The temple has traditionally been described as the temple of
Venus at Eryx in
Sicily. I think that it is more likely the temple of
Venus Erycina outside the Colline Gate of
Rome. I have copied an excerpt from my book below.
By insisting on identifying the temple on the coin as that of
Venus at Eryx in
Sicily, we overlook what was obvious to most
Romans. In fulļ¬llment of a vow made by
his father during the Ligurian war,
Lucius Porcius Licinus dedicated the temple of
Venus Erycina outside the Colline Gate in 181. Strabo said that it was a copy of the temple at Eryx in
Sicily and Licinus also copied the remarkable
portico surrounding the temple, which is not shown on the coin. Since the temple outside the Colline Gate was a
replica, we might expect that Licinus built it on a suitably lofty location either natural or artiļ¬cial.
The coin depicts substantial walls surrounding the temple with two ļ¬anking towers. For what? The town of Eryx
had been desolate since 241 and the temple and its prostitutes did not require massive walls. Moreover, would a
Roman think ļ¬rst of the temple in
Sicily which most
had never seen or the one outside the Colline Gate of
Rome? From a perspective inside the city, the scene on the coin is a view overlooking the massive
Roman fortiļ¬cation wall of
Rome with its towers ļ¬anking the Colline Gate. The gate is arched which is typical of later
Roman architecture, while Western
Greeks still used the square post and lintel construction when Eryxās walls were built. Outside the gate stands the temple of
Venus Erycina whose most recent historical connection was with the Sullan
victory at the Colline Gate, since it was near her temple that
Sulla camped before the battle. The laurel in the hair of
Venus on the
obverse of the coin is indicative of that
victory.
