coin
- Museum number
- R.8922
- Description
-
Silver coin. (whole)
-
Head of Venus right, wearing diadem. Border of dots. (obverse)
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Aeneas left, carrying palladium in right hand and Anchises on left shoulder; on right, inscription. Border of dots. (reverse)
- Production date
- 47BC-46BC
- Dimensions
-
Die-axis: 7 o'clock
-
Diameter: 17 millimetres
-
Weight: 3.93 grammes
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- Perhaps drawing on the example of the Hellenistic monarchies of the Greek east, Caesar emphasized the divine ancestry of his family, the Julii. They claimed descent from the goddess Venus and her son, the Trojan hero Aeneas, who saved his father from the fall of Troy and, according to legend, fled to Italy. The Romans traced their history back to him. These claims were duly illustrated on the coins made in Caesar's name. In his lifetime Caesar was also clearly addressed and worshipped as a god in his own right, at least by some. For Greeks and Romans the boundary between humanity and divinity was often quite porous - both Antony and Octavian would follow Caesar in crossing it.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
2024 14 Feb- 16 June, Barcelona, Caixaforum, Feminine Power
2023-2024 28 Sep– 14 Jan, Madrid, Caixaforum, Feminine Power
2022 19 May – 25 Sept, London, British Museum, G35, Feminine Power
2022 - 2023 8 Dec – 27 Aug, Canberra, National Museum of Australia, Feminine Power
- Department
- Money and Medals
- Registration number
- R.8922
- C&M catalogue number
-
RR2 (469) (31)
