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Aeneas
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Orichalcum sestertius (25.15,33mm, 12h) Rome mint. Struck AD 140-144.
ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III laureate head of Antoninus Pius facing right.
S C Aeneas wearing a short tunic and cloac, advancing right, carrying Anchises on his left shoulder and holding Ascanius by the hand. Anchises (veiled and draped) carries a box in left hand, Ascanius wears a short tunic and Phrygian cap and caries a pedum in left hand.
RIC 627[R2], BMCRE 1292, Cohen 761; Banti (I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali) 373 (4 specimens); Foss (Roman Historical Coins) 128:57b
This issue is one of a series issued by Antoninus Pius in preparation of the 900th anniversary of Rome, figuring scenes from ancient Roman legends. The scene depicts Aeneas leaving Troy with Ascanius and Anchises. One of the descendants of Aeneas' son Ascanius (known now as Iulus) was Rhea Silvia, who, impregnated by the god Mars, gave birth to the twins, Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome.
ex John Jencek (2009)
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