Gold aurei of Nero
Roman, mid-1st century AD
The changing face of Nero
The coinage of the earlier Roman Empire allows us to study the
portraits of rulers as distinct individuals. The art of this period
is often highly naturalistic, and as the coins display the image of
an individual along with his or her name, this is often the primary
(and sometimes only) source of how a notable person from antiquity
looked. These coins also help us to identify their surviving
statues. While an emperor could ensure that he was portrayed in as
flattering a light as possible, but this does not always seem to
have happened, as can be seen with the portraits of the emperor
Nero (reigned AD 54-68) on these gold aurei. The creation
of an imposing aura was clearly considered more important.
Coins, being struck on a regular basis, provide a continuous
sequence of portraits over time, and in many cases the portraitist
faithfully follows the changing physical development of his
subject, often to a remarkable degree.
Nero's image here shows a drastic change from his first
depiction, aged twelve, on coins of the reign of Claudius (AD
41-54), his step-father, until his premature death at the age of
thirty. Of course there are certain features that remain
unmistakably 'Nero' in all the portraits - the long, almost
vertical nose, the prominent chin and the general shape of the
head. However, it seems incredible to us that Nero, as notorious
for his vanity as his gluttony, should allow his developing obesity
to be shown to the people in this way. His poor physical condition
contrasts almost comically with the elaborate hairstyle and heroic
air of his final coin portraits.
1) Minted AD 51-54: Nero is depicted in his mid-teens.
2) Minted AD 56-57: Nero is now nineteen.
3) Minted AD 57-58: Nero is twenty.
4) Minted AD 61-62: Nero is depicted at twenty-four.
5) Minted AD 64-68: the mature Nero is depicted bearded and with
new hairstyle of stepped curls over the forehead.
6) Minted AD 64-68: Nero's final years. The emperor, notorious for
his all-day banqueting and orgies, had become immensely fat.
S. Walker, Greek and Roman portraits (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
M. Griffin, Nero, the end of a dynasty (Routledge, 1987)
M. Grant, Nero (Weidenfield & Nicolson, 1970)
C. Scarre, Chronicle of the Roman emperor (London, Thames & Hudson, 1997)