation], pp. 501, 503, Fig. 12; B. LICHOCKA, L’iconographie de Fortuna dans l’Empire romain (Ier siècle avant n.è.–IVe siècle de n.è.), TCAM 29, Varsovie 1997 [= L’iconographie], p. 115, Fig. 493. See also infra, n. 57. 25 HOUGHTON, LORBER, HOOVER, Seleucid Coins 2, p. 457, No 2237, ‘double cornucopiae’, Pl. 87. 26 Ibid., p. 456, No 2235, Pl. 87; cf. W. HORNBOSTEL, Sarapis, Studien zur Überlieferungsgeschichte den Erscheinungsformen und Wandlungen der Gestalt eines Gottes, EPRO 32, Leiden 1973 [= Sarapis], p. 134. 27 HOUGHTON, LORBER, HOOVER, Seleucid Coins, pp. 505–506, Nos 2312–2313, Pls 88–89. 28 PICARD, BCH LXXXIII, 1959, p. 420; CHARBONNEAX, Sarapis, p. 134. 29 Y. M ESHORER, Nabataean Coins, Qedem 3, Jerusalem 1975 [= Nabataean Coins], pp. 34, 90, Nos 24, 26; Pl. 2; pp. 98–100, Nos 64–64A, 67–78, Pl. 5; pp. 105–106, Nos 112–114B, 116–118, Pl. 7. 30 MESHORER, Nabataean Coins, p. 3. 31 SNG. American Numismatic Society 6. Palestine-South Arabia, New York 1981 [= SNG ANS 6], Nos 240–242, 1430; MESHORER, Nabataean Coins, pp. 48, 97–98, Nos 61–63A, Pls 4–5. 32 SNG ANS 6, No 666, ear of corn(?) in the center; cf. ARIEL, FONTANILLE, The Coins, pp. 114, 119; CH. YASHIN, From Ascalon to Raphia: City-coins of the Southern Palestinian Coast, Jerusalem 2007, pp. 41–42, Nos 54, ‘double cornucopiae’ – 60, Pl. 3. 33 RPC I, p. 682, Nos 4958, 4960, with caduceus, Pl. 179. CLAUDIUS’S ISSUE OF SILVER DIDRACHMS IN ALEXANDRIA ... 435 at the point of the crossing.34 Crossed cornucopias were included among the themes of Roman provincial coin designs as well. One of the earliest issues is apparently that of Gadara, a Decapolis town; it is dated to AD 28/29.35 It is not clear where bronzes of Tiberius with a design of a winged caduceus between crossed branches and crossed cornucopias on the reverse were struck (possibly in Commagene).36 This coinage, dated around AD 19–20, could have constituted an easily available model for die engravers, who prepared the Roman issue with crossed cornucopias surmounted by busts of twins in AD 22–23. Crossed cornucopias as an image were known in Roman art already in the reign of Augustus, as attested by a cylindrical altar from Bagnacavallo.37 The decoration of a sarcophagus of one Flavia Ianuaria constitutes another example from the early Princi- pate.38 The motif was featured on gems as well.39 The cornucopia, both single and double, played an important role in Augustan propaganda of the aurea aetas. It could be read as alluding to the return of happier times, of which Virgil wrote in his Eclogue IV.40 A cornucopia or two cornucopias were added to Octavian’s zodiacal sign, the Capricorn, shown often carrying a rudder and globe. In some representations the symbols were combined to show crossed cornucopias with the bottom ending in a Capricorn head as, for example, on an altar found in Rome, Museo Nazionale Romano, Inv. No 108521,41 and an altar now in Bologna, decorated with an upright winged caduceus between crossed cornucopias, the upper parts of which have not been preserved.42

34 RPC I, p. 683, No 4979, Pl. 180. 35 RPC I, p. 667, No 4813, Pl. 174. 36 BMCRE I, pp. 144–145, Nos 174–176, Pl. 26.11; RIC I, p. 100, Nos 89–90, Pl. 13; RPC I, p. 574, Nos 3868–3869, Pl. 148; T.V. BUTTREY, Vespasian’s Roman Orichalcum: An Unrecognised Celebratory Coinage, [in:] Jacobson, Kokkinos (Eds), Judaea, pp. 165–166, Fig. 2. 37 H. GABELMANN, Oberitalische Rundaltare, RM 75, 1968, pp. 87–105, Pls 19–26; P. DUCATI, Ara di Bagna- cavallo, RM XXIII, 1908, pp. 131–144. 38 M. GUTSCHOW, Sarkophag-Studien I, RM 46, 1931, pp. 107–113, Pl. 13; cf. some other roman representations, e.g. relief decorated altar, Rome, Musei Capitolini, Palazzo dei Conservatori, Inv. No 1266, H. STUART J ONES, A Catalogue of the Ancient Sculptures preserved in the Municipal Collections of Rome. Palazzo dei Conserva- tori, Oxford 1926, p. 285, No 5a, Pl. 113; O. DRÄGER, Religionem signiﬁ care: Studien zur reich verzierten rö- mischen Altären und Basen aus Marmor, Mainz a/Rhein 1994, pp. 122, 230, No 64, Pls 56.1, 57.1; and relief in the tympanon from the tomb of Claudia Semne, Rome, Museo della Villa Torlonia, H. WREDE, Das Mausoleum der Claudia Semne und die bürgerliche Plastik der Kaiserzeit, RM 78, 1971, p. 129, Fig. 1 and E. La Rocca, C. Pa- risi Presicce, A. Lo Monaco (Eds), L’età dell’equilibrio 98–180 d.C.: Traiano, Adriano, Antonino Pio, Marco Aurelio (Roma, Musei Capitolini , 4. Ottobre 2012-5. Maggio 2013), Roma 2012, p. 242, No VI.13.1 bis; p. 348. 39 Eg P. GERCKE, [in:] P. Zazoff (Ed.), Antike Gemmen in deutschen Sammlungen III, Braunschweig, Göt- tingen, Kassel, Wiesbaden 1970, p. 155, No 581; p. 156, No 583; Pl. 79; M. SCHLÜTER, G. PLATZ-HORSTER, P. Z AZOFF, Antike Gemmen in deutschen Sammlungen IV, Hannover, Kestner Museum, Hamburg, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Wiesbaden 1976, p. 147, No 708, Pl. 91, with caduceus. 40 ALFÖLDI, Hermes 65, 1930, pass.; J. CARCOPINO, Vergile et le mystère de la 4ème eclogue, Paris 1963, pp. 8–15; C. MADERNA-LAUTER, Glyptik, [in:] Kaiser Augustus und die verlorene Republik. Eine Ausstellung im Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin 7. Juni–14. August 1988, Berlin 1988 [= Glyptik], pp. 460–464. 41 E. GHISELLINI, [in:] A. Giuliano (Ed.), Museo Nazionale Romano. Le Sculture I/7,2, Roma 1984, pp. 493– 494, No XVI,1. 42 K. LEHMANN-HARTLEBEN, Ein Altar in Bologna, RM 42, 1927, pp. 163–176, Pl. 20. 436 BARBARA LICHOCKA

The rich repertoire of representations connected with Augustus in the glyptic arts includes gems depicting crossed cornucopias with bottoms ending in a Capricorn head.43 In turn, the representation of Octavian’s bare head between opposing cornucopias on some cameos from about 44–40 BC recalls the composition on the reverse of denarii struck by Marc Anthony; on other, less numerous cameos, the portrait of the future princeps senatus stands between crossed cornucopias.44 On an altar dedicated to the deceased Augustus, Palestrina, Museo Nazionale, Inv. No 23555, his portrait was ﬂ anked by two cornucopias surmounted with poppy heads supporting the ends of a garland framing the bottom and sides of the tondo containing the portrait, once in a corona radiata.45 The divine Augustus was honored also with a bust crowned with a corona radiata on a globe surmounting a cornucopia held by a woman with diademed and veiled head (Antonia Minor?). This small image on a sardonyx gem, London, British Museum, Reg. No 1814,0704.1 (Fig. 7),46 illustrates perfectly the concept of the divine nature of the deceased princeps. A facing head attributed to Tiberius, heir and adopted son of Octavian-Augustus, placed between crossed cornucopias, found on a bronze plaque from a belt (cingulum), Stuttgart, Landesmuseum Württemberg, Inv. No R 66.73 (Fig. 8),47 attests to the application of the motif in combination with a member of the ruling family. Rome undoubtedly borrowed the symbolism of the cornucopia from the Ptolemies, but in this case failed to use the drawing of overlapping cornucopias with common bottom, which was typical of siblings in power, or even the cornucopias siding with one another, as on some Jewish and Nabataean coins.48 Crossed cornucopias were not conceived as a frontal depiction of a Ptolemaic dikeras49 – they were an entirely different composition

43 E. ZWIERLEIN-DIEHL, Die antiken Gemmen des Kunsthistorischen Museums in Wien II, München 1979, p. 85, No 934, Pl. 52; E. BRANDT, A. KRUG, W. GERCKE, E. SCHMIDT, Antike Gemmen in deutschen Sammlungen, I. Staatliche Münzsammlung München 3, München 1972, p. 27, No 2265, Pl. 199, palm branch in the centre. 44 VOLLENWEIDER, Die Porträtgemmen, Katalog und Tafeln, p. 89, Nos 11–12, Pl. 147; MADERNA-LAUTER, Glyptik, pp. 452–453, 466, No 245. 45 N. AGNOLI, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Palestrina: Le sculture, Roma 2002, Xenia Antiqua Mono- graﬁ e 10, pp. 243–249, No III.9; M. BERGMANN, Die Strahlen der Herrscher. Theomorphes Herrscherbild und politische Symbolik im Hellenismus und in der römischen Kaiserzeit, Mainz a/Rhein 1998 [= Die Strahlen], pp. 105, 112, n. 693, Pl. 21.2. 46 H.B. WALTERS, Catalogue of the engraved Gems and Cameos Greek, Etruscan and Roman in the British Museum, London 1926 [= Catalogue], p. 208, No 1977, Livia(?); BERGMANN, Die Strahlen, p. 105, Pl. 21.1; E. ZWIERLEIN-DIEHL, Der Divus-Augustus-Kameo in Köln, KölnJbVFrühGesch 17, 1980, pp. 44–45, Pl. 13, 77; cf. A. ALEXANDRIDIS, Die Frauen des römischen Kaiserhauses. Eine Untersuchung ihrer bildlichen Darstellung von Livia bis Iulia Domna, Mainz a/Rhein 2004 [= Die Frauen], p. 212 (1.2.4). 47 E. KÜNZL, Romanisierung am Rhein – Germanische Fürstengräber als Dokument des römischen Einﬂ us- ses nach der gescheiterten Expansionspolitik, [in:] Kaiser Augustus und die verlorene Republik, Eine Ausstel- lung im Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin 7. Juni–14. August 1988, Berlin 1988, p. 559, No 384. Cf. portrait of Commodus as Hercules, placed on crossed cornucopias with a pelta in the centre, a globe below it, Rome, Musei Capitolini, Palazzo dei Conservatori, Inv. No 1120, K. FITTSCHEN, [in:] K. FITTSCHEN, P. ZANKER, Katalog der römischen Porträts in den Capitolinischen Museen und den anderen kommunalen Sammlungen der Stadt Rom, Mainz a/Rhein 1985, pp. 85–90, No 78, Pl. 91; cf. PICARD, BCH LXXXIII, 1959, pp. 424–425, Fig. 9, and bust of Tyche between crossed cornucopias, infra, n. 58. 48 Cf. supra, n. 31. 49 Cf. HORNBOSTEL, Sarapis, pp. 344–345, who like PICARD, BCH LXXXIII, p. 420, believes that the motif of crossed cornucopias originated from Alexandria; CH.B. ROSE, Dynastic Commemoration and Imperial CLAUDIUS’S ISSUE OF SILVER DIDRACHMS IN ALEXANDRIA ... 437

7. Augustus and Antonia Minor(?), sardonyx gem. 8. Portrait of Tiberius, bronze plaque. Stuttgart, Landes- London, British Museum, Reg. No 1814,0704.1 museum Württemberg, Inv. No R 66,73 (Phot. P. Franken- (© Trusts of the British Museum). stein, H. Zwietasch; Landesmuseum Württemberg, Stuttgart). selected from among a few known designs. This image appeared on coins struck in different Eastern mints earlier than those of Tiberius and deﬁ nitely earlier than those of Claudius, depicting crossed cornucopias with children’s busts. Placing the symbol between cornucopias is proof of their intentional opposing arrangement. 50 Compositions featuring a portrait in the centre, which were not used on coins however, demonstrate it just as well. Contrary to representations of two overlapping cornucopias, the crossed cornucopias motif, was known,51 but never popular in Egypt. From Egypt there is a unique ivory piece with a depiction of crossed cornucopias (lower parts missing) surmounted by busts of Serapis and most probably Isis (head missing), Paris, Musée du Louvre, Inv. No MND 2083 (Fig. 9).52 The piece has been dated either to the middle of the second century BC (J. Charbonneax53) or to the second century AD (H. Jucker), the latter suggested also by W. Hornbostel as the more probable date.54 Dating of the piece based on elements of the

Portraiture in the Julio-Claudian Period, Cambridge Studies in Classical Art and Iconography, Cambridge 1997, p. 41. 50 Unfortunately, terms used in the writing on the subject are frequently misleading, e.g. J. CHARBONNEAUX, Sarapis et Isis et la double corne d’abondance, [in:] Hommages Waldemar Deonna, CollLatomus XXVIII, Bruxelles 1957 [= Sarapis], p. 138, ‘la double corne d’abondance’ regarding the object in the Louvre (cf. infra, n. 52), and p. 139, regarding Gemma Claudia, cornucopias ‘entre-croisées’, eagle in the center; cf. supra, n. 32. 51 W. W EBER, Die ägyptisch-griechische Terrakotten, Berlin 1914, pp. 115–116, No 160, Pl. 17, with a uraeus in the center. 52 G.J.F. KATER-SIBBES, Preliminary Catalogue of Sarapis Monuments, EPRO 36, Leiden 1973, p. 42, No 248, referred to as a scepter, Fig. 361. 53 CHARBONNEAUX, Sarapis, pp. 131–141, Pl. XXV.1–2; cf. SCHWENTZEL, Reutilisation, pp. 500–501, Fig. 10; L. CASTIGLIONE, Nouvelles données archéologiques concernant la génèse du culte de Sarapis, [in:] Hommages à Maarten J. Vermaseren. Recueil d’études offert à l’occasion de son soixantième anniversaire le 7 avril 1978 I, EPRO 68,1, Leiden 1973, p. 230, No 52. 54 H. JUCKER, Das Bildnis im Blätterkelch. Geschichte und Bedeutung einer römischenn Porträtform, Biblio- theca Helvetica Romana III, Olten-Lausanne-Freiburg 1961 [= Bildnis], p. 158, n. 14; cf. HORNBOSTEL, Sarapis, p. 345, Pl. CCXI.361. 438 BARBARA LICHOCKA image and analysis of style is diffi cult for it could be Hellenistic as well as Early Roman. It may be juxtaposed with much later representations from southern Gaul, in which a single cornucopia held by Tyche (Fortuna)-Isis55 and Mercury56 was topped by busts of the gods. It could have been a bifurcated cornucopia as in the case of the so-called Tyche from Mâcon,57 but it should be emphasized that it was not a case of crossed cornucopias. One can add to this group of Tychai (Tutelae) a bust between two cornucopias or above crossed cornucopias,58 considered by H. Jucker as deriving from Alexandrian art.59 Like the coins of Tiberius, so the coins of Claudius did not show the reigning king-god and his spouse for whom the dikeras motif was adopted60 hence the different composition of the cornucopias. The absence of a fi llet on the coins of Tiberius and Claudius argues in favor of interpreting the ribbon on the Ptolemaic dikeras as a royal diadem. A symbol of this sort could not be seen on a representation of a possible future princeps. One observes in the representations of crossed cornucopias surmounted by busts components derived from both Graeco-Roman61 and Eastern, including Egyptian, models. Representations of busts of young members of the imperial family manifested the continuity of the dynasty and the benefi ts deriving from this. They recall representations of busts of Serapis and Isis(?). Claudius’s coins are the only ones in the series of monetary images of busts with crossed cornucopias to depict three busts and in any case, the cornucopias support girls’ busts. Naturally their role in dynastic politics was different from that assigned to the male progenitors. Their marriage and offspring were of importance, as was their loyalty to the ruler, understood to be Britannicus once he would have become the princeps. The message emphasized harmony and fertility. Claudius struck his coins especially for the inhabitants of Achaea, a province he valued in particular,62 and Egypt, the religion and art of which was spreading and inspirational also for offi cial Roman art. Britannicus was placed between his sisters, as in the fi gural representations on coins.63 This

55 Berlin, Staatliche Museesn Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Inv. No Fr. 1988, S. BOUCHER, Recherches sur les bronzes ﬁ gurés de Gaule pré-romaine et romaine, BEFAR 228, Paris-Rome 1976 [= Recherches], p. 150; LICHOCKA, L’iconographie, p. 55, n. 336; p. 58, with n. 348, Fig. 507. 56 H. GRAILLOT, Mercure panthée. Bronze gallo-romain d’Autun, RA 3ème sér. XXXVII, 1900, pp. 220–237, Pl. XII; BOUCHER, Recherches, p. 125, Pl. 47, No 213. 57 London, British Museum Reg. No 1824,0424.1, 4.-24.1, buried after AD 260, H.B. WALTERS, Catalogue of the Silver Plate (Greek, Etruscan and Roman) in the British Museum, London 1921, pp. 9–10, No 33, Pl. V; PICARD, BCH LXXXIII, 1959, p. 425, Fig. 8; S. WALKER, Roman Art, London 1991, p. 70, Fig. 88; BOUCHER, Recherches, p. 125, Pl. 55, No 264; LICHOCKA, L’iconographie, p. 34, cornucopia described as a double one, Fig. 518. 58 PICARD, BCH LXXXIII, 1959, p. 427, Fig. 11; BOUCHER, Recherches, p. 152, Pl. 56, Nos 267–268. 59 JUCKER, Bildnis, p. 163; see Boucher’s reservations, BOUCHER, Recherches, p. 152. 60 H. KYRIELEIS, Zu einem Kameo in Wien, AA 85, 1970, pp. 493–494. 61 A relief representing Mars holding a cornucopia with two boys sitting on the top, Cleveland, Museum of Art Reg. No 1925.947, has not been taken into consideration, L. POLLAK, Mars Ultor, ÖJh XXVI, 1930, pp. 137– 139; a forgery according to CH. BAUCHHENSSI-THÜRIEDL, Das Marsrelief in Cleveland und die Ikonographie des Mars Ultor, AKorrBl 8, 1978, pp. 45–49, Pl. 10; cf. E. SIMON, s.v. Ares/Mars, LIMC II, 523, No 146; cf. JUCKER, Bildnis, p. 153, n. 5. 62 Suet., Claud. 42. 63 See supra, nn. 9–10. CLAUDIUS’S ISSUE OF SILVER DIDRACHMS IN ALEXANDRIA ... 439

9. Ivory crossed cornucopias surmounted 10. Isis, Harpokrates and Nephthys, gold ﬁ nger ring. Paris, by busts of Sarapis and Isis(?). Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Inv. No 56.504 (© Bibliothèque Musée du Louvre, Inv. No MND 2083 Nationale, Paris). (after CHARBON NEAUX, Sarapis, Pl. XXV.1). bust of a child destined to become a ruler, therefore a special child, in the company of sisters whose nature was special as well considering their position upon the cornucopias, manifested their combined role for the good of the Empire. Children were not an accepted theme on coins of Ptolemaic Egypt. Cleopatra was the only one to depict the child, Caesarion, with her own portrait on bronze coins minted probably in Cyprus.64 Busts of Ptolemaic princes with agrarian symbols, which M.-L. Vollenweider interpreted as associated with Dionysos or Ploutos, occurred on glass cameos dated to the third century BC.65 They may have been intended as gifts announcing future kings, presenting them as a symbol of prosperity, ensuring an annual revival of nature. Roman representations of children belonging to the imperial family depicted with crossed cornucopias could have carried a similar message. Graeco-Roman Egypt preserved the rebirth-cult tradition, manifested in particular by houses of birth, the mammisis. The king was an incarnation of Harpokrates. In this fashion his position was legitimized. Images on a lotus, even if only of the head,66 symbolized the

64 A. MEADOW, S.-A. ASHTON [in:] Walker, Higgs (Eds), Cleopatra, p. 178, No 186; cf. ROSE, Dynastic Commemoration, p. 13; LICHOCKA, Il ruolo, pp. 208, 210, Fig. 13. 65 M.-L. VOLLENWEIDER, Portraits d’enfants en miniature de la dynastie des Ptolémées, [in:] N. Bonacasa, A. di Vita (Eds), Alessandria e il mondo ellenistico-romano. Studi in onore di Achille Adriani II, Roma 1983, pp. 363–377, Pls LXIV–LXVI. 66 See wooden head of a young king on lotus ﬂ ower found in Tuthenkhamon’s tomb, Cairo, Egyptian Museum JE 60723, J. YOYOTTE, Les jeux des enfants et des adolescents en Égypte, DossArch 168/2–7, 1992, p. 2; JUCKER, Bildnis, pp. 180–181, 190, Fig. 75; SCHWENTZEL, Reutilisation, p. 500. 440 BARBARA LICHOCKA

11. Allegorical scene of the birth of Ploutos on an Attic hydria (fragment). Istanbul, Archaeological Museum (after REINACH, La naissance, p. 93). birth and resurrection of the sun god and the ruler as well. Harpokrates shown on a lotus fl ower, which was replaced in a sense by the acanthus of Graeco-Roman times, embodied the idea of a repeated life cycle.67 Busts, sometimes on a sheaf of corn,68 appeared next to fi gural representations. Busts of Serapis and Isis were also shown on the acanthus,69 as was the triad of Osiris, Horus and Isis,70 Serapis fl anked by Isis and another female bust,71 Harpokrates between Isis and Serapis.72 These representations were especially typical of stone votive vessels. The busts of another triad, that is, Harpokrates between Isis, the two shown on an acanthus leaf springing from a chalice, and her sister Nephthys, depicted upon another chalice without leaves, decorated a gold fi nger ring, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Inv. No 56.504 (Fig. 10).73 Another possible source of inspiration, this time of Greek origin, cannot be overlooked. A red-fi gured hydria from the fourth century BC presents an image of the newly born Ploutos,

67 H. JUCKER, Aegyptiaca. Betrachtungen zur kaiserzeitlichen Münz- und Porträtkunst in Aegypten, JbBern- HistMus XLI–XLII (1961–1962), 1963, pp. 319–324; SCHWENTZEL, Reutilisation, p. 500. 68 F. DUNAND, Musée du Louvre, département des antiquités égyptiennes. Catalogue des terres cuites gréco- romaines d’Egypte, Paris 1990, pp. 96–97, No 214. 69 JUCKER, Aegyptiaca, pp. 322, Fig. 48; M. PFROMMER, [in:] H. Beck, P.C. Bol, M. Bückling (Eds), Ägypten Griechenland Rom. Abwehr und Berührung. Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie 26. November 2005–26. Februar 2006, Frankfurt a/Main 2005 [= Ägypten ], pp. 688–689, No 291. 70 JUCKER, Aegyptiaca, pp. 323–325, Fig. 50. 71 HORNBOSTEL, Sarapis, pp. 288, 401, Pl. CLXXXX, Fig. 308. 72 Ibid., p. 288. 73 JUCKER, Aegyptiaca, p. 323, Fig. 52; p. 328; C. MADERNA, [in:] Ägypten, p. 691, No 295. A gold ﬁ nger-ring from Egypt, London, British Museum Reg. No 1839,0921.1090 (BA 2965), showing busts of Serapis, Isis and Harpokrates in the center, although without the acanthus, is very similar, C. ANDREWS, Ancient Egyptian Jewel- lery, London 1990, No 161d. CLAUDIUS’S ISSUE OF SILVER DIDRACHMS IN ALEXANDRIA ... 441

12. Egypt, Alexandria, Claudius, AD 49/50, AE; www.forumancientcoins.com; http://www.forumancientcoins.com/ catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?param=334; http://www. acsearch.info/images/24/237740.jpg (accessed 15.02.2013; courtesy of Forum Ancient Coins). the Divine Child of the Eleusinian Mysteries, on a horn of plenty, which Ge hands to Demeter (Fig. 11).74 There is neither fruit nor ears of corn springing from the cornucopia, as it is Ploutos who embodies everything the cornucopia has to offer.75 The representations of busts upon cornucopias on Alexandrian coins is close to this ‘convention’. The child in the iconography of Nilus, leading to Graeco-Roman Egypt, also comes to mind. A Roman copy of a type presumably created in Hellenistic Alexandria, Rome, Musei Vaticani, Braccio Nuovo, Inv. No 2300, shows a reclining god accompanied by 16 fi gures of children, one of which emerges from among fruit of the earth fi lling a cornucopia.76 A small statue of a reclining Nilus with a single child fi gure (preserved lower part) sitting on the top of a cornucopia, found in Sidi Bishr, Alexandria, and held in the collections of the Graeco-Roman Museum, Inv. No 29448, currently on display in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Antiquities Museum, Reg. No BAAM Serial T 0002, is probably closer to the original.77 A child seated or emerging from a cornucopia is present on coinage minted in Roman Alexandria starting from the reign of Trajan.78 A bust of Nilus with a cornucopia over his right shoulder had appeared earlier on coins of Claudius, AD 49/50, 50/51.79 The

74 S. REINACH, La naissance de Ploutos sur un vase découvert à Rhodes, RA 3e sér., XXXVI, 1900, pp. 91–98; L.R. FARNELL, The Cults of Greek III, Oxford 1907, p. 256, Pl. XXIb; H. METZGER, Les représentations dans la céramique attique du IVe siècle, Paris 1951, pp. 244–245, No 12, Pl. XXXII; cf. pp. 252, 254–255; C HARBONNEAUX, Sarapis, p. 132. 75 Differently on a coin of Faustina the Younger from Nysa where the child (Ploutos ?) is sitting on fruit fi lling the cornucopia, B.V. HEAD, Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Lydia, London 1901, p. 179, No 58, Pl. XX.8. For the ‘fruitless’ cornucopia on the Gemma Augustea, see J. POLLINI, The Tazza Farnese: Augusto Imperatore “Redeunt Saturnia Regna!”, AJA 96, 1992, p. 293. 76 A. ADRIANI, Repertorio d’arte dell’Egitto greco-romano. Serie A, II, Palermo 1961, pp. 52–55, No 194, Pl. 89, Fig. 298; p. 52, ‘puttini, personifi cazioni dei sedici cubiti’; M.-O. JENTEL, s.v. Neilos, LIMC VI [= Neilos], 721, No 1; EAD., s.v. Pécheis, LIMC VII [= Pécheis], 212, No 5; cf. R.M. GAIS, Some Problems of River-God Iconography, JRS 82, 1978, p. 360; on the debatable origin of the term Pecheis see N. BONACASA, A.M. ROVERI, s.v. Pecheis, [in:] Nilo, EAA V, 492. 77 JENTEL, Neilos, 721, No 17, ‘Un Péchus est assis sur l’embouchure du rython’; S. BAKHOUM, Dieux égyp- tiens à Alexandrie sous les Antonins. Recherches numismatiques et historiques, Paris 1999 [= Dieux], pp. 89, 249, Pl. XXVII.1, without mentioning a child; http://antiquities.bibalex.org/Collection/Detail.aspx?a=1141 &Lang=en (accessed 21.06.2013). 78 DATTARI, Monete, Nos 971–983, ‘genius’; R.ST. POOLE, Catalogue of the Coins of Alexandria and the Nomes, London 1892 [= BMC Alex.], p. 57, Nos 465–469, ‘genius’; A. GEISSEN, Katalog Alexandrinischer Kaisermünzen der Sammlung des Institut für Altertumskunde der Universität zu Köln 1. Augustus-Trajan (Nr. 1–740), Papyrologica Coloniensia V, Opladen 1974 [= GEISSEN 1], Nos 440, 442–444, 448f., 476, 507f., 732, ‘Genius’; BAKHOUM, Dieux, p. 96, ‘un enfant-génie’; differently JENTEL, Neilos, 721, No 21, ‘un Péchus’; also EAD., Pécheis, 213, No 16. 79 DATTARI, Nos 138–139, noted two cornucopias and ‘busto di genius’, Pl. XIX; JENTEL, Pécheis, 213, No 14, also EAD., Neilos, 724, No 60, describes cornucopias as crossed, fi gure of the child identifi ed as ‘Péchus’. 442 BARBARA LICHOCKA

13. Agrippina Minor, Nero and dea Roma(?), sardonyx cameo. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Cabinet des médailles 277 (after AVISSESAU, VOLLENWEIDER, Camées, Pl. 72). design on the opposite side is not clear. A small naked torso can be discerned, but it is not clear on all examples whether a second cornucopia was actually depicted (Fig. 12). This composition is close to an image on a sardonyx cameo, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Cabinet de médailles 277 (Fig. 13).80 A large draped female bust in the center is accompanied on the right by a cornucopia surmounted by a small boy’s bust and on the left by a second bust. The identiﬁ cation of these busts have raised great controversy.81 The attribution of the busts to Messalina, Britannicus and Octavia or to Livilla and her twin sons are but two of the proposed identiﬁ cations. It has also been suggested that it was Agrippina Minor with a bust of Nero emerging from a cornucopia and dea Roma.82

The cornucopia is present only by the right shoulder of the ﬁ gure of Nilus according to POOLE, BMC Alex., p. 11, Nos 81–83, ‘infant, Ploutos?’, Pl. XIX; GEISSEN 1, Nos 98–99, 102; ‘Genius’; RPC I, No 5174, ‘a child’; SNG France 4. Alexandrie 1, Nos 211–212, ‘un enfant-génie’. 80 E. BABELON, Catalogue des camées antiques et moderns de la Bibliothèque nationale, Paris 1897, pp. 145–146, No 277, Pl. XXXI, Messalina, Britannicus, Octavia; M.-L. VOLLENWEIDER, M. AVISSEAU- BROUSTET, Camées et intailles II. Les portraits romains du Cabinet des médailles. Catalogue raisonné, Paris 2003 [= Camées], pp. 96–98, No 104, Messalina, Britannicus, Octavia, AD 40–42, Pl. 72; LICHOCKA, Serapis, p. 804, Messalina with her children; cf. review of interpretations, W.-R. MEGOW, Kameen von Augustus bis Alexander Severus, Berlin 1987 [= Kameen], pp. 303–304, No D 39, Julia Drusilla, Pl. 18.1; ALEXANDRIDIS, Die Frauen, pp. 166–167, No 126, Pl. 57.5. 81 Some scholars believe this bust stands upon the cornucopia, e.g. JUCKER, Bildnis, pp. 157–158; MEGOW, Kameen, p. 303; differently W. TRILLMICH, Iulia Agrippina als Schwester des Caligula und Mutter des Nero. Bedeutung und Formgeschichte des Typus Adolphseck 22, HefteABern 9, 1983, pp. 26–34, Pl. 2; S. WOOD, Mes- salina, wife of Claudius: propaganda successes and failures of his reign, JRA 5, 1992, p. 231; see also M. FUCHS, Frauen um Caligula und Claudius: Milonia Caesonia, Drusilla und Messalina, AA 1990, 1, pp. 108–113, Figs 1–2. The cameo had been reworked. The (ancient?) elaboration at the very bottom of the cornucopia supporting Nero’s bust seen below the central bust could suggest a joining with the other horn. 82 W. T RILLMICH, Typologie der Bildnisse der Iulia Agrippina, [in:] M. Moltesen, A.M. Nielsen (Eds), Agrip- pina Minor. Life and Afterlife, Copenhagen 2007, p. 55, Fig. 12; p. 57. CLAUDIUS’S ISSUE OF SILVER DIDRACHMS IN ALEXANDRIA ... 443

Regardless of which attribution is assumed there can be no doubt that the motif of a bust upon a cornucopia was an important motif in ofﬁ cial art associated with the ruling family in the time of the early Principate. The Gemma Claudia, which was made probably for the wedding of Claudius with Agrippina Minor in AD 54, today in Vienna, Kunsthistorishes Museum AS Inv. No IX A 63 (Fig. 14), shows this even more distinctly.83 It depicts a pair of opposing cornucopias joined on the bottom, surmounted by busts of the emperor and his wife on one side and the esteemed parents of the new empress, Germanicus (Claudius’s brother) and Agrippina Maior (granddaughter of Augustus himself) on the other. Each pair of busts recalls the jugate busts of Serapis with Isis and Hellenistic rulers with their spouses, quite common since the issue of Ptolemy II Philadelphus showing Ptolemy I Soter with Berenike, accompanied by the inscription ΘΕΩN, and of Ptolemy II with Arsinoe II and the inscription AΔEΛΦΩN.84

83 MEGOW, Kameen, pp. 200–201, No A 81, Pl. 31; E. SIMON, Kunst und Leben in Rom um die Zeitenwende, München 1986, p. 83, Fig. 106. 84 SNG. Cop. Ptol., Nos 132–133, 197–198; CHARBONNEAUX, Sarapis, Pl. XXVI, Fig. 1, Ptolemy IV; P. C ALABRIA, A: Capita Iugata, [in:] CALABRIA, FINOCCHI, Le donne, [in:] Bonacasa et al. (Eds), Faraoni, pp. 179– 183, 185, 190–191, Figs 1–7; cf. SCHWENTZEL, Reutilisation, p. 500; J.J. POLLITT, Art in the Hellenistic Age, Cambridge-New York 1986, p. 36, Fig. 28b, p. 171, Fig. 293; p. 24, Figs 11–12. 444 BARBARA LICHOCKA

15. Rome, Antoninus Pius, AD 148–149, AE, sesterce; 16. Paphlagonia, Tios, Julia Domna (AD 160–217), Classical Numismatic Group Triton VIII, Closing Date: Ja nua - AE (after SNG Deutschland 12, Sammlung ry 10, 2005, lot. 1024; http://www.cngcoins.com; http://www. v. Aulock 958). wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s4236.html#RIC_0857 (accessed 3.09.2012; courtesy Classical Numismatic Group Inc.).

17. Pisidia, Antioch, Gallienus (AD 253–268), AE; Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 286 (5.09.2012), lot 233; http://www.cngcoins.com; www. cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID= Rome (accessed 10.01.2013; courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group Inc.).

Claudius appears to have been commemorated with a portrait upon a cornucopia already in the times of Nero. This portrait bust, on a gem from the once Beverley collection,85 has the head in a corona radiata and was placed between ears of corn and poppy heads emerging from a cornucopia, of which only the top was depicted. The signiﬁ cance of images of human beings shown on the top of a cornucopia is attested as well by a sardonyx cameo, London British Museum, Reg. No 1772,0314.112,86 showing Livia as Demeter/Ceres(?), sitting on a throne placed on a cornucopia ﬁ lled with edibles. Whether the issues of Alexandria and Patras were simultaneous and, if not, which mint preceded the other in striking the discussed type, cannot be ascertained today. It is not by chance that the images are so similar. The mints probably received instructions from some central authority, but it is not to be excluded that each mint prepared its own dies. The different treatment of the horn of plenty attests to this, as does the slightly different arrangement of the busts. Contrary to other issues depicting the emperor’s children, there are no names in the legends, just as Tiberius’s grandchildren’s names are absent from his sestertii. The idea perhaps was to imbue the image with a more universal character, as manifested on the coins of Antoninus Pius. In AD 148–149 the mint in Rome took up again the motif of two busts of children upon crossed cornucopias to commemorate the birth of the twin boys of Faustina the Younger and

85 ZWIERLEIN-DIEHL, Divus-Augustus-Kameo, pp. 44–45, Pls 13, 78. 86 WALTERS, Catalogue, p. 337, No 3580, Pl. XXXIX. CLAUDIUS’S ISSUE OF SILVER DIDRACHMS IN ALEXANDRIA ... 445

Marcus Aurelius Caesar (Fig. 15). Two ears of corn spring from each of the leaf-decorated cornucopias and between them there is a cluster of grapes seen on the surface of the horn. The legend, TEMPORVM FELICITAS, underscores the message of the composition.87 The motif of crossed cornucopias supporting busts was to return on provincial coinage, with an ethnikon in the legend. The bronzes of Tios (Paphlagonia) with a portrait of Julia Domna on the obverse, show crossed cornucopias topped by heads facing one another and a winged caduceus in between (Fig. 16),88 as on sestertii struck under Tiberius. Coins of Gallien,89 produced in Antioch in Pisidia, bear confronted busts slightly above the top of cornucopias, which are crossed so low that they appear to be joined (Fig. 17).*

(Translation: Iwona Zych)

Barbara Lichocka Instytut Kultur Śródziemnomorskich i Orientalnych PAN, Warszawa [email protected]

87 H. MATTINGLY, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum IV. Antoninus Pius to Commodus, London 1940, p. 97, Nos 678–679, Pl. 14.13; p. 298, Nos 1827–1829, Pl. 44.13; p. 299, No 1834, Pl. 45.5; H. MATTINGLY, E.A. SYDENHAM, The Roman Imperial Coinage III. Antoninus Pius to Commodus, London 1930, p. 48, No 185, Pl. II.35; p. 133, No 857; p. 134, No 859; STRACK, Untersuchungen III, pp. 113–114, 193, 279, Pl. II.198 and Pl. XIII.1026; HORNBOSTEL, Sarapis, p. 347; A. BACKE-DAHMEN, Die Welt der Kinder in der Antike, Mainz a/Rhein 2008, pp. 43–44, Fig. 17; JUCKER, Bildnis, p. 152. 88 SNG. Deutschland 2. Sammlung v. Aulock, Pontus, Paphlagonien, Bithynien 1–1049, Berlin 1957, No 958. 89 SNG. Deutschland 12. Sammlung v. Aulock, Pisidien 4894–5381, Lykaonien, 5382–5407, Isaurien 5408– 5412, Berlin 1964, No 4983; J.G. MILNE, The Coinage of Antioch in Pisidia after A.D. 250, NumChron 6th ser., VII, 1950, p. 107, No 8, Pl. IV.8; A. KRZYŻANOWSKA, Monnaies coloniales d’Antioche de Pisidie, TCAM 7, Varsovie 1970, pp. 76, 196, Pl. XLV.15; p. 207, Pls LII.30–31, VIII.31; cf. HORNBOSTEL, Sarapis, p. 347.

* The present article was prepared as part of my research on the Alexandrian coinage of Claudius, carried out under grants obtained within the framework of exchange programs of the Polish Academy of Sciences with its partners: the Egyptian Academy of Scientiﬁ c Research and Technology, the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, and the Israel Academy of Humanities, all of which I am hereby duly grateful to. My special thanks go to Dr. Donald Ariel, head of the Coin Department, Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem, whose remarks regarding representations of cornucopias on coins were extremely helpful. I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Patrizia Seraﬁ n, Cattedra di Numismatica, Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Musica e Spettacolo, Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”, for her invaluable help during my research in Rom. I am also obliged to Prof. Elena Ghisellini, Dipartimento di Antichità e Tradizione Classica, Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”, for drawing my attention to the combination of cornucopias and the astrological sign of Octavian. Respective photo images are reproduced with kind permission from the relevant institutions.