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| ---------- The Sign Language of Roman Coins ---------- |
| Spes – The Personification of Hope |
| You can click on any coin image to see the full coin. |
A row of Spes images from the "same" coin of Severus Alexander
rigins of Spes
The reverse of a potin tetradrachm of Carinus showing Elpis.
Spes is the Roman equivalent of the Greek Elpis, a minor goddess of Hope (and possibly of Expectation). She has a pleasant image of an adolescent girl walking to the left, holding out a flower, and with her other hand holding up the hem of her skirt. But the image originated centuries earlier, from Greek statues called korai. These showed young girls of 14 or so, wearing adult dress for the first time, hitching the skirt to keep it from dragging, and holding a flower or a bird to emphasise the fresh hope of spring and new growth.
The coin on the right is an Alexandrian tetradrachm of Carinus from 283-284 CE, a chunky coin made of an alloy which included some lead. This is from quite late on in the timeline of the Roman Empire, but nevertheless shows Elpis rather than Spes.
The image turns up very frequently, at the start of an Augustus's reign or when a Caesar is appointed. Clearly, it symbolised the new hope and expectation of good things for the rulers and their people.
A Roman Republican temple of Spes was founded by M. Attilius Calatinus in the Forum Holitorium, a vegetable market near the Tiber. This might seem an odd place to found a temple, but Rome was full of temples, and the Forum Holitorium also contained temples to Pietas, Janus, and Juno Sospita.
pes on Roman Coins
The reverse of a sestertius of Claudius showing Spes.
The reverse of a sestertius of Domitian showing Spes.
As usual with Roman coins, the details differ remarkably from example to example, and at the same time, key elements stay the same. This gives us an idea of what parts of the image are accepted as the standard symbol of Hope. A slim young woman in a flowing dress – a Greek chiton – is tiptoeing to the left. Her hair is done up with a single long braid.
The dress has a fold of material which falls from the elbow of her right arm, in which she is holding out a flower. With the other hand, she lifts the hem of her dress away from the ground. This pulls the material against her leg, which is often clearly outlined. This comes from an artistic tradition in which it was the only way to show that a leg was present underneath the material.
The sestertius on the far left, of Claudius from 41-42 CE, shows a stylised rendtition of Spes, and seems to have been the first Spes on a Roman coin. It was probably meant to celebrate the birth of his son Britannicus. Subsequent coin, like the sestertius of Domitian from 73-74 CE next to it, were slightly more realistic.
The reverse of a denarius of Hadrian showing Spes.
The reverse of a denarius of Trajan showing Spes.
Spes was sometimes shown standing, but was usually walking.
There were two varieties in the depiction of Spes walking, depending which leg was shown forward. The left leg forward resulted in the traditional, rather stiff pose, with the chiton pulled firmly against the leg and showing its outline.
With the right leg forward, the depiction is much more subtle and graceful, with the drape of the chiton more prominent in the composition, so that it is more fluid and has more movement.
You can see both in the frieze at the top of the page, and they are also evident in these two denarii, of Trajan from 107 CE on the near right, and of his successor Hadrian from 137 CE on the far right. The legend on the coin of Hadrian is SPES P. R. — Hope of the People of Rome.
The reverse of a denarius of Faustina Junior showing Spes.
The reverse of a denarius of Septimius Severus showing Spes.
Here are two more minor variations on the theme.
On the far left, a denarius of Faustina Junior from 157-161 CE shows a Spes who is facing us and standing still, so that the gesture of lifting her skirt hem seems almost like a modern curtsey. This pose was not repeated on later coins.
Next to it is a denarius of Septimius Severus from the eastern mint known as Emesa, from the very start of his reign in 194 CE, with the legend BONA SPES, Good Hope. Many coins from this mint had stiff and stylised renditions on their reverse, like this Spes.
She is more like the first Spes on the Claudius sestertius shown above than her contemporaries; she is also a little like the Elpis on the coin at the top of the page.
The engraver has given her a floral headdress, which is not at all usual.
The reverse of an antoninianus of Philip I showing Spes.
The reverse of an antoninianus of Saloninus showing Spes.
On this antoninianus of Saloninus from 2580260 CE, Spes has company. She is shown on the right, offering her flower of hope to the teenaged prince. The legend, SPES PVBLICA, means "Hope of the People," and this clearly means Saloninus. Unfortunately for him, the young hope Saloninus was put to death by Postumus, who successfully carved out a breakaway empire in Gaul.
The reverse of an antoninianus of Gallienus showing Spes.
There were several variations of Spes legends on these coins. Apart from BONA SPES, SPES P.R. and SPES PVBLICA, already shown, you can also find SPES AVG or AVGG (Hope of the Imperium), SPES PERPETVAE (Everlasting Hope) and a few more.
The legend on the far right is unusual. It is SPES FELICITATIS ORBIS, hope for the happiness of the world. The coin was struck by Philip I, known as The Arab, who became emperor after the death of Gordian III during a war with Persia. Some say that Philip had Gordian killed, others that he died in battle; but Philip knew he had to get back to Rome to consolidate his position, so he quickly agreed a treaty with the Persian ruler Shahpur I and issued coins like this, which celebrate the peace.
The coin on the left is an antoninianus of Gallienus, and it shows Spes with a completely different legend: INDVLG AVG, the indulgence of the emperor. This combination suggests that the emperor's generosity can be confidently anticipated.
Here are a few Spes coins from different reigns, showing the similarity of the designs and how the image remained stable over a long period.
The reverse of a denarius of Marcus Aurelius, 145 CE.
The reverse of a denarius of Caracalla, 199 CE.
The reverse of a denarius of Severus Alexander, 232 CE.
The reverse of an antoninianus of Valerian, 253-255 CE.
The reverse of an antoninianus of Claudius II Gothicus, 269 CE.
The reverse of an antoninianus of Carus, 282 CE.
I rather like the Claudius II coin, on which Spes looks rather gangly and awkward, just like the adolescent she was supposed to be.
You can see on these coins that often, even when the rest of the image is done with some subtlety, the hand is not. Two oversized fingers project outwards, and the fingers gripping the flower are drawn too large.
This is to make it clear that the grip is a delicate one; you must not crush the flower of hope.
pes in other contexts.
The reverse of a denarius of Faustina Junior showing Concordia.
The reverse of a denarius of Hadrian showing Concordia.
Some coins use Spes, or just Spes' attributes, combined with other symbology. A few of these from my other pages are brought together here.
First, two different images of Concordia, goddess of harmony and concord.
On the denarius of Hadrian to the near right, Concordia is enthroned and holds out a patera, a small dish used in religious rituals. Underneath the throne is a cornucopia, symbol of plenty. Supporting her under her left elbow is a statuette of Spes. An interesting combination of images!
Next to it is a denarius of Faustina Junior. This Concordia does not have a statuette of Spes. Instead, in place of a pater, she holds out a flower! An interesting way to include the symbology of hope into the design.
The reverse of a denarius of Commodus showing Annona.
The reverse of a denarius of Diva Faustina Senior showing Aeternitas.
On the near left is a denarius of Diva Faustina Senior, commemorating the wife of Antoninus Pius. The figure is Aeternitas, or Eternity. She is holding a phoenix, symbolising rebirth; and her pose is similar to that of Spes.
You may remember from the top of the page that the Greek korai from which the image of Spes originated could be shown holding a bird. It is tempting to infer that this coin, which symbolises the afterlife of the deified Faustina, incorporates an element of hope because of that similarity, but that would be hard to prove.
The reverse of a denarius of Julia Mamaea showing Juno Lucina.
On the far left, a denarius of Commodus showing Annona, goddess of the annual corn supply.
On this rather complicated image, Annona is holding in her hand a figurine which has been interpreted as Spes. But it is also possible that this might be Ceres, the grain goddess. Either would form a very suitable part of the coin's symbology.
Finally, on the right, a denarius of Julia Mamaea showing Juno Lucina, a goddess associated with motherhood and childbirth.
In her left arm she is holding a baby in swaddling clothes – that is, well wrapped up – though actually I think it looks more like a giant clothes-peg. She holds in her right hand Spes' flower of hope for the new child.
I have used a few battered examples of coins like these on a short page about identifying Spes coins.
| The content of this page was last updated on 18 August 2009 |
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