An anonymous bronze Republican semis showing the head of Saturn and the prow of a ship.

Saturn in the Republic

Saturnus was a Roman god of agriculture and harvest, a son of Caelus, the god of the sky. In most important respects, he was equivalent to the Greek god Kronos, son of Ouranos. In legend, after losing a battle with his son Jupiter, he fled to Latium, where he ruled over a golden age of happiness for mankind. Some Republican coins celebrated this age by showing on one side his head, and on the other, the ship on which he arrived.

The semis on the right is such a coin; although this specimen is light for the type, and might be a contemporary Spanish replica of good style.

The reverse of a brass sestertius of Antoninus Pius showing Ops seated.

Saturn's wife was Ops, an earth goddess who represented fertility and the wealth of the harvest, and by extension, abundance and plenty generally. She appeared on coins only twice, under Antoninus Pius and later under Pertinax. The sestertius on the left is one such coin, and you can see that she is seated, holding a sceptre and with a plant sprouting on the seat below her. Her raised left hand is drawing her drapery from her shoulder.

Saturn's golden age was celebrated in Rome by the festival of Saturnalia, held in December. It was a week of making merry and giving gifts, during which masters and slaves swapped roles; always bearing in mind that the roles would be back to normal again in a few days!

A silver Roman Republican denarius of M. Nonius Sufenas showing a bust of Saturn with harpa and baetyl.

The obverse of a silver denarius of Lucius Memmius Galeria showing the head of Saturn.

On the Republican coin above, Saturn is shown as a mature, but not elderly, bearded male. The S on this coin does not stand for Saturnus but for semis, the demonimation, with a value of half an as. The ship is represented just by its prow, a very typical Roman abbreviation.

That coin was dated 135-125 BCE. The same representation of Saturn appeared on a silver denarius of Lucius Memmius Galeria in 106 BCE, shown on the near right. This time there is no ship, but we can be sure of the identity of this bearded personage because of the serrated and curved blade shown behind him.

This is a harpa, or falx, and is a sort of sickle used to harvest grain. It is associated with Saturn both for this reason, as a god of the harvest, and also, more ominously, because it is the weapon with which he is supposed to have castrated his father Uranus.

On the far right is a denarius showing another version of the harpa, and a stone. This refers to the story that Saturn devoured all his children as soon as they were born, until Ops replaced one with a stone, which Saturn swallowed; the child thus saved grew up to be Jupiter, head of the Roman pantheon.

The reverse of a bronze coin of Philip V of Macedonia showing a harpa with hook and handguard.

The reverse of a bronze coin of Amisos showing Perseus with the head of Medusa.

The harpa was also associated with the hero Perseus. It was the weapon he used to decapitate the deadly monster Medusa, with the guidance of Athena, goddess of wisdom.

On the far left is a coin showing a harpa as a short blade with a hooked protrusion. This is depicted as a weapon; you do not need a hand guard unless you expect other blades to clash with yours, and potentially slide up to cut you. This might be a good tool for decapitation, but the smaller serrated item shown above would be better for the ugly job it was used for.

This coin was issued by Philip V of Macedonia, probably to honour his son and successor, who like the hero, was also named Perseus.

The reverse of a silver denarius of Lucius Appuleius Saturninus showing Saturn driving a quadriga.

Next to it is a coin from Amisos showing the mythical Perseus holding up the head of Medusa, having just decapitated her with his harpa, which he holds out in his right hand. The body of medusa, still gushing blood, lies below on the right. These coins and the legend they depict are covered on my "Story of Medusa" page.

Two years after the denarius of Lucius Memmius Galeria above, the coin on the right was issued by Lucius Appuleius Saturninus, an ambitious and populist Republican politician who, among other things, had a political opponent, a candidate for consulship, beaten to death while voting was taking place.

The reverse of an antoninianus of Gallienus showing Saturn with a long harpa.

Saturninus himself was stoned to death by a mob soon afterwards. Wikipedia has a summary of his career.

At that time living individuals were not depicited on Roman coins, so instead, this one shows the god Saturn to echo the moneyer's name. Here, he is driving a fast quadriga, brandishing his harpa above his head. It is a serrated sickle like the first example above.

After M. Nonius Sufenas, there follows an intermission of 325 years ...

Saturn in the Empire

In the period of the Empire, Saturn appeared only once on Roman coins. On coins of 267 CE, both Gallienus and his father and co-ruler Valerian showed him as an old man, veiled, carrying a long-handled harpa. Gallienus' coin is on the left.

This elderly Saturn is Old Father Time, a god of the harvest and the turning years. His harpa is an agricultural implement, not a weapon; it has no hand guard, and looks more like a scythe than either of the two types we have seen so far. The legend, AETERNITAS AVG, confirms that this is an image intended to evoke the stability of the reign.