Places and Things Depicted on Coins
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Greek Youth - British MuseumGreek statue of a youth with a 'bowl' haircutBacchus
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Victory - British MuseumA small bronze Victory - 1st CenturyBacchus
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Victoria BresciaStatue of Victoria Brescia (Italian: Vittoria alata = winged Victory), found behind the Capitoline Temple of Brescia in 1826, now in the Santa Giulia Museum in Brescia.
Roman copy of a statue of Aphrodite of the 3rd century BC from a Greek City State. Wings added in 1st century BC to transform her in a winged Victory holding a shield to write on it (name of Victor?). The original Aphrodite (type of the Venus of Capua) was holding the shield of Ares to look at her face reflected on the inside of the shield.
The type of the Victoria of Brescia can be found on many Roman coins and on Trajan's column.
Jochen
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VespasianBust of the Emperor Vespasian in the Museo Nazionale NapoliJay GT4
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Tyche of AntiochLate Roman marble copy of the original Greek bronze cultic statue by Eutychides of Sicyon. Located in the Vatican Museum (Galleria dei Candelabri).Abu Galyon
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Tyche of AntiochThe Tyche of Antioch was a cult statue of the city goddess (fortune) of Antioch, venerated in a temple called the Tychaion. The statue was made by Eutychides of Sicyon (c. 335 - c. 275), a pupil of the great Lysippus. It was the best-known piece of Seleucid art, remarkable because it was sculpted to be viewed from all directions, unlike many statues from the period. Although the original has been lost, many copies exist, including the one in the photograph right, now at the Vatican. The goddess is seated on a rock (Mount Sipylus), has her right foot on a swimming figure (the river Orontes), wears a mural crown (the city’s walls), and has grain in her right hand (the city's fertility).Joe Sermarini
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TRAJAN'S COLUMN.AR denarius. 112-115 AD. 3,62 grs. Laureate and draped bust right. IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P / Trajan's column. Statue of Trajan on column on square base; two eagles at base of column. / S P Q P OPTIMO PRINCIPI.
RIC 292. RSC 588.
benito
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Bust of Trajan from the British museumareich
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Victory Inscribing Shield - From Trajan's ColumnTrajan’s Column, located in Trajan's Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum, was dedicated on 12 May 113. The freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, which artistically describes the epic wars between the Romans and Dacians (101 - 102 and 105 - 106). The relief includes about 2,500 figures and winds 23 times around the shaft for a total length of about 200 meters. The height of the relief increases towards the top of the Column (0.89 m to 1.25 m) with a corresponding increase in the heights of individual figures from c. 60 cm to 80 cm in height. Inside the shaft, a spiral staircase of 185 steps provides access to a viewing platform at the top. Ancient coins indicate preliminary plans to top the column with a statue of a bird, probably an eagle, but after construction, a statue of Trajan was put in place; this statue disappeared in the Middle Ages. On December 4, 1587, the top was crowned by Pope Sixtus V with a bronze figure of St. Peter, which remains to this day.Joe Sermarini
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Trophy of Arms from Trajan's ColumnTrajan’s Column, located in Trajan's Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum, was dedicated on 12 May 113. The freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, which artistically describes the epic wars between the Romans and Dacians (101 - 102 and 105 - 106). The relief includes about 2,500 figures and winds 23 times around the shaft for a total length of about 200 meters. The height of the relief increases towards the top of the Column (0.89 m to 1.25 m) with a corresponding increase in the heights of individual figures from c. 60 cm to 80 cm in height. Inside the shaft, a spiral staircase of 185 steps provides access to a viewing platform at the top. Ancient coins indicate preliminary plans to top the column with a statue of a bird, probably an eagle, but after construction, a statue of Trajan was put in place; this statue disappeared in the Middle Ages. On December 4, 1587, the top was crowned by Pope Sixtus V with a bronze figure of St. Peter, which remains to this day.Joe Sermarini
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Bronze age monumental bas-relief of Warpalawas, king of Tyana (on right), praying to the sky/storm god Tarhunta (on left).Teshub was the Hurrian god of sky, thunder, and storms. Taru was the name of a similar Hattic Storm God, whose mythology and worship as a primary deity continued and evolved through descendant Luwian and Hittite cultures. In these two, Taru was known as Tarhun / Tarhunt- / Tarhuwant- / Tarhunta, names derived from the Anatolian root *tarh "to defeat, conquer." Tarhunta was assimilated into and identified with the Hurrian Teshub by the religious reforms of Muwatalli II, ruler of the Hittite New Kingdom in the early 13th century BCE. Teshub reappears in the post-Hurrian cultural successor kingdom of Urartu as Tesheba, one of their chief gods; in Urartian art he is depicted standing on a bull. The depiction on this coin is from a monumental relief found at Tyana, an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, NiÄŸde Province, Central Anatolia, Turkey. It was the capital of a Luwian-speaking Neo-Hittite kingdom in the 1st millennium BC.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tarhunta_Warpalawas_IstArchMu.jpg
Photographer: QuartierLatin1968Joe Sermarini
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Remus and Romulus with the she-wolfThe symbol of Rome this is an Etruscan bronze currently on display at the Musei Capitolini in Rome.Jay GT4
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Seuthes III Bronze Head (Reproduction)The bronze head of Seuthes III was found ritually buried outside his tomb at Kazanlak. The photo is of a reproduction made to look as the head would have looked new. The actual bronze head is in remarkable similar condition with a slightly rougher greener patina and the eyes are plain green bronze.Joe Sermarini
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Serapis of BryaxisRoman marble copy of the head of Serapis from the Serapeion in Alexandria made by Bryaxis, flourishing 400-350 BC. Now in the Museo Pio-Clementino, Vaticane/Rome.
Jochen
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Rondanini MedusaSo-called “Rondanini Medusaâ€. Marble, Roman copy after a 5th-century BC Greek original by Phidias, which was set on the shield of Athena Parthenos.
Homer wrote about the Gorgon on four occasions, but only about the head, as if the creature had no body. Up to the 5th century B.C., the head depicted was very ugly, with her tongue sticking out, boar tusks, puffy cheeks, her eyeballs staring straight ahead and the snakes twisting all around her. The direct frontal stare was highly unusual in ancient Greek art. In some cases a beard, (probably representing streaks of blood) was added to her chin, making her appear as a wild. Gorgoneia painted on the shields of warriors on mid-5th century Greek vases, however, are not as ugly, strange or frightening. By that time, the Gorgon had lost her tusks and the snakes were rather stylized. The Hellenistic marble known as the Medusa Rondanini shows how the Gorgon changed over time into a beautiful woman.Joe Sermarini
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Divus Romulo MausoleumThe ruin of the sepulcher of Divus Romulus (died 209 A.D.), the son of Emperor Maxentius, is situated in a large quadrilateral enclosure forming part of the villa of Maxentius, on the Appian way, about one mile from the gate of S. Sebastian. The building is sometimes erroneously called the stables of the Circus of Caracalla.Joe Sermarini
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LABORS OF HERCULESA Roman sarcophagus from 250-260 A.D. depicting the labors of Hercules found at Pappa Tiberiopolis, Pisidia in the Archaeological Museum, Konya.
Photo by David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada.Joe Sermarini
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Hermes Bearing the Infant DionysosHermes bearing the infant Dionysos, made by Praxiteles, around 364 BC. Hellenistic marble copy, now in the Archaeological Museum of Olympia/Greece. Depicted on a coin from Philippopolis.
Jochen
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Pompey MagnusBust of Pompey Magnus (the Great), on show at the "Moi, Auguste" exhibition in the Grand Palais, Paris in 2014. Photo by me, taken in May 2014Constantine IV
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Colossal statue of the river NileThe new wing of the Vatican Museums, Museo Pio-Clementine, is home to Colossus of the Nile the river god, identified by the sphinxes and crocodiles, is represented as a dispenser of blessings. The 16 boys are thought to be an allusion to the number of cubits the level of the Nile rises when it floods, fertilizing the region which it crosses. The reliefs on the base represent life on the banks of the river. It is a 1st century A.D. Roman work most likely based on a Hellenistic original. Jochen
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Mithras slaying the BullFamous statue in the Musei Vaticani. But I couldn't find any information about its origin.
'Today the Vatican stands where the last sacrament of the Phrygian taurobolium was celebrated.'
( S. Angus, The Mystery Religions, p235)
Jochen
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Meta SudansThe Meta Sudans (Latin: "sweating turning post") was a large monumental conical fountain in ancient Rome. The pic shows a graphical reconstruction. It can be found on several Roman coins.Jochen
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Maria of Alania Byzantine empress by marriages to emperors Michael VII Doukas and Nikephoros III Botaneiates (aka Maria-Martha of Georgia of Bagrationi royal dynasy)Maria of Alania (born Martha, Georgian, 1053-1118) was Byzantine empress by marriages to emperors Michael VII Doukas and Nikephoros III Botaneiates. At the time of her marriage, Georgian Maria was one of only two non-Byzantine princesses to marry a Byzantine heir and the only one to give birth to an heir.
Anna Komnene, in her medieval biographical text Alexiad, describes the beautiful Georgian princess Maria of Alania: "...after Michael Ducas' deposition, when he had advised the latter's successor, Nicephorus Botaniates, to take her in marriage, because she came from another country and had not a crowd of kinsfolk to give the Emperor trouble, and he had told Botaniates a great deal about her family and personal beauty, and often praised her to him. And certainly she was as slender of stature as a cypress, her skin was white as snow, and though her face was not a perfect round, yet her complexion was exactly like a spring flower or a rose. And what mortal could describe the radiance of her eyes? Her eyebrows were well-marked and red-gold, while her eyes were blue. Full many a painter's hand has successfully imitated the colors of the various flowers the seasons bring, but this queen's beauty, the radiance of her grace and the charm and sweetness of her manners surpassed all description and all art. Never did Apelles or Pheidias or any of the sculptors produce a statue so beautiful. The Gorgon's head was said to turn those who looked upon it into stone, but anyone who saw the Queen walking or met her unexpectedly, would have gaped and remained rooted to the spot, speechless, as if apparently robbed of his mind and wits. There was such harmony of limbs and features, such perfect relation of the whole to the parts and of the parts to the whole, as was never before seen in a mortal body, she was a living statue, a joy to all true lovers of the beautiful. In a word, she was an incarnation of Love come down to this terrestrial globe."
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_of_AlaniaJoe Sermarini
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Marcus Aurelius Equestrian statueThis is the copy of the Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius on the Capitoline hill. The original is in the Capitoline Museum, this replica sits outside. It is said to have survived because it was mistakenly believed to be of Constantine the Great. Picture taken September 2008.Jay GT4
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Bust of Marcus Aurelius from the British museumareich
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Bust of Lucius Verus from the British museumareich
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Julius CaesarBust of Julius Caesar, on show at the "Moi, Auguste" exhibition in the Grand Palais, Paris in 2014. Photo by me, taken in May 2014Constantine IV
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Isis from the Villa HadrianaIsis, marble statue from the Hadrian period, found in the 17th century at the Villa Hadriana near Tivoli. Isis, crowned with small throne (= aset, Egyptian name for Isis), in long garment with Isis knot over her breast, holding situla in lowered l. hand and sistrum in raised r. hand.
The original statue was acquired 1753 for the Capitoline Museums/Rome, 1798 displaced by Napoleon to Paris, 1815 donated by Pope Pius VII to King Louis XVIII, and still in the Louvre/Paris.Jochen
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Christ PantokratorDetail from the deesis mosaic in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul and histamenon (obverse) of Romanus III Argyrus with Christ enthroned.Serendipity
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Owl of AthenaThe little owl (Athene noctua) and Athenian owl tetradrachm (reverse).
The little owl (Athene noctua), also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva, is a bird that inhabits much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, the Palearctic east to Korea, and North Africa. It was introduced into Britain at the end of the 19th century and into the South Island of New Zealand in the early 20th century.Serendipity
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DionysusPallazo Massimo alle TermeJ. B.
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Funeral Stele inspired by LRBC - GLORIA ROMANORVMFuneral monument (presumably) inspired by (of after) the GLORIA ROMANORVM coins issued in the 350s by Magentius, Constantius II, Decentius & Nepotianus.
At the Landesmuseum at Koblenz, Germany.Belisarius
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Ludovisi AresPalazzo Altemps
Roman copy of greek original from aproximately 330 BC.J. B.
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Neptune, Apollo, Cybele, Luna, Mercury, Hephaestus, Helios, Mars, Venus, Hercules, BacchusPallazo AltempsJ. B.
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Jupiter, Pluto, Persephone, Neptune, AmphitritePallazo AltempsJ. B.
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Aphrodite of CnidusPallazo Altemps
Roman copy of Praxiteles's original.J. B.
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Marcus AureliusPallazo AltempsJ. B.
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Ephesian ArtemisI took this photo while visiting the ancient city of Ephesus, Turkey, in August of 2013. Along one of the avenues was this relief of one of Ephesus' most unique symbols: the Ephesian Artemis. Large cult statues of this goddess would be placed in the Artemis Temple just outside the city. Ephesian Artemis can occasionally be found on the reverse sides of Seleucid coins.ThatParthianGuy
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PeafowlVatican museums
animal of Juno ~ HeraJ. B.
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goddesVatican museumsJ. B.
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PupienusVatican museumsJ. B.
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FortunaVatican museumsJ. B.
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Nilus Nilus and his attributes: sphinx, crocodile, cornucopiae
Vatican MuseumsJ. B.
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ClaudiusVatican museumsJ. B.
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Philip the ArabVatican museumsJ. B.
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Octavianus AugustusVatican museumsJ. B.
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Julia DomnaVatican museums
J. B.
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bust of TraianVatican museumsJ. B.
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MinervaVatican museumsJ. B.
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head of Alexander the GreatVatican museumsJ. B.
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River God CaysterThe Lydian River god Cayster (Kaistros), father of Ephesus. From the frigidarium of the Vedius Gymnasium at Ephesus. Izmir Archaeological Museum. Photo William Hooton August 2021. Will A. Hooton
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Marcus AureliusBust of Marcus Aurelius. Ephesus Archaeological Museum. Photo William Hooton August 2021. Will A. Hooton
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BalbinusBust of Balbinus. Ephesus Archaeological Museum. Photo William Hooton August 2021. Will A. Hooton
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Domitian A somewhat odd, colossal bust of Domitian, part of a collosal statue. Ephesus Archaeological Museum. Photo William Hooton August 2021. Will A. Hooton
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Artemis Ephesia. Known as the beautiful Artemis Ephesia, in the Ephesus Archaeological Museum, it is one of 4 cult statues found in the Prytaneion in 1956, of Roman 1st century manufacture.
Photo William Hooton August 2021. Will A. Hooton
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LiviaBust of Livia, wife to Augustus. Ephesus Archaeological Museum. Photo William Hooton August 2021.Will A. Hooton
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CommodusBust of Commodus. Ephesus Archaeological Museum. Photo William Hooton. Will A. Hooton
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Julia PaulaBust attributed to Julia Paula. Ephesus Archaeological Museum. Photo William Hooton August 2021Will A. Hooton
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head of Aphroditemuseum on PalatinJ. B.
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Balbusmuseum on PalatinJ. B.
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VitelliusStatue of Vitellius in the Louvre Museum, Paris. Photo taken by me in May 2014. Note the statue has retained some pigmentation from the original paint.Constantine IV
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TrajanStatue of Trajan, in the Louvre Museum, Paris. Photo taken by me in May 2014. Like all original ancient marble busts and statues, this would have been painted. The Cuirass has two Victories setting up a Trophy.Constantine IV
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Vespasianexposition in ColosseumJ. B.
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AsclepiusCapitoline museumsJ. B.
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ProbusCapitoline museumsJ. B.
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Maximinus ThraxCapitoline museumsJ. B.
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ElagabalusCapitoline museumsJ. B.
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empressCapitoline museums
I can't remember who it is - maybe Herennia EtruscillaJ. B.
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Alexander SeverusCapitoline museums
I'm not 100% sure that it's Alexander Severus.J. B.
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Gordian IIICapitoline museumsJ. B.
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Tiber or other rivergodCapitoline MuseumsJ. B.
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Marcus AureliusCapitoline museums
this statue survived because in Christian times Romans thought it's statue of Constantine I.J. B.
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HerculesCapitoline museumsJ. B.
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Commodus as HerculesCapitoline museumsJ. B.
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Capitoline WolfCapitoline Museums
It seems it's from 13th century - not etruscan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She-Wolf_of_the_CapitolJ. B.
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Head of ConstantinusCapitoline museumsJ. B.
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Titus and VespasianusExposition inside Curia in Roman forum
built by Julius Caesar 44 BC
converted to church in 630 ADJ. B.
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Titusexposition in curiaJ. B.
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Hermes Fastening his SandalStatue of Hermes Fastening his Sandal, made by Lysipp c.320 BC. Roman copy from the Louvre/Paris. This statue is depicted on coins of Marcianopolis.
A new research by von Mosch (2013) shows that Hermes is rather loosening his sandal, which can be seen by the position of his fingers. In this way fastening is not possible!Jochen
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Hercules of the Forum BoariumHercules of the Forum Boarium is a gilded 2nd century B.C. slightly over-lifesize bronze statue, which was found in the Forum Boarium in Rome. This statue is probably the one mentioned by Pliny, which originally stood in the Temple of Hercules Victor, by the Tiber. It lacks the lion skin. Perhaps a actual lion skin was once draped on it. The sculpture is now in the Musei Capitolini, Rome.Joe Sermarini
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Farnese HerculesThe Farnese Hercules is one of the most famous ancient sculptures. It is a colossal copy made after a smaller Lysippos original, and intended to adorn the Baths of Caracalla. The sculpture was discovered and removed from the baths in 1546, entering the famous collection of Alessandro Farnese. It now resides in the museum of Naples.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnese_HerculesJoe Sermarini
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Hercules of the Theatre of PompeyThe Hercules of the Theatre of Pompey, from the 2nd Century A.D., was discovered in 1864. It had been carefully buried under protective tiles, incised FCS (fulgor conditum summanium), indicating that it had been struck by lightning, and had been carefully interred on the spot. The figure supports himself lightly on his grounded vertical club; the skin of the Nemean Lion is draped over his left forearm, he holds the apples of Hesperides in his left hand. The sculpture is now in the round room area of Museo Pio-Clementino.Joe Sermarini
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Glykon SnakeStatuette of Glykon Snake, today in Museum of Constanta/Romania. Depicted on many coins from Thrace and Moesia inferior.Jochen
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Eros of PariumA Roman copy of the statue Eros of Parium made by Praxiteles, found in Nicopolis a Istrum, today in the Archaeological Museum Sofia/Bulgaria. Depicted on coins from Parium.Jochen
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Mons ArgaiosMons Argaios, today Erciyes Dagi, the holy mountain of Cappadocia was the standard depiction on coins of Caesarea/Cappadocia.Jochen
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EagleA limestone sculpture of an Eagle, (representing Jupiter) clutching a Snake in its beak (representing Death). Was found in September 2013 during building work in the Minories area of the City of London. It was made in what is now the Cotswolds area of England around 1900 years ago and would have sat in an alcove of a tomb, just outside the city boundary of Londinium. I was lucky to see this back in November 2013 as it is now no longer on display.Constantine IV
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Dacian Draco on Trajan's ColumnThe Dacian Draco was the standard ensign of troops of the ancient Dacian people, which can be seen in the hands of the soldiers of Decebalus in several scenes depicted on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy. It has the form of a dragon with open wolf-like jaws containing several metal tongues. The hollow dragon's head was mounted on a pole with a fabric tube affixed at the rear. In use, the draco was held up into the wind, or above the head of a horseman, where it filled with air and gave the impression it was alive while making a shrill sound as the wind passed through its strips of material. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacian_DracoJoe Sermarini
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Dacian Draco on Trajan's ColumnThe Dacian Draco was the standard ensign of troops of the ancient Dacian people, which can be seen in the hands of the soldiers of Decebalus in several scenes depicted on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy. It has the form of a dragon with open wolf-like jaws containing several metal tongues. The hollow dragon's head was mounted on a pole with a fabric tube affixed at the rear. In use, the draco was held up into the wind, or above the head of a horseman, where it filled with air and gave the impression it was alive while making a shrill sound as the wind passed through its strips of material. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacian_DracoJoe Sermarini
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