re-Hellenic "Artemis"

Diana was the Roman goddess of hunting, bringer of light, youthful and strictly virginal, and later, goddess of the moon. She had so many attributes in common with the Greek goddess Artemis that they are often treated as the same, though that is not strictly true.

Artemis had mixed origins. Hellenistic culture absorbed many local deities into the Olympian Artemis. There were cult statues and shrines to such "Artemis" figures in the Greek world long before the flowering of Hellenistic culture or the heyday of Rome, and the example best known today was also one of the seven wonders of the ancient world: the temple of Artemis in Ephesus. This particular cult was very powerful locally, and those who are familiar with the Christian bible will no doubt know of the dealings the apostle Paul of Tarsus had with "Diana of the Ephesians."

The cult statue in this temple was far from Hellenistic in style, and it is not likely that the locals thought of her as Artemis, but the Hellenes happily incorporated her into the Olympian pantheon. So when more recent writers refer to "Diana of the Ephesians" they are making at least two jumps from the actuality: from "Lady of Ephesus" to Artemis, and from Artemis to Diana. The drawing on the right is of a coin of Claudius which shows the cult statue at Ephesus. (This image is from A Dictionary of Roman Coins and is out of copyright.)

Several cult images from earlier times are shown on coins of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The rather vague image on this bronze coin of Perge, in Pamphylia, from the 2nd or 1st century BCE is another local goddess. Both her original and new identities are made clear by the reverse legend, APTEMIΔOΣ ΠEPΓAIAΣ, Artemis of Perge. The cult statue is shown in a simple temple structure with a pediment decoration that is probably an eagle. This particular coin has been counterstamped with the image of a seated sphinx, and later coins sometimes show columns topped with sphinxes on either side of the goddess. On the reverse is a bow and an arrow case, symbols which Artemis had in common with Diana.

On these rather worn coins there are two more local goddesses called Artemis, with quite different local interpretations. Artemis Kindyas on the near right is veiled, and comes from a shrine on which, it was said, no rain or snow ever fell. On the far right, Artemis Tauropolis rides a bull, her garment flying above her head. This coin is actually from Augustus' time, but the image predates him. This in particular differs noticeably from the normal Hellenic conception of Artemis!

The coin on the near right comes from Bargylia, in Caria, in the first century BCE. The far right coin is from Amphipolis, in Macedonia, from around the turn of the millennium.

A matronly figure carrying a torch is likely to be Demeter (called Ceres by the Romans), who searched for her daughter in the underworld. This coin of Anazarbus in Cilicia is a bit ambiguous. It shows either Demeter, or a local deity known as Artemis Perasia. She is accompanied by a lit torch, symbol of her role as bringer of light. The local deity was archaic in origin, and this image wears a headdress of an obscure type which is probably local and traditional; but this is not the image of a cult statue and is more in the Hellenistic style.

Unlike most of these coins, this one can be dated precisely because the makers usefully included the date in a recognised format: ΓΛP (GAR), year 133 of the city era, which corresponds to 114-115 CE.

ellenic Artemis

The cult of the Lady of Ephesus may have been active from before 1000 BCE, and it lasted up to 401 CE, when the temple was destroyed for the last time by St Paul Chrysostom. During this time, the Hellenic Artemis became firmly established.

This bronze from Syracuse, 317-289 BCE, is a very Hellenic interpretation of Artemis compared with the older cult figures. The image of a beautiful yet somehow remote woman seems very romantic to us and has lost all connection with the wooden cult images of the ancestors. You can just see the huntress's arrow case behind her shoulder. The legend, ΣΩTEIPA, means "saviour."

oman Republican Diana

The Roman cult of Diana was also of ancient origin, even from the viewpoint of the Roman empire. A sanctuary to Diana was established on the Aventine Hill early in the 6th century BCE by the sixth king of Rome, Servius Tullius. It was created for use by the early Roman kingdom's Latin allies, and was intended to regulate Rome's relations with them and maintain its dominance. But at that time, the Aventine was outside the pomerium (the formal and ritual city boundary), and so despite being deep-rooted and well established, the cult of Diana never became officially "Roman."

There were other Roman temples to Diana. For example, there are inscriptions in Rome mentioning a temple of Diana Planciana. This may refer to the name of the temple's founder. There was also an annual festival, the Nemoralia or Festival of Torches, which celebrated her role as bringer of light.

Even Roman republican coins could show cult statue images, and this is one. Actually, this coin is, I am afraid, only a replica in base metal of a silver denarius from 48 BCE. It shows Diana grasping a stag by the horns, with a spear in her other hand. Deer were sacred to Diana. The stiff, upright posture of this figure is reminiscent of the Ephesian Artemis.

On the right, on a coin from 74 BCE, Diana is shown as young woman with a simple and practical hairstyle and carrying her bow and her arrow case. On the reverse is her hunting dog and spear. This coin type commemorates prayers at the shrine of Diana in 496 BCE, prior to the battle of Lake Regillus, when one of the consuls was an ancestor of the moneyer.

The bow is a compound type, laminated of horn and sinew. The projections at the end are probably to fix the bowstring. The waterproof arrow case seems to have been a standard design, judging from many different coins of this general period – for example, the coin of Perge at the top of this page.

On this later coin on the left, from 42 BCE, Diana is shown both as huntress, and as bringer of light. Her two torches are clear, and above her shoulder you can see her bow and arrow case. Later, on coins of the Empire, these two attributes were normally kept separate.

Although this is not really a very different representation from the earlier cult images, Diana's stance, with bent knee, has a fluidity that makes her look much less like a statue.

iana in the Empire

Diana with bow and hound can be seen on the far left coin, an antoninianus of Gallienus struck in Rome during the middle Empire, 338 years later than the coin of C Postumius TA. The strike is a bit flat, but you can see her recurved bow and the hound's long ears. She is also holding a spear, point down. The bow is still the small compound type, more powerful than you might expect in relation to its size, but I see no arrow case on this coin.

You can't see the arrow-case on the middle coin, either, but its presence can be deduced. On this rather nice antoninianus of Claudius II Gothicus, Diana is reaching into it for an arrow, perhaps to shoot the stag you can see in front of her.

The right-hand coin of those three is an eastern provincial coin of Severus Alexander from Thrace, so although this is the Roman Diana she would have been called Artemis. The composition is the same as on the roman bronze to its left, and in fact this coin was struck at a Roman colony, but here the creature at her feet is her hunting hound, racing forward to the prey. The quiver and reaching fingers are quite clear here.

There is certainly an arrow on the denarius of Hadrian to the right – Diana is holding it in her right hand, while her bow is in her left. Despite these potent symbols, this pose seems more decorative than active.

Many images of Diana on coins of the Roman Empire showed her as the bringer of light. On the denarius of Julia Domna to the far left, she is wielding her long torch. Diana's torch is made up of several sections, which are visible to differing degrees on different coins, with a round flat plate at the end from which the flame rises.

In the middle is another Julia Domna denarius. Diana's absorption of the properties of Luna, the moon goddess, is demonstrated by the large lunar crescent on her shoulders. Apart from this, she has the same torch and is in the same light-bringing stance as the last coin.

To the right of that coin is a later antoninianus of Gallienus, on which the image differs only in that the crescent is smaller and is used as a headdress. The legend says that this is Luna, but the image is of Diana and is usually documented as such. It would seem that the two are being treated as interchangeable.

ther imagery

Gallienus issued a whole series of coins, in his wife Salonina's name as well as his own, asking protection from various deities. Diana was among them, and her coins showed deer, her sacred animal, like the stag or the big-eared doe on these billon antoniniani. The legend on these coins is DIANAE CONS AVG, "To Diana, Preserver of the Emperor". This is more or less equivalent to the British national anthem's "God save the Queen," though Gallienus had a more urgent need for divine aid.