A new Hadrian denarius with a unique reverse type: TELLVS STABIL

[DonnaML]

7 hours ago, Sulla80 said:

 

@DonnaML, I think we share an enjoyment of the quest to better understand the people, images, and context for ancient coins.  My thoughts often turn to the question "how do we know what we know?" as I write up my notes on ancient coins.  You might enjoy Mary Beard's book "How do we look"

https://www.amazon.com/How-Do-We-Look-Civilization-ebook/dp/B07BLL24RV

The following comment from Mary Beard comes to mind as we try to imagine how an ancient Roman would see the figure of Tellus represented by Hadrian or whether a reclining figure of Mother Earth would be recognizable as Tellus-type to an ancient Roman.  How was the goddess of fertile mother Earth recognized in the eye's of a second century CE Roman?

"So much depends on who is looking, from ancient master or ancient slave to eighteenth-century connoisseur or twenty-first-century tourist.  And so much depends on the context in which they look, whether ancient cemetery or temple, English stately home, or modern museum.  I am not sure that is is ever possible entirely to recreate the views of those who first saw classical art, I am not sure it is the be all end all of our understanding (the changing ways these objects have been see through the centuries is an important part of their history too)."

-Mary Beard, How do we look

We can try to piece together bits of the context from their times and look at how contemporaries described - this for me is the fascination of reading for myself contemporary authors and not just their interpreters over the centuries.  And even there we have the writings of so few - can we fully know their position in society and how that might have reflected "How they look" at the people and society around them?

Mattingly's "Tellus type" applied to the reclining provincial images of Aegyptos and Africa recalls "Mother Earth" with attributes aligned and given the bountiful agricultural needs served by these provinces, that would perhaps not be surprising to Roman's. Mattingly also references often Toynbee's monograph which describes the Hadrianic personification of provinces in a very different way than the many "captured" provinces under Vespasian and Trajan:

- The Hadrianic School: a chapter in the History of Greek Art. By Jocelyn M. C. Toynbee. Cambridge University Press, 1934.

It is interesting to add that the Temple of Tellus was where the Roman leadership gathered after the assassination of Julius Caesar - 17 March 44, the first meeting after Julius Caesar's assassination.  The Republic was about to come apart at the seams.  Would this connection be in the minds of Roman citizens? A striking link between the stability of the Republic and Tellus.

"Hoping, as I did, that the Republic had at last been restored to your guidance and authority, I took the view that I ought to stay on a vigil, so to speak, of the sort that befits a consular and a senator. In fact, from that day on which we were summoned to the Temple of Tellus, neither did I withdraw anywhere from, nor did I take my eyes off public affairs. In that temple, so far as was in my power, I laid the foundations of peace and revived the ancient Athenian precedent, even adopting the Greek term [amnestia] that was used by that community in laying their quarrels to rest at that time; that is, I proposed that all recollection of disputes should be obliterated and forgotten for all time."

-Cicero, Philippic I

From the time of Augustus, Virgil calls to Tellus - there is an association with hard work and the ploughman

0 fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint, agricolas, quibus ipsa procul discordibus armis fundit humo facilem victum iustissima Tellus!
"Earth is a hard mistress, but still she is the justest of all created beings"

- VIrgil, Georgics, 2.458ff

We know that Tellus was no minor deity in the Roman Pantheon and not invented by Hadrian:

"Fabius Pictor enumerates these lesser gods, who the flamen Cerealis invokes when offering sacrifice to Tellus and Ceres: Vervactor, Reparator, Imporcitor, Insitor, Obarator, Occator, Sarritor, Subruncinator, Messor, Convector, Conditor, and Promitor."

- Maurus Servius Honoratus, Commentary on the Georgics of Vergil

There is a temple to Tellus Mater on the Esquiline Hill that dated from about 268BC. There are no remains of the Temple of Tellus but it's location is convincingly supported by Dionysius of Halicarnassus and a Severan era map in marble.

For me, there could intention in associating Hadrian with a more ancient and enduring goddess - reinforcing long lasting security and stability. Mattingly sums up this coin nicely: "True prosperity has been secured, public credit stands high, justice rules the state, and citizens and Empire are secure. Rome stands blessed in her ruler, rising above the wrecks of time, and the whole world, established in its foundations, shares in the blessings of the reign"

The search for true understanding (omniscience?) is infinite - in the mean time added evidence is always appreciated.

@Sulla80, I accept everything you point out, including that Tellus was a well-known deity in the Roman pantheon long before Hadrian, one who would have been familiar to most people. (I would be curious, though, to know how she was represented in her temple and otherwise, i.e., as standing, reclining, or both.) But given that fact, what possible explanation could there be for Tellus never once having been depicted on  any of the thousands of different types of coins issued during the 400+ years of Roman Republican, Imperial, and Provincial coinage prior to Hadrian, when every other deity, major and minor -- no matter how obscure or regional -- seems to have made multiple appearances? (I find it almost as mysterious that Romulus was never depicted as an adult prior to Hadrian, but at least he was depicted a great many times as an infant, part of the wolf & twins tableau.) 

Perhaps it was a conspiracy by the patriarchy to suppress portrayals of Mother Earth in favor of all those sky dudes sitting atop Mount Olympus? More seriously, could the worship of Tellus have been at least partially supplanted by the worship of Cybele -- the Magna Mater or Great Mother -- after her cult was brought to Rome, literally and figuratively, in 204 BCE? 

[Sulla80]

52 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

@Sulla80, I accept everything you point out, including that Tellus was a well-known deity in the Roman pantheon long before Hadrian, one who would have been familiar to most people. (I would be curious, though, to know how she was represented in her temple and otherwise, i.e., as standing, reclining, or both.) But given that fact, what possible explanation could there be for Tellus never once having been depicted on  any of the thousands of different types of coins issued during the 400+ years of Roman Republican, Imperial, and Provincial coinage prior to Hadrian, when every other deity, major and minor -- no matter how obscure or regional -- seems to have made multiple appearances? (I find it almost as mysterious that Romulus was never depicted as an adult prior to Hadrian, but at least he was depicted a great many times as an infant, part of the wolf & twins tableau.) 

Perhaps it was a conspiracy by the patriarchy to suppress portrayals of Mother Earth in favor of all those sky dudes sitting atop Mount Olympus? More seriously, could the worship of Tellus have been at least partially supplanted by the worship of Cybele -- the Magna Mater or Great Mother -- after her cult was brought to Rome, literally and figuratively, in 204 BCE? 

I can offer this coin from Hadrian as another illustration of TELLVS STABIL (a harder to find coin than the denarius).  See CNG for details: https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=228927

on why Hadrian was the first to depict Tellus on his coins - I would have to go to speculation - perhaps Hadrian's personal experience of earthquakes raised his level of awareness or respect for Mother Earth, or perhaps Ceres (the source of seeds) was just more easily celebrated than "earth" (where the seeds grow).  See Ovid Fasti, Book I : January 24:

Ceres and Earth (Tellus) fulfill a common function:

One supplies the chance to bear, the other the soil.

‘Partners in toil, you who improved on ancient days

Replacing acorns with more useful foods,

Satisfy the eager farmers with full harvest,

So they reap a worthy prize from their efforts.

As for conspiracy in favor of skydudes on coins 🙂 - they don't seem to have objected to the representation of goddesses on coins....Fortuna,Victoria, Providentia, Salus, Liberta, Liberalita, and an seemingly endless list of others....eternal Roma herself personified as a goddess.

Edit : as an entertaining aside, the English adjectives telluric and tellurian derive from Tellus.

Edited November 19, 2023 by Sulla80

[DonnaML]

2 minutes ago, Sulla80 said:

I can offer this coin from Hadrian as another illustration of TELLVS STABIL (a harder to find coin than the denarius).  See CNG for details: https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=228927

on why Hadrian was the first to depict Tellus on his coins - I would have to go to speculation - perhaps Hadrian's personal experience of earthquakes raised his level of awareness or respect for Mother Earth, or perhaps Ceres (the source of seeds) was just more easily celebrated than "earth" (where the seeds grow).  See Ovid Fasti, Book I : January 24:

Ceres and Earth (Tellus) fulfill a common function:

One supplies the chance to bear, the other the soil.

‘Partners in toil, you who improved on ancient days

Replacing acorns with more useful foods,

Satisfy the eager farmers with full harvest,

So they reap a worthy prize from their efforts.

As for conspiracy in favor of skydudes on coins 🙂 - they don't seem to have objected to the representation of goddesses on coins....Fortuna,Victoria, Providentia, Salus, Liberta, Liberalita, and an seemingly endless list of others....eternal Roma herself personified as a goddess.

I know. That's why the suppressed matriarchy theory doesn't really work! As for Cybele, she was the Great Mother, but was she also associated with Earth and agriculture?

Does the theory that Hadrian's experience with earthquakes may explain why he decided to portray Tellus still work now that the first appearance of Tellus on his coins has been pushed back a decade to the 120s by RIC II.3? It doesn't account for why nobody else portrayed her previously; maybe, as you say, Ceres was just more popular and had a much greater presence in mythology. Was there even a Greek analogue to Tellus? 

[Sulla80]

2 hours ago, DonnaML said:

I know. That's why the suppressed matriarchy theory doesn't really work! As for Cybele, she was the Great Mother, but was she also associated with Earth and agriculture?

Does the theory that Hadrian's experience with earthquakes may explain why he decided to portray Tellus still work now that the first appearance of Tellus on his coins has been pushed back a decade to the 120s by RIC II.3? It doesn't account for why nobody else portrayed her previously; maybe, as you say, Ceres was just more popular and had a much greater presence in mythology. Was there even a Greek analogue to Tellus? 

Quote

# Cybele, she was the Great Mother, but was she also associated with Earth and agriculture?

The Phrygian goddess Cybele became known as "Magna Mater" in Rome after she was brought there and was associated with mountains and lions and birds of prey.  Cybele became linked by the Greeks with Rhea the Titaness who was mother of the Gods.  Two books you may enjoy:

- Robert Turcan's "Cults of the Roman Empire"

- H. H. Scullard's "Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic"

Both books that I tend to open often. 

Quote

# Does the theory that Hadrian's experience with earthquakes may explain why he decided to portray Tellus still work now that the first appearance of Tellus on his coins has been pushed back a decade to the 120s by RIC II.3?

Possibly - I consider this thought my own wild-speculation for why Hadrian may have been interested in Tellus.  On, December 13, 115 CE, there was a strong earthquake in Antioch (estimated at 7.5 on the Richter scale).  Antioch was heavily damaged. The Emperor Trajan and Hadrian, his successor, were present in Antiochia ad Orontem at the time.  They were in Syria from about January 114 CE where they had set up a command center for war with the Parthians.  Trajan was wounded and otherwise both escaped. (See the excellent Blog dedicated to Hadrian's Travels: https://followinghadrian.com/2015/12/13/the-115-ad-earthquake-in-antioch/)

 

"While the emperor was tarrying in Antioch a terrible earthquake occurred; many cities suffered injury, but Antioch was the most unfortunate of all. Since Trajan was passing the winter there and many soldiers and many civilians had flocked thither from all sides in connection with law-suits, embassies, business or sightseeing, 2 there was no nation of people that went unscathed; and thus in Antioch the whole world under Roman sway suffered disaster. "

-Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVIII.24.1

Quote

# Was there even a Greek analogue to Tellus?

In Roman mythology, Terra Mater and Tellus Mater, representing planet Earth and earth respectively, often merged into dual aspects of the same deity, during the Imperial period. This blurred distinction might be viewed as heretical from a traditional Roman perspective. In contrast, Greek mythology personifies the planet Earth as Gaia (Ancient Greek: Γαῖα), revered as the ancestral mother of all life. For more detailed insights into Greek and Roman mythology, http://Theoi.com is a useful resource, specifically for Gaia see https://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Gaia.html.

Edited November 20, 2023 by Sulla80

[DonnaML]

14 minutes ago, Sulla80 said:

The Phrygian goddess Cybele became known as "Magna Mater" in Rome after she was brought there and was associated with mountains and lions and birds of prey.  Cybele became linked by the Greeks with Rhea the Titaness who was mother of the Gods.  Two books you may enjoy:

- Robert Turcan's "Cults of the Roman Empire"

- H. H. Scullard's "Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic"

Both books that I tend to open often. 

Possibly - I consider this thought my own wild-speculation for why Hadrian may have been interested in Tellus.  On, December 13, 115 CE, there was a strong earthquake in Antioch (estimated at 7.5 on the Richter scale).  Antioch was heavily damaged. The Emperor Trajan and Hadrian, his successor, were present in Antiochia ad Orontem at the time.  The were in Syria from about January 114 CE where they had set up a command center for war with the Parthians.  They were both wounded and barely escaped.

"While the emperor was tarrying in Antioch a terrible earthquake occurred; many cities suffered injury, but Antioch was the most unfortunate of all. Since Trajan was passing the winter there and many soldiers and many civilians had flocked thither from all sides in connexion with law-suits, embassies, business or sightseeing, 2 there was no nation of people that went unscathed; and thus in Antioch the whole world under Roman sway suffered disaster. "

-Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVIII.24.1

In Roman mythology, Terra Mater and Tellus Mater, representing planet Earth and earth respectively, often merged into dual aspects of the same deity, during the Imperial period. This blurred distinction might be viewed as heretical from a traditional Roman perspective. In contrast, Greek mythology personifies the planet Earth as Gaia (Ancient Greek: Γαῖα), revered as the ancestral mother of all life. For more detailed insights into Greek and Roman mythology, http://Theoi.com is a useful resource, specifically for Gaia see https://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Gaia.html.

Thanks so much! I will definitely have to explore some of your recommendations. I've consulted Theoi.com in the past, because it seems like a reputable site. (It's all too easy to come across sites on subjects like this that are way too New Agey and full of "woo" for me!) 

[Sulla80]

3 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

Thanks so much! I will definitely have to explore some of your recommendations. I've consulted Theoi.com in the past, because it seems like a reputable site. (It's all too easy to come across sites on subjects like this that are way too New Agey and full of "woo" for me!) 

Agree - theoi.com seems nicely grounded in reference sources https://www.theoi.com/Bibliography.html.   I also use the Loeb Library (https://www.loebclassics.com/) for a nice collection of Greek and Latin texts with facing page translations.