The Forum Holitorium, three Temples and especially Juno Sospita

[Prieure de Sion]

On my last Rome trip, I was lucky enough to meet a guard who allowed me to descend deeper into the vaults than is normally allowed as a visitor. On my usual tour of Rome, I passed the Forum Holitorium again, and with it the church of San Nicola in Carcere, which stands on the site of three ancient temples. But first to the Forum Holitorium itself. 

Google Maps Pin: https://maps.app.goo.gl/KK6ArLDwtVdBimdS9 

Photos are from my Rome visit.

You walk directly along the street "Via del Teatro de Marcello" past the theatre of the same name Theatre of Marcellus...

Varro wrote in the 1st century BC that the Forum Holitorium was "the old macellum". The square lay outside the Servian Wall. Very convenient for a market, several roads crossed here: the Vicus Iugarius coming from the Roman Forum, a road parallel to the Tiber, a road from the Field of Mars, a stepped path from the Capitol and the path from Trastevere over the Tiber Bridge. So you can imagine the Forum Holitorium quite busy on market days (nundinae). The fruit and vegetable market was bordered by the slope of the Capitol, the Marcellus Theatre and the Tiber harbour (Portus Tiberinus). Its centre was formed by three podium temples built side by side from the Republican period, which according to ancient sources were dedicated to the deities Ianus, Spes and Iuno Sospita. A fourth temple from that period, the Temple of Pietas, built between 191 and 181, had to make way for the construction of the Marcellus Theatre. Filippo Coarelli suggests that the middle of the three temples, now covered by the church of San Nicola in Carcere, was that of Iuno Sospita. To the north, facing the Marcellus Theatre, the temple of Ianus adjoined it, while the temple of Spes was the southernmost of the group of three. A look at the site plan shows the relatively cramped situation; the temples were built directly next to each other and were probably only accessible from the front.

The three temples from the time of the Republic were replaced in the early imperial period by successor buildings, first the middle temple in the early to mid-Lugustean period and then the two flanking temples in the last years of Augustus' reign or the first years of Tiberius. These new buildings resembled their Republican predecessors in size and construction. The northern and central temples of the imperial period had chambers in their substructure, which are presumed to have been used as shops or warehouses. If this interpretation is correct, the chambers are also evidence that the trading activities known from the forum holitarium had now moved into permanent spaces instead of market stalls. While the cult in the temples was probably not affected by this, the installation of shops is an indication of urban densification. In the area in front of the three temples, an inscription was discovered according to which Emperor Hadrian had restorations carried out. 

The northern temple, presumably dedicated to Ianus, stands on a podium of opus caementicium covered with travertine. It is a peripteral temple without a colonnade at the back (= sine postico). Including the staircase, it is about 26 m long and 15 m wide. A double row of six Ionic columns stands at the front. The row of columns on the southern long side is particularly well preserved, as seven columns, made entirely of peperino, were integrated into the church wall. The architrave and its frieze, on the other hand, are made of travertine and were installed as a spolia on the right side of the church. Two columns from the row of columns on the northern long side are still standing. Gaius Duilius, the victor of the naval battle of Mylae in the First Punic War, built the Temple of Ianus on the Forum Holitorium from his share of the spoils of war. Probably not coincidental was the proximity of this temple to the Tiber harbour and the docks of the navy. Emperor Tiberius had it restored in 17 AD.

Middle temple (of Iuno Sospita). Now covered by the church of San Nicola, the middle temple with its staircase is about 34 m long and 15 m wide. It is also a peripteral temple with originally six columns as porticoes. The altar was located in the centre of the travertine staircase. From the front area of the temple, some columns are still preserved due to their integration into the church building. Gaius Cornelius Cethegus had a temple built for Iuno Sospita on the Forum Holitorum between 197 and 194 BC.

The southern temple, presumably dedicated to the Spes, is clearly smaller than the other two: about 25 m long and 11 m wide. It was a Doric peripteral temple with six columns as a portico. Seven of the original eleven columns on the northern long side have been preserved because they are integrated into the church wall. They are made of rough travertine and were originally stuccoed. The Temple of Spes, like that of Ianus, was built during the First Punic War by Aulus Atilius Calatinus. After the fire of 213 BC and then again by Germanicus in 17 AD, this temple was restored. 

A picture from the north temple - possible the temple of Ianus...

Let us enter the church of San Nicola in Carcere and thus the ancient temple of Iuno Sospita...

The church building stands on the foundation walls of a former Roman temple complex that was located between the Capitol, the Marcellus Theatre and the Tiber harbour on the Forum Holitorium, an ancient vegetable market. This temple complex consisted of three buildings that formed a unified complex. The dating of the church foundation is scientifically disputed. In the Liber Pontificalis, the existence of a dungeon in the ancient buildings is attested for the time of the pontificate of Hadrian I (772-795 AD). The use of the buildings by a Christian community is assumed by most researchers to have taken place in the late 8th or 9th century AD. The first historically confirmed data exist only through an inscription in the church, which refers to a number of offerings made to the church by a Roman priest in the time of Urban II in 1088 AD. It is assumed that this inscription enumerates the endowment property. In 1099 AD, under the pontificate of Paschalis II, the church is already listed as the titular deaconry of a cardinal with the title bearer Ugone. The church received its present form largely through a rebuilding and new construction, which was consecrated in 1128 AD by order of Pope Honorius II. In the 1590s AD, the interior was completely redesigned. The façade by Giacomo della Porta dates from 1599 AD. The medieval bell tower originally served as a defence tower and was rebuilt in the 16th century AD. In the Middle Ages and early modern times, the church fulfilled important social and religious functions: At the church, young mothers cared for foundlings or gave their surplus breast milk to be donated to orphans or less fortunate infants. This custom of caring for foundlings was probably an amalgamation of an old legend according to which a daughter offered her breasts for refreshment to her mother, who was imprisoned and starving in the dungeons on whose foundations the church is located, and the special patronage of St. Nicholas over the children. For a long time, the church had the right to ask for the release of an imprisoned person on St. Nicholas' Day (6 December).

Inside the church San Nicola in Carcere...

Let's go downstairs to the catacombs...

Christian icons, inscriptions and parts of buildings from earlier constructions...

And it goes deeper still. Walls mixed from medieval pre-churches and the remains of the temple walls...

Again and again there are niches with human bones, but it is no longer known exactly who the bones belong to...

Foundations of the Roman temple of Iuno Sospita...

Floor mosaic in the complex of the Temple of Iuno Sospita...

Overview panel with location and find specimens from excavations...

If you are ever in Rome, I can only recommend a visit to the Forum Holitorium area. Besides the theatre of Marcellus, the Porticus of Octavia, the three temples at the church of San Nicola in Carcere, the small temples of Hercules and the temple of Portunus are also interesting. And don't forget to go into the catacombs of the church - a unique atmosphere. 

 

  

Iuno Sospita

As the wife of Iuppiter, Iuno was the highest Roman goddess. With him and Minerva she belonged as Iuno Regina to the newer triad of gods, which included the highest gods. In this capacity she was equated with the Greek Hera, but not as early as was customary with other deities. She also corresponded to the ancient Mediterranean goddess of birth, Eileithyia, who was already worshipped before the immigration of the Hellenes under a name unknown to us. Of all the goddesses, Iuno was the one most associated with other deities. This characteristic, called multinuminosity, was her main Mediterranean heritage. So it is hardly surprising that she united many numina within herself. This could go so far that the numina of Iuno Lucina and Diana Aventina merged. The writer Cato reports that on farms before the harvest, Iuno was worshipped alongside Ceres, Ianus and Iuppiter. As the patroness of small livestock and useful trees, Iuno was an everyday part of the rural cult.

Today's custom of giving flowers on Valentine's Day also goes back to the cult of Iuno. On 14 February, a festival was celebrated in her honour. When the number of converts from the pagan to the Christian faith flattened out in the 3rd century AD, the idea of adopting pagan ideas into the new religion was born. It came in handy that the later Saint Valentine was martyred on that day. So the feast was simply adopted and the custom of his sweethearts (under the patronage of Iuno as goddess of marriage) as well.

(So it is to this goddess that I owe this terrible Valentine's Day - "Thank you" Iuno, you have driven thousands of men to despair with it).

She was the mistress of Rome and as Iuno Regina also the patron goddess of the Etruscan city of Veii. Her cult comrade was the sulphur goddess Mefitis. As the goddess of pasture, Iuno Caprotina, she was not responsible for large livestock like Hera, but for small livestock in the form of goats. Consequently, the goat is the goddess' favourite animal. As Iuno Sospita, Seispes or Sispita she wears a goat skin over her head, the characteristic feature of which are the horns. Her relationship with the snub-nosed and vine-covered Silenes also goes back to these goats. Another animal taken from Greek mythology with Hera was the cuckoo. In this form, the Greek Zeus is said to have approached Hera for the first time.

In connection with Iuno Sospita, one also encounters a snake. As a Bronze Age relic, it corresponds to the representation of the snake with Pallas Athena on the Acropolis. Feeding the snake next to the sanctuary of Iuno Sospita was associated with a fertility spell. A virgin girl would offer food to the womb. If she was accepted, the land would bear rich fruit. The cult is known from Athens in a similar form. Already in the times of Augustus, the feeding ceremony had become a kind of tourist attraction. The main place of worship of Iuno Sospita was Lanuvium. There, the cult of Iuno was carried out in its purest form (without additional deities). Representations can be found until the 2nd century AD (source: imperium-romanum.com).

Lanuvium was especially noted for its rich and much venerated temple of Juno Sospes (Livy 8.14; Cic. Nat. D. 1.83; Fin. 2.63), from which Octavian borrowed money in 31 BC, and the possessions of which extended as far as the coast of the Mediterranean. It possessed many other temples repaired by Antoninus Pius, who was born close by (S. H. A. Ant. Pius 1), as was Commodus.

Lanuvium: The portico of the Sanctuary of Juno Sospita (picture from Wikipedia)

 

See also free PDF Publication:

University of Amsterdam
Hermanns, A.M.
Latin cults through Roman eyes
CHAPTER III: Juno Sospita: guardian of Lanuviumand Rome

Download: https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/7936887/03.pdf 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2023 by Prieure de Sion

[Prieure de Sion]

Lucius Thorius Balbus; Roman Republic; Mint: Rome; Date: 105 BC; Nominal: Denarius; Material: Silver; Diameter: 18/20mm; Weight: 3.90g; Reference: Crawford RRC 316/1; Obverse: Head of Juno Sospita, right, wearing goat-skin; Border of dots; Inscription: I S M R; Translation: Iuno Sospita Magna Regina; Translation: Great Queen Juno the Saviour; Reverse: Bull charging right; Border of dots; Inscription: L THORIVS BALBVS; Translation: Lucius Thorius Balbus

 

Comment: This denarius was minted in 105 BC, when Rome was defeated in the Battle of the Cimbrians at Arausio (today Orange) on the Rhone, and at the same time was successful in Africa, where King Bocchus handed over Sulla, who had been fighting for several years against the Yugurta empire. The monetary officer, however, preferred to refer on the one hand to his family name (gentilicium) - 'thor' in Greek. means a bull, on the other - to the local cult of Juno - Iuno Sospita Magna Regina (Juno Savior, Great Queen). Iuno had its famous temple with a statue no less famous in Lazio in Lanuvium, a city with which the issuer's family was also associated.

 

 

Lucius Roscius Fabatus; Roman Republic; Mint: Rome; Date: 64 BC; Nominal: Denarius; Material: Silver; Diameter: 18mm; Weight: 3.73g; Reference: Sydenham 915; Reference: Babelon (Roscia) 3; Reference: Crawford RRC 412/1; Obverse: Head of Juno Sospita, right, wearing goat-skin; Inscription: L ROSCI; Translation: Lucius Roscius; Reverse: Girl and snake facing each other; Inscription: FABATI; Translation: Fabatus

 

Comment: Lucius Roscius Fabatus (born around 95-90 BC probably in Lanuvium; died 43 BC in Forum Gallorum near Mutina) was a Roman politician of the late Republic. He came from the plebeian family of the Roscians from Lanuvium, a Latin city known for its temple and cult of Juno Sospita. He began his political career (cursus honorum) as a mint master in 64 BC. For the year 55 BC he was elected tribune of the people. During his term of office, he and four of his colleagues drew up the lex Mamilia Roscia Alliena Peducaea Fabia. In the following year, Roscius, who as a representative of popular politics was a supporter of Gaius Iulius Caesar, is attested as a commander in Caesar's staff, where he took on various tasks. Probably as a legate, he led the 13th legion into the winter camp in the territory of the Esubians. After his service in Gaul, he continued to be active as a partisan of Caesar in the Senate.

 

 

Lucius Procilius; Denarius of the Roman Republican Period 80 BC; Material: Silver; Diameter: 18.6mm; Weight: 3.86g; Mint: Rome; Reference: Crawford RRC 379/1, Sydenham 771, Babelon (Procilia) 1; Obverse: Laureate head of Jupiter, right. Border of dots. The Inscription reads: S C for Senatus Consulto (By Decree of the Senate); Reverse: Juno Sospita standing right, holding shield in left hand and hurling spear with right hand; before, snake. Border of dots. The Inscription reads: L PROCILI F for Lucius Procilius Filius

 

Comments: The gens Procilia, sometimes written Procillia, was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned during the final century of the Republic, but few of them obtained any position of importance in the Roman state, and they are best known as a result of the historian Procillius, a contemporary of Cicero, whose work has been lost, but who was cited as a source by the Roman antiquarians. The Procilii may have come from Lanuvium, an ancient city of Latium. A coin issued by the Procilii appears to allude to such an origin, depicting Juno Sospita, whose worship was centered on Lanuvium. Lucius Procilius L. filius was triumvir monetalis in 80 BC. His coins (the denarius presented here) depict Juno Sospita, alluding to his Lanuvian origin.

 

 

 

  

You are cordially invited to post anything you think fits this topic, coins of the Iuno Sospita as well as other Iuno coins.

[Marsyas Mike]

Thank you so much for sharing these splendid photos, @Prieure de Sion.  I walked around the outside of these areas in 2017, but never made it inside - maybe next time!  

This year has been really good to me in regards to scrounging low-grade Republican denarii - three of these with Juno Sospita are below:  

[expat]

What a fantastic and informative write up. The combination of modern day photographs with a textual overview of historical interest makes for an interesting read.

[Marcus]

Thank you very much for this highly interesting post. Especially the following is important and as both Antoninus Pius and Commodus had coins minted with a Juno Sospita reverse.

5 hours ago, Prieure de Sion said:

 

Lanuvium was especially noted for its rich and much venerated temple of Juno Sospes (Livy 8.14; Cic. Nat. D. 1.83; Fin. 2.63), from which Octavian borrowed money in 31 BC, and the possessions of which extended as far as the coast of the Mediterranean. It possessed many other temples repaired by Antoninus Pius, who was born close by (S. H. A. Ant. Pius 1), as was Commodus.

 

My contribution:

Commodus as Co-Augustus (2nd emission Oct - 9 Dec 177)

L AVREL COMMODVS AVG GERM SARM
laur. hd. r.

IVNONI SISPITAE TR II IMP II COS PP / S-C
Juno Sospita, adv. r., with shield and javelin, snake in lower field right.

RIC 1583 var., Banti 162 var., BMCRE 1669 var. (head instead of draped or draped and cuirassed bust)

31 mm, 26.5 g

I think this is the last time that she appeared in Roman coinage.

 

 

 

[Prieure de Sion]

Nothing to do with the Iuno Sospiter - but if you're already near the Theatre of Marcellus and the Forum Holitorium, then take a look at these little attractions. Many are "overlooked" among all the hot spots - but they deserve to be noticed. These small attractions are located in the immediate vicinity, just a few steps away from each other.

 

Shit, I can't remember what that is.... 

 

 

Temple of Hercules Victor. As already mentioned in the thread by @David Atherton, this is not the temple of Vesta - even if this was thought for a long time (and is partly still said today). However, the attribution to Hercules, who was highly revered in Rome, is now certain. A fragmentary inscription on a statue base names Hercules Olivarius. This epithet may derive from the fact that the builder - a wealthy merchant named Marcus Octavius Herrenus - may have traded in oil. It is the temple of Hercules Victor ("victorious Hercules"; sometimes also called Hercules Olivarius); it would be more accurate to speak of the Round Temple on the Tiber or the Round Temple on the Forum Boarium. The round temple, surrounded on all sides by columns, is the oldest marble building preserved in Rome. Built around 120 BC, the temple has a diameter of 14.8 metres and consists of a central, circular cult room (cella) surrounded by 19 columns over ten metres high (one column is missing; it may have served as a spolia in another building). The capitals are Corinthian, the bases of tuff. These columns originally carried an architrave. This has not survived, nor has the original roof. The walls and the columns, however, date back to the time of construction; they form the oldest surviving marble building in Rome.

Google Maps Pin: https://maps.app.goo.gl/C1x1AxRuWQdVsUKa8 

 

 

Temple of Portunus. The so-called Temple of Portunus (Latin aedes Portuni) was a temple in Rome probably dedicated to the port god Portunus. It is also known by the name of Temple of Fortuna Virilis, which has been incorrectly used since the Renaissance. It stands in the former Forum Boarium directly next to a bridge, the Pons Aemilius, and the former city port of Rome, the Portus Tiberinus, where goods brought from the seaport Ostia Antica were unloaded. A predecessor building measuring around 11 × 32 metres, the remains of which were discovered during excavations at the beginning of the 20th century, already dated from the turn of the 4th to the 3rd century B.C. The temple that exists today was built soon after 100 B.C.. A first restoration took place in the 1st century AD. The podium temple, designed as a pseudoperipteros, rises on a podium measuring 11.87 × 25.60 metres at the base and is thus somewhat less elongated than its predecessor. The temple was accessible via an open staircase in front of the entire front and once bordered by stringers. The building, which measures 10.50 × 19.30 metres in the stylobate, consists of a 5.85-metre-deep vestibule with two bays, the pronaos, behind which the actual cult room, the cella, opens through a door. The length of the cella including the wall thickness is 11.91 metres. Four 8.22-metre-high Ionic columns form the front of the temple, with another column on each of the long sides connecting to the outer walls of the cella, which are divided by Ionic half-columns: including the corner columns, five on the long sides and four on the rear wall.

The pronaos columns and corner column of the cella were made of travertine, as were the other column bases and capitals as well as the architrave and sima. The shafts of the other half-columns are made of tuff, as are the cella walls, the frieze and the geison. The podium is filled with Roman concrete, the opus caementicium, and covered with travertine blocks. The whole building was originally covered with stucco, but the decorations of this construction phase are lost. The columns and half-columns were later covered with imitation marble, which is still preserved in several places, and there is evidence of later stucco decoration on the frieze with garlands, bucrania, candelabra and erotes. During the restoration in the 20th century, concrete and brick were used, which is clearly visible in some places (e.g. on the south side). With its pseudoperipteral ground plan, the building differs from most Greek temples, which usually have a gallery of free-standing columns. However, with the Temple of the Sibyl in Tivoli from the late 2nd century BC and the Temple of Hercules in Cori from the early 1st century BC, there are other representatives of this building type in Latium of the late Republican period. In Augustan temple architecture, the building type became more widespread and is represented in a classical form by the Maison Carrée in Nîmes.

The temple escaped destruction because it had been rededicated as a Christian church in 872. In the 16th century, under Pope Pius V, the church was given to the Armenian Catholic Church and dedicated to St Mary of Egypt, the patron saint of penitents and repentant sinners. In 1718, parts of the temple were destroyed by rebuilding works under Clement XI, and the travertine panelling of the podium was removed to be reused in the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. The church was abandoned in 1916 to restore the ancient temple. Inside the building, the high medieval frescoes telling the story of the saints are still visible.

Google Maps Pin: https://maps.app.goo.gl/cF3ZrA44959EMutc9 

 

 

And now you can all laugh right away - but "opposite" one side of the Theatre of Marcellus is the portico of Octavia. And as an absolute fan of the series ROME, I naturally got goose bumps at this point. Yes, just laugh at me 😄 

This and the next picture from Wikipedia - not my own photo!

The Porticus of Octavia (Latin: Porticus Octaviae) is a quadriporticus in Rome. The portico goes back to the Porticus Metelli built after 146 BC by Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus. This was left in situ and continued to be used. According to ancient sources, Augustus had the portico built between 33 and 23 BC in the name of his sister Octavia in a completely redesigned form. In the year in which construction began, the directly adjacent Porticus Philippi was completed. The complex of the Porticus Octaviae included a library and a curia. In the years 80 and 203, the Porticus was damaged in fires, but was rebuilt and rededicated under Septimius Severus and his son Caracalla.

Quote

[imp . caes . l . septimiu]S . SEVERVS . PIVS . PERTINAX . AVG . ARABIC . AD[iabenic . par]THIC . MAXIMVS / TRIB. POTEST . XI . IMP . XI . COS . III . P . P . ET / [imp. caes . m . aureliu]S . ANTONINVS . PIVS . FELIX . AVG . [trib.potest. VI] COS . PROCOS / INCENDIO . CORRVPTAM . REST[ituerunt]

Quote

The Imperator Caesar Augustus Lucius Septimius Severus, Pius Pertinax Arabicus Adiabenicus Parthicus Maximus, who held the tribunician power for the eleventh time, was Imperator for the eleventh time, Consul for the eleventh time, Father of the Fatherland for the third time, and the Imperator Caesar Augustus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus [Caracalla], Pius Felix, who held the tribunician power for the sixth time, Consul, Proconsul, have restored this portico after its destruction by fire.

The building contained numerous sculptural works of art, including the first publicly exhibited statue of a Roman woman, namely the Gracchian mother Cornelia, 34 bronze equestrian statues by Lysippos depicting Alexander the Great with the generals who fell in the battle of Granicus, and a group of figures of Heliodoros. The portico of Octavia is located between the Circus Flaminius and the Marcellus Theatre. It is depicted on the Forma Urbis. The portico enclosed a rectangular area; it was 119 metres wide and about 132 metres deep. Some columns of the south-east corner near the theatre of Marcellus have been excavated, and parts of the main entrance, which was on the narrow side of the portico facing the Tiber, have been preserved. This had a pediment and consisted of a double hall with two rows of Corinthian columns. The preserved part of the main entrance, namely the pediment as well as two columns of the outer row and three of the inner row, forms the entrance to the church of Sant'Angelo in Pescheria. Since the excavations in the 1990s, other foundations have been uncovered in front of the church.

My own picture 😉 

My own picture - this is now the side area / entrance, as you can see from the Wikipedia picture - is my picture coming from the left side. I was so excited about Octavia that I forgot to take a picture of the portico from the front. 

Remembering the pretty Octavia ... my goodness, I had goosebumps at this point. To think that I was standing where the historical Octavia herself might have walked by. Only a history nerd can relate to those feelings.... 😄 

Google Maps Pin: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ccgDrsqouUgeToz56 

 

[Deinomenid]

4 minutes ago, Prieure de Sion said:

Shit, I can't remember what that is.... 

Fontana del Mascherone I think.

On an amazing street, Via Giulia, though  it was itself sadly stamped on a warren of ancient alleys, a little  like (though rather earlier than)  Mussolini's attempt to  modernize  the street pattern of  Ortigia.

[Deinomenid]

15 minutes ago, Prieure de Sion said:

Temple of Portunus.

This  one drives me mad when there. Incredible  history, horribly neglected (as so much is),  open only  leap years every  Wednesday 4.37-4.42pm in November, and this is their  honest-to-goodness  current signage  right outside.

 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2023 by Deinomenid
typo

[Prieure de Sion]

25 minutes ago, Deinomenid said:

horribly neglected (as so much is)

OT: yes... ! Sadness.

Almost everywhere and I don't understand it. I've been to (almost) all of Italy and the whole country is full of well-visited ancient places. But whether it's Rome, Pompeii or Paestum - there are a lot of visitors - a lot of money is left there - but a lot of it is just rotting!  And every year, when you visit the same places, you see how neglected many things are. Sometimes I could cry.

But hey! It is important to react with the full force of the law if someone wants to sell a republican coin out of the country! But let the whole ancient heritage rot. Exactly my humour.

[jdmKY]

Papius Celsus, denarius, 45 BC

[Qcumbor]

Fantastic writeup @Prieure de Sion

The coins I have depicting Juno Sospita

L. Thorius Balbus, Denarius - Rome mint, 105 BCE
Head of Juno Sospita right, wearing a goat's skin, ISMR behind
Bull charging right, L above (control letter), L. THORIVS BALBVS in two lines at exergue
3.93 gr
Ref : RCV # 192, RSC, Thoria # 1

 

L. Procilius L.F., Denarius - Rome mint, 80 BCE
Laureate head of Jupiter right, S . C behind
Juno Sospita right holding spear and shield. A snake at her feet. L . PROC[ILI/F] behind
3.77 gr
Ref : RCV # 306, RSC, Procilia # 1

 

L. Procilius L.F., Denarius - Rome mint, 80 BCE
Head of Juno Sospita right, clad in goat’s skin, S . C behind
Juno Sospita in biga right holding spear and shield. A snake below biga. [L. PROCILI. F] at exergue
19,5 mm - 3.89 gr
Ref : RCV # 307, RSC, Procilia # 2

 

Q

[Dafydd]

Here is one of mine.

Hd of Juno Sospita. r clad in goats skin, control symbol behind.
L.ROSCI below ( partial)
Maiden standing feeding snake erect before her, control symbol behind. FABATI in ex.

 

[Marsyas Mike]

5 hours ago, Deinomenid said:

This  one drives me mad when there. Incredible  history, horribly neglected (as so much is),  open only  leap years every  Wednesday 4.37-4.42pm in November, and this is their  honest-to-goodness  current signage  right outside.

 

 

 

Yeah, when I visited Rome in 2017 I walked around this temple and found used needles (as in hypodermic needle) in the (long, unmown) grass at back (as much as there's a back to a round temple), along with other miscellaneous trash and gross stuff.  Part of me is glad the Romans don't take themselves (or their history) too seriously, but it does seem they could tighten things up a bit.  

[Marsyas Mike]

This is ugly, but it is Juno Sospita of a type not posted yet.  An Antoninus Pius sestertius, somewhat scarce, I think:

Antoninus Pius       Æ Sestertius (140-144 A.D.) Rome Mint ANTONINVS AVG PI[V]S [PP TR P COS III], laureate head rt. / [IVNONI SISPITAE] S-C, Juno Sospita advancing r., brandishing javelin & holding shield pinched in middle, [snake before]. RIC III 608; BMCRE 1248.  (24.25 grams / 32 mm) eBay May 2018

Die-Match Characteristics: Obv.: AVG PI break; G in AVG low, small PI; rear tie straight. Rev.:  Top of shield at shoulder, thick outline; small SC.

Die-Match Obv. and Rev.: CNG, Inc. Electronic Auct. 58; Lot 118; 12.02.2003

Die-Match Obverse: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH Auct. 153; Lot 8742; 14.03.2009 

Die-Match Reverse: British Museum No. R.13445

Edited October 16, 2023 by Marsyas Mike

[Prieure de Sion]

2 minutes ago, Marsyas Mike said:

This is ugly, but

History is not ugly - all coins can tell us a story … 🙂 all coins here welcome.

[antwerpen2306]

thanks for the nice photos. They remember me the two months I lived in Rome in 1969 during my studies, but in that time, it was not possible to visit all like today. It was only not so touristic as today, as I lived it 3 hears ago with my wife a few years ago during a visit for her birthday in March.

[DonnaML]

My six coins depicting Juno Sospita, in no particular order. Apologies for not having the time to include the write-ups.

 

[Curtisimo]

Really great thread @Prieure de Sion! I’ll have to bookmark it so I can make sure I’ve read through it all.

I don’t have much in the way of Juno but I’ll show this example that I’m not sure about but I’m still keeping as a study piece.

ROMAN EMPIRE
Sabina, wife of Hadrian 
AR Denarius (fouree?), Rome mint, struck ca. AD 133-135
(17.40 mm., 3.41 g)
Obv.: SABINA AVGVSTA Diademed and draped bust r., wearing stephane. 
Rev.: IVNONI REGINAE Juno standing l., holding patera and sceptre. 
Ref.: RIC Hadrian 2550. C 43.

[ominus1]

..Fantastic!!...