Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Roman Coins| ▸ |The Twelve Caesars| ▸ |Domitia||View Options: ![]() ![]() Domitia Longina married Domitian in 70 A.D. She became Augusta upon Domitian's accession in 81, and remained so until his assassination in 96 A.D. She was the youngest daughter of the general and consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Domitia divorced her first husband, Lucius Aelius Lamia Plautius Aelianus in order to marry Domitian in 71 A.D. The marriage produced only one son, whose early death is believed to have been the cause of a temporary rift between Domitia and her husband in 83. She is believed to have died sometime between 126 and 130 A.D. |
The image on the reverse resembles sculptures of Artemis, the Lady of Ephesus, including one at the Ephesus Archaeological Museum and another at the Vatican. The Ionians worshiped Artemis as a mother goddess, akin to the Phrygian Cybele. Her cult image was adorned with multiple rounded breast like protuberances on her chest. They have been variously interpreted as accessory breasts, eggs, grapes, acorns, or even bull testes. Excavation at the site of the Artemision in 1987/8 found a multitude of tear-shaped amber beads that once adorned the ancient wooden xoanon. |