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A. Plautius denarius 55 BCE
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A. Plautius.
AED • CVR • S • C downwards to left, A • PLAVTIVS downward to right
Turreted head of Cybele right, wearing cruciform earring, hair in knot, locks falling down neck;
IVDAEVS upward to right, BACCHIVS in exergue.
Bearded male figure (Aristobulus II) kneels right with palm branch in left hand, alongside camel
Rome, 55 BCE.
3.75g
Hendin 6470
Ex-Taters
The very first Judaea Capta type commemorating the defeat of Aristobulus II in trying to usurp the High Priesthood and Kingship from his brother Hyrcanus II.
From Hendin's Guide to Biblical Coins volume 6:
"Bacchus the Jew has been an enigma in numismatics. The most popular opinion is that the figure on the coin represents Aristobulus II, ally of Aretas III, and commemorates Aristobulus' unsuccessful insurrection against both his brother Hyrcanus II and Pompey the Great.
"I suggest that BACCHIVS IVDAEVS is not only half-playful, but tauntingly mean and mischievous as well. There are numerous suggestions that many Romans and Greeks believed the ancient Jewish religion to be a cult of Dionysus, the popular god of grapes and winemaking, feasting, drunken behavior, and ecstasy. Josephus does not discuss any aspects of Bacchus and the Jews, but he mentions that Herod I presented a golden vine to the Temple. It was used to hang donatives of golden grapes and vine leaves and the vine was said to be part of the booty taken to Rome by Titus. Among the important prayers in Judaism, both ancient and modern, are those prayers that call upon the monotheistic God to bless "the fruit of the vine."
Grapes were also one of the seven species listed in Deuteronomy 8:8 as special products of the ancient Land of Israel. The relationship the Greeks and Romans fantasized to exist between the Jews and Dionysus may also be related to the traditional mythology that Dionysus was the son of Semele, "who was the daughter of Cadmus, who, being a Phoenician, was a Semite who spoke a language closely akin to Hebrew." (GBC p. 367)"
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