COMMODUS 183AD Sestertius grande pièce romaine ancienne économies Felicitas bonne chance culte i53022
Item: i53022

Authentic Ancient Coin of:

Commodus - Roman Emperor : 177-192 A.D.
Bronze Sestertius 30mm (24.29 grams) Struck 183 A.D.
Reference: RIC 370; Sear88 #1650; Cohen 907.
M COMMODVS ANTONINVS AVG PIVS, laureate head right
TR P VIII IMP VI COS IIII P P S-C, Felicitas standing facing, head left, holding
caduceus & cornucopiae.

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The cornucopia (from Latin cornu copiae) or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form. Originating inclassical antiquity, it has continued as a symbol inWestern art, and it is particularly associated with theThanksgiving holiday inNorth America.

Allegorical depiction of the Roman goddess Abundantia with a cornucopia, by Rubens (ca. 1630)

In Mythology

Mythology offers multipleexplanations of the origin of the cornucopia. One of the best-known involves the birth and nurturance of the infantZeus, who had to be hidden from his devouring fatherCronus. In a cave onMount Ida on the island ofCrete, baby Zeus was cared for and protected by a number of divine attendants, including the goatAmalthea ("Nourishing Goddess"), who fed him with her milk. The suckling future king of the gods had unusual abilities and strength, and in playing with his nursemaid accidentally broke off one of herhorns, which then had the divine power to provide unending nourishment, as the foster mother had to the god.

In another myth, the cornucopia was created whenHeracles (RomanHercules) wrestled with the river godAchelous and wrenched off one of his horns; river gods were sometimes depicted as horned. This version is represented in theAchelous and Herculesmural painting by theAmerican Regionalist artistThomas Hart Benton.

The cornucopia became the attribute of severalGreek andRoman deities, particularly those associated with the harvest, prosperity, or spiritual abundance, such as personifications of Earth (Gaia orTerra); the childPlutus, god of riches and son of the grain goddess Demeter; thenymphMaia; andFortuna, the goddess of luck, who had the power to grant prosperity. InRoman Imperial cult, abstract Roman deities who fostered peace (pax Romana) and prosperity were also depicted with a cornucopia, including Abundantia, "Abundance" personified, andAnnona, goddess of thegrain supply to the city of Rome.Pluto, the classical ruler of the underworld in themystery religions, was a giver of agricultural, mineral and spiritual wealth, and in art often holds a cornucopia to distinguish him from the gloomier Hades, who holds adrinking horn instead.

Modern depictions

In modern depictions, the cornucopia is typically a hollow, horn-shaped wicker basket filled with various kinds of festivefruit andvegetables. In North America, the cornucopia has come to be associated withThanksgiving and the harvest. Cornucopia is also the name of the annual November Wine and Food celebration inWhistler, British Columbia, Canada. Two cornucopias are seen in theflag andstate seal ofIdaho. The GreatSeal ofNorth Carolina depicts Liberty standing and Plenty holding a cornucopia. The coat of arms ofColombia,Panama,Peru andVenezuela, and the Coat of Arms of the State ofVictoria, Australia, also feature the cornucopia, symbolising prosperity.

The horn of plenty is used on body art and at Halloween, as it is a symbol of fertility, fortune and abundance.

  • Base of a statue of
    Louis XV of France

The caduceus fromGreek "heralds staff" is the staff carried byHermes inGreek mythology. The same staff was also borne by heralds in general, for example byIris, the messenger ofHera. It is a short staff entwined by twoserpents, sometimes surmounted by wings. In Roman iconography it was often depicted being carried in the left hand ofMercury, the messenger of the gods, guide of the dead and protector of merchants, shepherds, gamblers, liars, and thieves.

As a symbolic object it represents Hermes (or the Roman Mercury), and by extension trades, occupations or undertakings associated with the god. In laterAntiquity the caduceus provided the basis for theastrological symbol representing theplanet Mercury. Thus, through its use inastrology andalchemy, it has come to denote theelemental metal of the same name.

By extension of its association with Mercury/Hermes, the caduceus is also a recognized symbol of commerce and negotiation, two realms in which balanced exchange and reciprocity are recognized as ideals. This association is ancient, and consistent from the Classical period to modern times. The caduceus is also used as a symbol representing printing, again by extension of the attributes of Mercury (in this case associated with writing and eloquence).

The caduceus is sometimes mistakenly usedas a symbol of medicine and/or medical practice, especially inNorth America, because of widespread confusion with the traditional medical symbol, therod of Asclepius, which has only a single snake and no wings.

The term kerukeion denoted any heralds staff, not necessarily associated with Hermes in particular.

Lewis Richard Farnell (1909) in his study of the cult of Hermes assumed that the two snakes had simply developed out of ornaments of the shepherds crook used by heralds as their staff. This view has been rejected by later authors pointing to parallel iconography in the Ancient Near East. It has been argued that the staff or wand entwined by two snakes was itself representing a god in the pre-anthropomorphic era. Like theherm orpriapus, it would thus be a predecessor of the anthropomorphic Hermes of the classical era.

Ancient Near East

William Hayes Ward (1910) discovered that symbols similar to the classical caduceus sometimes appeared onMesopotamian cylinder seals. He suggested the symbol originated some time between 3000 and 4000 BCE, and that it might have been the source of the Greek caduceus.[10] A.L. Frothingham incorporated Dr. Wards research into his own work, published in 1916, in which he suggested that the prototype of Hermes was an "Oriental deity of Babylonian extraction" represented in his earliest form as a snake god. From this perspective, the caduceus was originally representative of Hermes himself, in his early form as the Underworld godNingishzida, "messenger" of the "Earth Mother". The caduceus is mentioned in passing byWalter Burkert[12] as "really the image of copulating snakes taken over from Ancient Near Eastern tradition".

In Egyptian iconography, theDjedpillar is depicted as containing a snake in a frieze of theDendera Temple complex.

The rod of Moses and thebrazen serpent are frequently compared to the caduceus, especially as Moses is acting as a messenger of God to thePharaoh at the point in the narrative where he changes his staff into a serpent.[13]

Classical antiquity

Mythology

TheHomeric hymnto Hermes relates how Hermes offered his lyre fashioned from a tortoise shell as compensation for thecattle he stole from his half brotherApollo. Apollo in return gave Hermes the caduceus as a gesture of friendship. The association with the serpent thus connects Hermes to Apollo, as later the serpent was associated with Asclepius, the "son of Apollo". The association of Apollo with the serpent is a continuation of the olderIndo-Europeandragon-slayer motif.Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher(1913) pointed out that the serpent as an attribute of both Hermes and Asclepius is a variant of the "pre-historic semi-chthonic serpent hero known at Delphi as Python", who in classical mythology is slain by Apollo.

One Greek myth of origin of the caduceus is part of the story of Tiresias, who found two snakes copulating and killed the female with his staff. Tiresias was immediately turned into a woman, and so remained until he was able to repeat the act with the male snake seven years later. This staff later came into the possession of the god Hermes, along with its transformative powers.

Another myth suggests that Hermes (or Mercury) saw two serpents entwined in mortal combat. Separating them with his wand he brought about peace between them, and as a result the wand with two serpents came to be seen as a sign of peace.

In Rome, Livy refers to the caduceator who negotiated peace arrangements under the diplomatic protection of the caduceus he carried.

Iconography

In some vase paintings ancient depictions of the Greek kerukeion are somewhat different from the commonly seen modern representation. These representations feature the two snakes atop the staff (or rod), crossed to create a circle with the heads of the snakes resembling horns. This old graphic form, with an additional crossbar to the staff, seems to have provided the basis for the graphicalsign of Mercury (☿) used inGreek astrologyfrom Late Antiquity.

Use in alchemy and occultism

As the symbol of both theplanet and themetal named for Mercury, the caduceus became an important symbol inalchemy.

Thecrucified serpent was also revived as an alchemical symbol for fixatio, andJohn Donne(Sermons 10:190) uses "crucified Serpent" as a title ofJesus Christ.

Symbol of commerce

A simplified variant of the caduceus is to be found in dictionaries, indicating a “commercial term” entirely in keeping with the association of Hermes with commerce. In this form the staff is often depicted with two winglets attached and the snakes are omitted (or reduced to a small ring in the middle). The Customs Service of the formerGerman Democratic Republic employed the caduceus, bringing its implied associations with thresholds, translators, and commerce, in the service medals they issued their staff.

Misuse as symbol of medicine

It is relatively common, especially in the United States, to find the caduceus, with its two snakes and wings, used as a symbol of medicine instead of the correct rod of Asclepius, with only a single snake. This usage is erroneous, popularised largely as a result of the adoption of the caduceus as its insignia by theUS Army medical corps in 1902 at the insistence of a single officer (though there are conflicting claims as to whether this was Capt. Frederick P. Reynolds or Col. John R. van Hoff).

The rod of Asclepius is the dominant symbol for professional healthcare associations in the United States. One survey found that 62% of professional healthcare associations used the rod of Asclepius as their symbol. The same survey found that 76% of commercial healthcare organizations used the Caduceus symbol. The author of the study suggests the difference exists because professional associations are more likely to have a real understanding of the two symbols, whereas commercial organizations are more likely to be concerned with the visual impact a symbol will have in selling their products.

The initial errors leading to its adoption and the continuing confusion it generates are well known to medical historians. The long-standing and abundantly attested historical associations of the caduceus with commerce, theft, deception, and death are considered by many to be inappropriate in a symbol used by those engaged in the healing arts. This has occasioned significant criticism of the use of the caduceus in a medical context.

Inancient Roman culture, felicitas (from the Latinadjective felix, "fruitful, blessed, happy, lucky") is a condition of divinely inspired productivity, blessedness, orhappiness. Felicitas could encompass both a womans fertility, and a generals luck or good fortune. The divine personification of Felicitas wascultivated as a goddess. Although felicitas may be translated as "good luck," and the goddess Felicitas shares some characteristics and attributes withFortuna, the two were distinguished inRoman religion.Fortuna was unpredictable and her effects could be negative, as the existence of an altar to Mala Fortuna ("Bad Luck") acknowledges.Felicitas, however, always had a positive significance. She appears withseveral epithets that focus on aspects of her divine power.

Felicitas had a temple in Rome as early as the mid-2nd century BC, and during the Republican era was honored at twoofficial festivals ofRoman state religion, on July 1 in conjunction withJuno and October 9 as Fausta Felicitas. Felicitas continued to play an important role inImperial cult, and was frequently portrayed oncoins as a symbol of the wealth and prosperity of the Roman Empire. Her primary attributes are thecaduceus andcornucopia.The English word "felicity" derives from felicitas.

As virtue or quality

Phallic relief with the inscription "Felicitas dwells here"

In its religious sense, felix means "blessed, under the protection or favour of the gods; happy." That which is felix has achieved the pax divom, a state of harmony or peace with the divine world. The word derives fromIndo-European *dhe(i)l, meaning "happy, fruitful, productive, full of nourishment." Related Latin words include femina, "woman" (a person who provides nourishment or suckles); felo, "to suckle" in regard to an infant; filius, "son" (a person suckled); and probably fello, fellare, "to performfellatio", with an originally non-sexual meaning of "to suck". The continued magical association of sexual potency, increase, and general good fortune in productivity is indicated by the inscription Hic habitat Felicitas ("Felicitas dwells here")[8] on anapotropaic relief of aphallus at a bakery inPompeii.

In archaic Roman culture, felicitas was a quality expressing the close bonds betweenreligion and agriculture. Felicitas was at issue when the suovetaurilia sacrifice conducted byCato the Elder ascensor in 184 BC was challenged as having been unproductive, perhaps for vitium, ritual error. In the following three years Rome had been plagued by a number of ill omens and prodigies (prodigia), such as severe storms, pestilence, and "showers of blood," which had required a series of expiations (supplicationes). The speech Cato gave to justify himself is known as the Oratio de lustri sui felicitate, "Speech on the Felicitas of hisLustrum", and survives only as a possible quotation by a later source. Cato says that a lustrum should be found to have produced felicitas "if the crops had filled up the storehouses, if the vintage had been abundant, if the olive oil had flowed deliberately from the groves", regardless of whatever else might have occurred. The efficacy of a ritual might be thus expressed as its felicitas.

The ability to promote felicitas became proof of ones excellence and divine favor. Felicitas was simultaneously a divine gift, a quality that resided within an individual, and a contagious capacity for generating productive conditions outside oneself: it was a form of "charismatic authority". Cicero lists felicitas as one of the four virtues of the exemplary general, along with knowledge ofmilitary science (scientia rei militaris),virtus (both "valor" and "virtue"), and auctoritas, "authority." Virtus was a regular complement to felicitas, which was not thought to attach to those who were unworthy. Cicero attributed felicitas particularly toPompeius Magnus ("Pompey the Great"), and distinguished this felicitas even from the divine good luck enjoyed by successful generals such asFabius Maximus, Marcellus,Scipio the Younger andMarius.

The sayings (sententiae) ofPublilius Syrus are often attached to divine qualities, including Felicitas: "The peoples Felicitas is powerful when she is merciful" (potens misericors publica est Felicitas).

Epithets

Epithets of Felicitas include:

  • Augusta , the goddess in her association with the emperor and Imperial cult .
  • Fausta ("Favored, Fortunate"), a state divinity cultivated on October 9 in conjunction with Venus Victrix and the Genius Populi Romani ("Genius" of the Roman People, also known as the Genius Publicus).
  • Publica, the "public" Felicitas; that is, the aspect of the divine force that was concerned with the res publica or commonwealth, or with the Roman People (Populus Romanus).
  • Temporum, the Felicitas "of the times", a title which emphasize the felicitas being experienced in current circumstances.

Republic

Thecult of Felicitas is first recorded in the mid-2nd century BC, when atemple was dedicated to her byLucius Licinius Lucullus, grandfather of the famous Lucullus, using booty from his military campaigns inSpain in 151–150 BC. Predecessor to a noted connoisseur of art, Lucullus obtained and dedicated several statues looted byMummius fromGreece, including works byPraxiteles: the Thespiades, a statue group of theMuses brought fromThespiae, and aVenus. This Temple of Felicitas was among several that had a secondary function as art museums, and was recommended byCicero along with theFortuna Huiusce DieiTemple of for those who enjoyed viewing art but lacked the means to amass private collections. The temple was located in theVelabrum in the Vicus Tuscus of theCampus Martius, along a route associated withtriumphs: the axle ofJulius Caesars triumphalchariot in 46 BC is supposed to have broken in front of it. The temple was destroyed by a fire during the reign ofClaudius, though the Muses were rescued. It was not rebuilt at this site.

Sulla identified himself so closely with the quality of felicitcas that he adopted the agnomen (nickname) Felix. His domination asdictator resulted from civil war and unprecedented military violence within the city of Rome itself, but he legitimated his authority by claiming that the mere fact of his victory was proof he was felix and enjoyed the divine favor of the gods. Republican precedent was to regard a victory as belonging to the Roman people as a whole, as represented by thetriumphal procession at which the honored general submitted public offerings at theTemple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus at theCapitol, and Sulla thus established an important theological element for the later authority of the emperor. Although he established no new temple for Felicitas, he celebrated games (ludi circenses) in her honor.

On July 1 and October 9, Felicitas received a sacrifice in Capitolio, on theCapitoline Hill, on the latter date as Fausta Felicitas in conjunction with the Genius Publicus ("PublicGenius") andVenus Victrix. These observances probably took place at an altar or small shrine (aedicula), not a separatetemple precinct. TheActs of the Arval Brothers (1st century AD) prescribe a cow as the sacrifice for Felicitas. Pompey established a shrine for Felicitas athis new theater and temple complex, which used the steps to the Temple of Venus Victrix as seating. Felicitas was cultivated with Honor and Virtue, and she may have shared her shrine there withVictory, as she did in the Imperial era as Felicitas Caesaris (Caesars Felicitas) atAmeria. Pompeys collocation of deities may have been intended to parallel the Capitoline grouping.

A fourth cult site for Felicitas in Rome had been planned by Caesar, and possibly begun before his death. Work on the temple was finished byLepidus on the site of theCuria Hostilia, which had been restored by Sulla, destroyed by fire in 52 BC, and demolished by Caesar in 44 BC. This temple seems not to have existed by the time ofHadrian. Its site probably lies under the church ofSanti Luca e Martina. v It has been suggested that anIonic capital and atufa wall uncovered at the site are the only known remains of the temple.

Felicitas was awatchword used by Julius Caesars troops at theBattle of Thapsus, the names of deities and divine personifications being often recorded for this purpose in the late Republic. Felicitas Iulia ("Julian Felicitas") was the name of acolony inRoman Spain that was refounded under Caesar and known also as Olisipo, present-dayLisbon, Portugal.

During the Republic, only divine personifications known to have had a temple or public altar were featured on coins, among them Felicitas. On the only extant Republican coin type, Felicitas appears as a bust and wearing adiadem.

Empire

Felicitas Temporum represented by a pair of cornucopiae on a denarius (193-194 AD) issued under Pescennius Niger

A calendar from Cumae records that a supplicatio was celebrated on April 16 for the Felicitas of the Empire, in honor of the dayAugustus was first acclaimed imperator. In extant Roman coinage, Felicitas appears with acaduceus only during the Imperial period. The earliest known example is Felicitas Publica on a dupondius issued underGalba. Felicitas Temporum ("Prosperity of the Times"), reflecting aGolden Age ideology, was among the innovative virtues that began to appear during the reigns ofTrajan andAntoninus Pius.Septimius Severus, whose reign followed the exceedingly brief tenure ofPertinax and unsatisfactory conditions underCommodus, used coinage to express his efforts toward restoring thePax Romana, with themes such as Felicitas Temporum and Felicitas Saeculi, "Prosperity of the Age" (saeculum), prevalent in the years 200 to 202. Some Imperial coins use these phrases with images of women and children in the emperors family.

When the Empire came under Christian rule, the personified virtues that had been cultivated as deities could be treated as abstract concepts. Felicitas Perpetua Saeculi ("Perpetual Blessedness of the Age") appears on a coin issued underConstantine, the first emperor to convert to Christianity.

Commodus (Latin:Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus; 31 August, 161 AD– 31 December, 192 AD), wasRoman Emperor from 180 to 192. He also ruled as co-emperor with his fatherMarcus Aurelius from 177 until his fathers death in 180.File:Commodus Musei Capitolini MC1120.jpg

His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded his father since Titus succeededVespasian in 79. He was also the first Emperor to have both a father and grandfather as the two preceding Emperors. Commodus was the first (and until 337 the only) emperor "born in the purple"; i.e. during his fathers reign.

Commodus was assassinated in 192.

Early life and rise to power (161–180)

Early life

Commodus was born on 31 August 161, as Commodus, inLanuvium, nearRome. He was the son of the reigning emperor, Marcus Aurelius, and Aureliuss first cousin, Faustina the Younger; the youngest daughter ofRoman EmperorAntonius Pius. Commodus had an elder twin brother, Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, who died in 165. On 12 October 166, Commodus was madeCaesar together with his younger brother,Marcus Annius Verus. The latter died in 169 having failed to recover from an operation, which left Commodus as Marcus Aurelius sole surviving son.

He was looked after by his fathers physician,Galen, in order to keep Commodus healthy and alive. Galen treated many of Commodus common illnesses. Commodus received extensive tuition at the hands of what Marcus Aurelius called "an abundance of good masters." The focus of Commodus education appears to have been intellectual, possibly at the expense of military training.

Commodus is known to have been atCarnuntum, the headquarters of Marcus Aurelius during theMarcomannic Wars, in 172. It was presumably there that, on 15 October 172, he was given the victory title Germanicus, in the presence of thearmy. The title suggests that Commodus was present at his fathers victory over theMarcomanni. On 20 January 175, Commodus entered theCollege of Pontiffs, the starting point of a career in public life.

In April 175,Avidius Cassius, Governor ofSyria, declared himself Emperor following rumors that Marcus Aurelius had died. Having been accepted as Emperor by Syria,Palestine andEgypt, Cassius carried on his rebellion even after it had become obvious that Marcus was still alive. During the preparations for the campaign against Cassius, the Prince assumed histoga virilis on theDanubian front on 7 July 175, thus formally enteringadulthood. Cassius, however, was killed by one of his centurions before the campaign against him could begin.

Commodus subsequently accompanied his father on a lengthy trip to the Eastern provinces, during which he visitedAntioch. The Emperor and his son then traveled to Athens, where they were initiated into theEleusinian mysteries. They then returned to Rome in the Autumn of 176.

Joint rule with father (177)

Marcus Aurelius was the first emperor sinceVespasian to have a biological son of his own and, though he himself was the fifth in the line of the so-calledFive Good Emperors, each of whom had adopted his successor, it seems to have been his firm intention that Commodus should be his heir. On 27 November 176, Marcus Aurelius granted Commodus the rank of Imperator and, in the middle of 177, the title Augustus, giving his son the same status as his own and formally sharing power.

On 23 December of the same year, the two Augusti celebrated a jointtriumph, and Commodus was giventribunician power. On 1 January 177, Commodus became consul for the first time, which made him, aged 15, the youngest consul in Roman history up to that time. He subsequently marriedBruttia Crispina before accompanying his father to the Danubian front once more in 178, where Marcus Aurelius died on 17 March 180, leaving the 18-year-old Commodus sole emperor.

Sole reign (180–192)

Upon his accession Commodus devalued theRoman currency. He reduced the weight of thedenarius from 96 perRoman pound to 105 (3.85grams to 3.35grams). He also reduced the silver purity from 79percent to 76percent– the silver weight dropping from 2.57grams to 2.34grams. In 186 he further reduced the purity and silver weight to 74percent and 2.22grams respectively, being 108 to the Roman pound. His reduction of the denarius during his rule was the largest since the empires first devaluation duringNeros reign.

Whereas the reign ofMarcus Aurelius had been marked by almost continuous warfare, that of Commodus was comparatively peaceful in the military sense but was marked by political strife and the increasingly arbitrary and capricious behaviour of the emperor himself. In the view ofDio Cassius, a contemporary observer, his accession marked the descent "from a kingdom of gold to one of rust and iron"– a famous comment which has led some historians, notablyEdward Gibbon, to take Commoduss reign as the beginning of thedecline of the Roman Empire.

Despite his notoriety, and considering the importance of his reign, Commoduss years in power are not well chronicled. The principal surviving literary sources are Dio Cassius (a contemporary and sometimes first-hand observer, but for this reign, only transmitted in fragments and abbreviations),Herodian and the Historia Augusta (untrustworthy for its character as a work of literature rather than history, with elements of fiction embedded within its biographies; in the case of Commodus, it may well be embroidering upon what the author found in reasonably good contemporary sources).

Commodus remained with the Danube armies for only a short time before negotiating a peace treaty with the Danubian tribes. He then returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph for the conclusion of the wars on 22 October 180. Unlike the preceding EmperorsTrajan,Hadrian,Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, he seems to have had little interest in the business of administration and tended throughout his reign to leave the practical running of the state to a succession of favourites, beginning withSaoterus, a freedman fromNicomedia who had become hischamberlain.

Dissatisfaction with this state of affairs would lead to a series of conspiracies and attempted coups, which in turn eventually provoked Commodus to take charge of affairs, which he did in an increasingly dictatorial manner. Nevertheless, though thesenatorial order came to hate and fear him, the evidence suggests that he remained popular with the army and the common people for much of his reign, not least because of his lavish shows of largesse (recorded on his coinage) and because he staged and took part in spectaculargladiatorial combats.

One of the ways he paid for his donatives and mass entertainments was to tax the senatorial order, and on many inscriptions, the traditional order of the two nominal powers of the state, the Senate and People (Senatus Populusque Romanus) is provocatively reversed (Populus Senatusque...).

The conspiracies of 182

A bust of Commodus as a youth (Roman-Germanic Museum, Cologne).

At the outset of his reign, Commodus, age 18, inherited many of his fathers senior advisers, notablyTiberius Claudius Pompeianus (the second husband of Commoduss sisterLucilla), his father-in-lawGaius Bruttius Praesens, Titus Fundanius Vitrasius Pollio, andAufidius Victorinus, who wasPrefect of the City of Rome. He also had five surviving sisters, all of them with husbands who were potential rivals. Four of his sisters were considerably older than he; the eldest, Lucilla, held the rank ofAugusta as the widow of her first husband,Lucius Verus.

The first crisis of the reign came in 182, when Lucilla engineered a conspiracy against her brother. Her motive is alleged to have been envy of theEmpress Crispina. Her husband, Pompeianus, was not involved, but two men alleged to have been her lovers,Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus (the consul of 167, who was also her first cousin) andAppius Claudius Quintianus, attempted to murder Commodus as he entered the theatre. They bungled the job and were seized by the emperors bodyguard.

Quadratus and Quintianus were executed. Lucilla was exiled toCapri and later killed. Pompeianus retired from public life. One of the twopraetorian prefects,Tarrutenius Paternus, had actually been involved in the conspiracy but was not detected at this time, and in the aftermath, he and his colleagueSextus Tigidius Perennis were able to arrange for the murder of Saoterus, the hated chamberlain.

Commodus took the loss of Saoterus badly, and Perennis now seized the chance to advance himself by implicating Paternus in a second conspiracy, one apparently led byPublius Salvius Julianus, who was the son of the juristSalvius Julianus and was betrothed to Paternuss daughter. Salvius and Paternus were executed along with a number of other prominent consulars and senators.Didius Julianus, the future emperor, a relative of Salvius Julianus, was dismissed from the governorship ofGermania Inferior.

Cleander

Perennis took over the reins of government and Commodus found a new chamberlain and favourite inCleander, aPhrygianfreedman who had married one of the emperors mistresses, Demostratia. Cleander was in fact the person who had murdered Saoterus. After those attempts on his life, Commodus spent much of his time outside Rome, mostly on the family estates at Lanuvium. Being physically strong, his chief interest was in sport: taking part inhorse racing,chariot racing, and combats with beasts and men, mostly in private but also on occasion in public.

Dacia and Britain

A bust of Commodus (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). According to Herodian he was well proportioned and attractive, with naturally blonde and curly hair.

Commodus was inaugurated in 183 as consul with Aufidius Victorinus for a colleague and assumed the title Pius. War broke out inDacia: few details are available, but it appears two future contenders for the throne,Clodius Albinus andPescennius Niger, both distinguished themselves in the campaign. Also, inBritain in 184, the governorUlpius Marcellus re-advanced the Roman frontier northward to theAntonine Wall, but thelegionaries revolted against his harsh discipline and acclaimed another legate, Priscus, as emperor.

Priscus refused to accept their acclamations, but Perennis had all the legionary legates in Britaincashiered. On 15 October 184 at theCapitoline Games, aCynic philosopher publicly denounced Perennis before Commodus, who was watching, but was immediately put to death. According to Dio Cassius, Perennis, though ruthless and ambitious, was not personally corrupt and generally administered the state well.

However, the following year, a detachment of soldiers from Britain (they had been drafted toItaly to suppress brigands) also denounced Perennis to the emperor as plotting to make his own son emperor (they had been enabled to do so by Cleander, who was seeking to dispose of his rival), and Commodus gave them permission to execute him as well as his wife and sons. The fall of Perennis brought a new spate of executions: Aufidius Victorinus committed suicide. Ulpius Marcellus was replaced asgovernor of Britain byPertinax; brought to Rome and tried for treason, Marcellus narrowly escaped death.

Cleanders zenith and fall (185–190)

Cleander proceeded to concentrate power in his own hands and to enrich himself by becoming responsible for all public offices: he sold and bestowed entry to the Senate, army commands,governorships and, increasingly, even thesuffect consulships to the highest bidder. Unrest around the empire increased, with large numbers of army deserters causing trouble in Gaul andGermany. Pescennius Niger mopped up the deserters in Gaul in a military campaign, and a revolt inBrittany was put down by twolegions brought over from Britain.

In 187, one of the leaders of the deserters, Maternus, came from Gaul intending to assassinate Commodus at the Festival of the Great Goddess in March, but he was betrayed and executed. In the same year,Pertinax unmasked a conspiracy by two enemies of Cleander– Antistius Burrus (one of Commoduss brothers-in-law) and Arrius Antoninus. As a result, Commodus appeared even more rarely in public, preferring to live on his estates.

Early in 188, Cleander disposed of the current praetorian prefect,Atilius Aebutianus, and himself took over supreme command of the Praetorians at the new rank of a pugione ("dagger-bearer") with two praetorian prefects subordinate to him. Now at the zenith of his power, Cleander continued to sell public offices as his private business. The climax came in the year 190, which had 25 suffect consuls– a record in the 1000-year history of the Roman consulship—all appointed by Cleander (they included the future EmperorSeptimius Severus).

In the spring of 190, Rome was afflicted by a food shortage, for which the praefectus annonaePapirius Dionysius, the official actually in charge of thegrain supply, contrived to lay the blame on Cleander. At the end of June, a mob demonstrated against Cleander during a horse race in theCircus Maximus: he sent the praetorian guard to put down the disturbances, but Pertinax, who was now City Prefect of Rome, dispatched the Vigiles Urbani to oppose them. Cleander fled to Commodus, who was atLaurentum in the house of theQuinctilii, for protection, but the mob followed him calling for his head.

At the urging of his mistressMarcia, Commodus had Cleander beheaded and his son killed. Other victims at this time were the praetorian prefect Julius Julianus, Commoduss cousinAnnia Fundania Faustina, and his brother-in-law Mamertinus. Papirius Dionysius was executed too.

The emperor now changed his name to Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus. At 29, he took over more of the reins of power, though he continued to rule through a cabal consisting of Marcia, his new chamberlain Eclectus, and the new praetorian prefectQuintus Aemilius Laetus, who about this time also had many Christians freed from working in the mines inSardinia. Marcia, the widow of Quadratus, who had been executed in 182, is alleged to have been a Christian.

Megalomania (190–192)

In opposition to the Senate, in his pronouncements andiconography, Commodus had always laid stress on his unique status as a source of god-like power, liberality and physical prowess. Innumerable statues around the empire were set up portraying him in the guise of Hercules, reinforcing the image of him as a demigod, a physical giant, a protector and a battler against beasts and men (see "Commodus and Hercules" and "Commodus the Gladiator" below). Moreover, as Hercules, he could claim to be the son ofJupiter, the representative of the supreme god of the Romanpantheon. These tendencies now increased tomegalomaniac proportions. Far from celebrating his descent from Marcus Aurelius, the actual source of his power, he stressed his own personal uniqueness as the bringer of a new order, seeking to re-cast the empire in his own image.

During 191, the city of Rome was extensively damaged by a fire that raged for several days, during which many public buildings including theTemple of Pax, theTemple of Vesta and parts of the imperial palace were destroyed.

Perhaps seeing this as an opportunity, early in 192 Commodus, declaring himself the newRomulus, ritually re-founded Rome, renaming the city Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana. All the months of the year were renamed to correspond exactly with his (now twelve) names: Lucius, Aelius, Aurelius, Commodus, Augustus, Herculeus,Romanus, Exsuperatorius, Amazonius, Invictus, Felix, Pius. The legions were renamed Commodianae, the fleet which imported grain fromAfrica was termed Alexandria Commodiana Togata, the Senate was entitled the Commodian Fortunate Senate, his palace and the Roman people themselves were all given the name Commodianus, and the day on which these reforms were decreed was to be called Dies Commodianus.

Thus he presented himself as the fountainhead of the Empire and Roman life and religion. He also had the head of theColossus of Nero adjacent to theColosseum replaced with his own portrait, gave it a club and placed abronzelion at its feet to make it look like Hercules, and added an inscription boasting of being "the only left-handed fighter to conquer twelve times one thousand men".

Character and physical prowess

Character and motivations

Dio Cassius, a first-hand witness, describes him as "not naturally wicked but, on the contrary, as guileless as any man that ever lived. His great simplicity, however, together with his cowardice, made him the slave of his companions, and it was through them that he at first, out of ignorance, missed the better life and then was led on into lustful and cruel habits, which soon became second nature."[8]

His recorded actions do tend to show a rejection of his father’s policies, his father’s advisers, and especially his father’s austere lifestyle, and an alienation from the surviving members of his family. It seems likely that he was brought up in an atmosphere ofStoicasceticism, which he rejected entirely upon his accession to sole rule. After repeated attempts on Commodus life,Roman citizens were often killed for raising his ire. One such notable event was the attempted extermination of the house of the Quinctilii. Condianus and Maximus were executed on the pretext that, while they were not implicated in any plots, their wealth and talent would make them unhappy with the current state of affairs.

Changes of name

On his accession as sole ruler, Commodus added the name Antoninus to his official nomenclature. In October 180 he changed his praenomen from Lucius to Marcus, presumably in honour of his father. He later took the title of Felix in 185. In 191 he restored his praenomen to Lucius and added the family name Aelius, apparently linking himself to Hadrian and Hadrians adopted sonLucius Aelius Caesar, whose original name was also Commodus.

Later that year he dropped Antoninus and adopted as his full style Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus Augustus Herculeus Romanus Exsuperatorius Amazonius Invictus Felix Pius (the order of some of these titles varies in the sources). "Exsuperatorius" (the supreme) was a title given to Jupiter, and "Amazonius" identified him again with Hercules.

An inscribed altar fromDura-Europos on the Euphrates shows that Commoduss titles and the renaming of the months were disseminated to the furthest reaches of the Empire; moreover, that even auxiliary military units received the title Commodiana, and that Commodus claimed two additional titles:Pacator Orbis (pacifier of the world) and Dominus Noster (Our Lord). The latter eventually would be used as a conventional title by Roman emperors, starting about a century later, but Commodus seems to have been the first to assume it.

Commodus and Hercules

Disdaining the more philosophic inclinations of his father, Commodus was extremely proud of his physical prowess. He was generally acknowledged to be extremely handsome. As mentioned above, he ordered many statues to be made showing him dressed as Hercules with a lions hide and a club. He thought of himself as the reincarnation of Hercules, frequently emulating the legendary heros feats by appearing in the arena to fight a variety of wild animals. He was left-handed, and very proud of the fact. Cassius Dio and the writers of theAugustan History say that Commodus was a skilled archer, who could shoot the heads offostriches in full gallop, and kill apanther as it attacked a victim in the arena.

Commodus the gladiator

Commodus also had a passion for gladiatorial combat, which he took so far as to take to the arena himself, dressed as a gladiator. The Romans found Commoduss naked gladiatorial combats to be scandalous and disgraceful. It was rumoured that he was actually the son, not of Marcus Aurelius, but of a gladiator whom his mother Faustina had taken as a lover at the coastal resort ofCaieta.

In the arena, Commodus always won since his opponents always submitted to the emperor. Thus, these public fights would not end in death. Privately, it was his custom to slay his practice opponents. For each appearance in the arena, he charged the city of Rome a millionsesterces, straining the Roman economy.

Commodus raised the ire of many military officials in Rome for his Hercules persona in the arena. Often, wounded soldiers and amputees would be placed in the arena for Commodus to slay with a sword. Commoduss eccentric behaviour would not stop there. Citizens of Rome missing their feet through accident or illness were taken to the arena, where they were tethered together for Commodus to club to death while pretending they were giants. These acts may have contributed to his assassination.

Commodus was also known for fighting exotic animals in the arena, often to the horror of the Roman people. According to Gibbon, Commodus once killed 100 lions in a single day. Later, he decapitated a running ostrich with a specially designed dart and afterwards carried the bleeding head of the dead bird and his sword over to the section where the Senators sat and gesticulated as though they were next. On another occasion, Commodus killed threeelephants on the floor of the arena by himself. Finally, Commodus killed agiraffe, which was considered to be a strange and helpless beast.

Assassination (192)

In November 192 Commodus held Plebian Games, in which he shot hundreds of animals with arrows and javelins every morning, and fought as a gladiator every afternoon, winning all the bouts. In December he announced his intention to inaugurate the year 193 as both consul and gladiator on 1 January.

At this point, the prefect Laetus formed a conspiracy with Eclectus to supplant Commodus with Pertinax, taking Marcia into their confidence. On 31 December Marcia poisoned his food but he vomited up the poison; so the conspirators sent his wrestling partnerNarcissus to strangle him in his bath. Upon his death, the Senate declared him a public enemy (a de facto damnatio memoriae) and restored the original name to the city of Rome and its institutions. Commoduss statues were thrown down. His body was buried in theMausoleum of Hadrian. In 195 the emperorSeptimius Severus, trying to gain favour with the family of Marcus Aurelius, rehabilitated Commoduss memory and had the Senate deify him.

Commodus was succeeded byPertinax, whose reign was short lived, being the first to fall victim to theYear of the Five Emperors. Commoduss death marked the end of theNervan-Antonian dynasty.

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Item: i53022

Authentic Ancient Coin of:

Commodus - Roman Emperor : 177-192 A.D.
Bronze Sestertius 30mm (24.29 grams) Struck 183 A.D.
Reference: RIC 370; Sear88 #1650; Cohen 907.
M COMMODVS ANTONINVS AVG PIVS, laureate head right
TR P VIII IMP VI COS IIII P P S-C, Felicitas standing facing, head left, holding
caduceus & cornucopiae.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.

The cornucopia (from Latin cornu copiae) or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form. Originating inclassical antiquity, it has continued as a symbol inWestern art, and it is particularly associated with theThanksgiving holiday inNorth America.

Allegorical depiction of the Roman goddess Abundantia with a cornucopia, by Rubens (ca. 1630)

In Mythology

Mythology offers multipleexplanations of the origin of the cornucopia. One of the best-known involves the birth and nurturance of the infantZeus, who had to be hidden from his devouring fatherCronus. In a cave onMount Ida on the island ofCrete, baby Zeus was cared for and protected by a number of divine attendants, including the goatAmalthea ("Nourishing Goddess"), who fed him with her milk. The suckling future king of the gods had unusual abilities and strength, and in playing with his nursemaid accidentally broke off one of herhorns, which then had the divine power to provide unending nourishment, as the foster mother had to the god.

In another myth, the cornucopia was created whenHeracles (RomanHercules) wrestled with the river godAchelous and wrenched off one of his horns; river gods were sometimes depicted as horned. This version is represented in theAchelous and Herculesmural painting by theAmerican Regionalist artistThomas Hart Benton.

The cornucopia became the attribute of severalGreek andRoman deities, particularly those associated with the harvest, prosperity, or spiritual abundance, such as personifications of Earth (Gaia orTerra); the childPlutus, god of riches and son of the grain goddess Demeter; thenymphMaia; andFortuna, the goddess of luck, who had the power to grant prosperity. InRoman Imperial cult, abstract Roman deities who fostered peace (pax Romana) and prosperity were also depicted with a cornucopia, including Abundantia, "Abundance" personified, andAnnona, goddess of thegrain supply to the city of Rome.Pluto, the classical ruler of the underworld in themystery religions, was a giver of agricultural, mineral and spiritual wealth, and in art often holds a cornucopia to distinguish him from the gloomier Hades, who holds adrinking horn instead.

Modern depictions

In modern depictions, the cornucopia is typically a hollow, horn-shaped wicker basket filled with various kinds of festivefruit andvegetables. In North America, the cornucopia has come to be associated withThanksgiving and the harvest. Cornucopia is also the name of the annual November Wine and Food celebration inWhistler, British Columbia, Canada. Two cornucopias are seen in theflag andstate seal ofIdaho. The GreatSeal ofNorth Carolina depicts Liberty standing and Plenty holding a cornucopia. The coat of arms ofColombia,Panama,Peru andVenezuela, and the Coat of Arms of the State ofVictoria, Australia, also feature the cornucopia, symbolising prosperity.

The horn of plenty is used on body art and at Halloween, as it is a symbol of fertility, fortune and abundance.

  • Base of a statue of
    Louis XV of France

The caduceus fromGreek "heralds staff" is the staff carried byHermes inGreek mythology. The same staff was also borne by heralds in general, for example byIris, the messenger ofHera. It is a short staff entwined by twoserpents, sometimes surmounted by wings. In Roman iconography it was often depicted being carried in the left hand ofMercury, the messenger of the gods, guide of the dead and protector of merchants, shepherds, gamblers, liars, and thieves.

As a symbolic object it represents Hermes (or the Roman Mercury), and by extension trades, occupations or undertakings associated with the god. In laterAntiquity the caduceus provided the basis for theastrological symbol representing theplanet Mercury. Thus, through its use inastrology andalchemy, it has come to denote theelemental metal of the same name.

By extension of its association with Mercury/Hermes, the caduceus is also a recognized symbol of commerce and negotiation, two realms in which balanced exchange and reciprocity are recognized as ideals. This association is ancient, and consistent from the Classical period to modern times. The caduceus is also used as a symbol representing printing, again by extension of the attributes of Mercury (in this case associated with writing and eloquence).

The caduceus is sometimes mistakenly usedas a symbol of medicine and/or medical practice, especially inNorth America, because of widespread confusion with the traditional medical symbol, therod of Asclepius, which has only a single snake and no wings.

The term kerukeion denoted any heralds staff, not necessarily associated with Hermes in particular.

Lewis Richard Farnell (1909) in his study of the cult of Hermes assumed that the two snakes had simply developed out of ornaments of the shepherds crook used by heralds as their staff. This view has been rejected by later authors pointing to parallel iconography in the Ancient Near East. It has been argued that the staff or wand entwined by two snakes was itself representing a god in the pre-anthropomorphic era. Like theherm orpriapus, it would thus be a predecessor of the anthropomorphic Hermes of the classical era.

Ancient Near East

William Hayes Ward (1910) discovered that symbols similar to the classical caduceus sometimes appeared onMesopotamian cylinder seals. He suggested the symbol originated some time between 3000 and 4000 BCE, and that it might have been the source of the Greek caduceus.[10] A.L. Frothingham incorporated Dr. Wards research into his own work, published in 1916, in which he suggested that the prototype of Hermes was an "Oriental deity of Babylonian extraction" represented in his earliest form as a snake god. From this perspective, the caduceus was originally representative of Hermes himself, in his early form as the Underworld godNingishzida, "messenger" of the "Earth Mother". The caduceus is mentioned in passing byWalter Burkert[12] as "really the image of copulating snakes taken over from Ancient Near Eastern tradition".

In Egyptian iconography, theDjedpillar is depicted as containing a snake in a frieze of theDendera Temple complex.

The rod of Moses and thebrazen serpent are frequently compared to the caduceus, especially as Moses is acting as a messenger of God to thePharaoh at the point in the narrative where he changes his staff into a serpent.[13]

Classical antiquity

Mythology

TheHomeric hymnto Hermes relates how Hermes offered his lyre fashioned from a tortoise shell as compensation for thecattle he stole from his half brotherApollo. Apollo in return gave Hermes the caduceus as a gesture of friendship. The association with the serpent thus connects Hermes to Apollo, as later the serpent was associated with Asclepius, the "son of Apollo". The association of Apollo with the serpent is a continuation of the olderIndo-Europeandragon-slayer motif.Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher(1913) pointed out that the serpent as an attribute of both Hermes and Asclepius is a variant of the "pre-historic semi-chthonic serpent hero known at Delphi as Python", who in classical mythology is slain by Apollo.

One Greek myth of origin of the caduceus is part of the story of Tiresias, who found two snakes copulating and killed the female with his staff. Tiresias was immediately turned into a woman, and so remained until he was able to repeat the act with the male snake seven years later. This staff later came into the possession of the god Hermes, along with its transformative powers.

Another myth suggests that Hermes (or Mercury) saw two serpents entwined in mortal combat. Separating them with his wand he brought about peace between them, and as a result the wand with two serpents came to be seen as a sign of peace.

In Rome, Livy refers to the caduceator who negotiated peace arrangements under the diplomatic protection of the caduceus he carried.

Iconography

In some vase paintings ancient depictions of the Greek kerukeion are somewhat different from the commonly seen modern representation. These representations feature the two snakes atop the staff (or rod), crossed to create a circle with the heads of the snakes resembling horns. This old graphic form, with an additional crossbar to the staff, seems to have provided the basis for the graphicalsign of Mercury (☿) used inGreek astrologyfrom Late Antiquity.

Use in alchemy and occultism

As the symbol of both theplanet and themetal named for Mercury, the caduceus became an important symbol inalchemy.

Thecrucified serpent was also revived as an alchemical symbol for fixatio, andJohn Donne(Sermons 10:190) uses "crucified Serpent" as a title ofJesus Christ.

Symbol of commerce

A simplified variant of the caduceus is to be found in dictionaries, indicating a “commercial term” entirely in keeping with the association of Hermes with commerce. In this form the staff is often depicted with two winglets attached and the snakes are omitted (or reduced to a small ring in the middle). The Customs Service of the formerGerman Democratic Republic employed the caduceus, bringing its implied associations with thresholds, translators, and commerce, in the service medals they issued their staff.

Misuse as symbol of medicine

It is relatively common, especially in the United States, to find the caduceus, with its two snakes and wings, used as a symbol of medicine instead of the correct rod of Asclepius, with only a single snake. This usage is erroneous, popularised largely as a result of the adoption of the caduceus as its insignia by theUS Army medical corps in 1902 at the insistence of a single officer (though there are conflicting claims as to whether this was Capt. Frederick P. Reynolds or Col. John R. van Hoff).

The rod of Asclepius is the dominant symbol for professional healthcare associations in the United States. One survey found that 62% of professional healthcare associations used the rod of Asclepius as their symbol. The same survey found that 76% of commercial healthcare organizations used the Caduceus symbol. The author of the study suggests the difference exists because professional associations are more likely to have a real understanding of the two symbols, whereas commercial organizations are more likely to be concerned with the visual impact a symbol will have in selling their products.

The initial errors leading to its adoption and the continuing confusion it generates are well known to medical historians. The long-standing and abundantly attested historical associations of the caduceus with commerce, theft, deception, and death are considered by many to be inappropriate in a symbol used by those engaged in the healing arts. This has occasioned significant criticism of the use of the caduceus in a medical context.

Inancient Roman culture, felicitas (from the Latinadjective felix, "fruitful, blessed, happy, lucky") is a condition of divinely inspired productivity, blessedness, orhappiness. Felicitas could encompass both a womans fertility, and a generals luck or good fortune. The divine personification of Felicitas wascultivated as a goddess. Although felicitas may be translated as "good luck," and the goddess Felicitas shares some characteristics and attributes withFortuna, the two were distinguished inRoman religion.Fortuna was unpredictable and her effects could be negative, as the existence of an altar to Mala Fortuna ("Bad Luck") acknowledges.Felicitas, however, always had a positive significance. She appears withseveral epithets that focus on aspects of her divine power.

Felicitas had a temple in Rome as early as the mid-2nd century BC, and during the Republican era was honored at twoofficial festivals ofRoman state religion, on July 1 in conjunction withJuno and October 9 as Fausta Felicitas. Felicitas continued to play an important role inImperial cult, and was frequently portrayed oncoins as a symbol of the wealth and prosperity of the Roman Empire. Her primary attributes are thecaduceus andcornucopia.The English word "felicity" derives from felicitas.

As virtue or quality

Phallic relief with the inscription "Felicitas dwells here"

In its religious sense, felix means "blessed, under the protection or favour of the gods; happy." That which is felix has achieved the pax divom, a state of harmony or peace with the divine world. The word derives fromIndo-European *dhe(i)l, meaning "happy, fruitful, productive, full of nourishment." Related Latin words include femina, "woman" (a person who provides nourishment or suckles); felo, "to suckle" in regard to an infant; filius, "son" (a person suckled); and probably fello, fellare, "to performfellatio", with an originally non-sexual meaning of "to suck". The continued magical association of sexual potency, increase, and general good fortune in productivity is indicated by the inscription Hic habitat Felicitas ("Felicitas dwells here")[8] on anapotropaic relief of aphallus at a bakery inPompeii.

In archaic Roman culture, felicitas was a quality expressing the close bonds betweenreligion and agriculture. Felicitas was at issue when the suovetaurilia sacrifice conducted byCato the Elder ascensor in 184 BC was challenged as having been unproductive, perhaps for vitium, ritual error. In the following three years Rome had been plagued by a number of ill omens and prodigies (prodigia), such as severe storms, pestilence, and "showers of blood," which had required a series of expiations (supplicationes). The speech Cato gave to justify himself is known as the Oratio de lustri sui felicitate, "Speech on the Felicitas of hisLustrum", and survives only as a possible quotation by a later source. Cato says that a lustrum should be found to have produced felicitas "if the crops had filled up the storehouses, if the vintage had been abundant, if the olive oil had flowed deliberately from the groves", regardless of whatever else might have occurred. The efficacy of a ritual might be thus expressed as its felicitas.

The ability to promote felicitas became proof of ones excellence and divine favor. Felicitas was simultaneously a divine gift, a quality that resided within an individual, and a contagious capacity for generating productive conditions outside oneself: it was a form of "charismatic authority". Cicero lists felicitas as one of the four virtues of the exemplary general, along with knowledge ofmilitary science (scientia rei militaris),virtus (both "valor" and "virtue"), and auctoritas, "authority." Virtus was a regular complement to felicitas, which was not thought to attach to those who were unworthy. Cicero attributed felicitas particularly toPompeius Magnus ("Pompey the Great"), and distinguished this felicitas even from the divine good luck enjoyed by successful generals such asFabius Maximus, Marcellus,Scipio the Younger andMarius.

The sayings (sententiae) ofPublilius Syrus are often attached to divine qualities, including Felicitas: "The peoples Felicitas is powerful when she is merciful" (potens misericors publica est Felicitas).

Epithets

Epithets of Felicitas include:

  • Augusta , the goddess in her association with the emperor and Imperial cult .
  • Fausta ("Favored, Fortunate"), a state divinity cultivated on October 9 in conjunction with Venus Victrix and the Genius Populi Romani ("Genius" of the Roman People, also known as the Genius Publicus).
  • Publica, the "public" Felicitas; that is, the aspect of the divine force that was concerned with the res publica or commonwealth, or with the Roman People (Populus Romanus).
  • Temporum, the Felicitas "of the times", a title which emphasize the felicitas being experienced in current circumstances.

Republic

Thecult of Felicitas is first recorded in the mid-2nd century BC, when atemple was dedicated to her byLucius Licinius Lucullus, grandfather of the famous Lucullus, using booty from his military campaigns inSpain in 151–150 BC. Predecessor to a noted connoisseur of art, Lucullus obtained and dedicated several statues looted byMummius fromGreece, including works byPraxiteles: the Thespiades, a statue group of theMuses brought fromThespiae, and aVenus. This Temple of Felicitas was among several that had a secondary function as art museums, and was recommended byCicero along with theFortuna Huiusce DieiTemple of for those who enjoyed viewing art but lacked the means to amass private collections. The temple was located in theVelabrum in the Vicus Tuscus of theCampus Martius, along a route associated withtriumphs: the axle ofJulius Caesars triumphalchariot in 46 BC is supposed to have broken in front of it. The temple was destroyed by a fire during the reign ofClaudius, though the Muses were rescued. It was not rebuilt at this site.

Sulla identified himself so closely with the quality of felicitcas that he adopted the agnomen (nickname) Felix. His domination asdictator resulted from civil war and unprecedented military violence within the city of Rome itself, but he legitimated his authority by claiming that the mere fact of his victory was proof he was felix and enjoyed the divine favor of the gods. Republican precedent was to regard a victory as belonging to the Roman people as a whole, as represented by thetriumphal procession at which the honored general submitted public offerings at theTemple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus at theCapitol, and Sulla thus established an important theological element for the later authority of the emperor. Although he established no new temple for Felicitas, he celebrated games (ludi circenses) in her honor.

On July 1 and October 9, Felicitas received a sacrifice in Capitolio, on theCapitoline Hill, on the latter date as Fausta Felicitas in conjunction with the Genius Publicus ("PublicGenius") andVenus Victrix. These observances probably took place at an altar or small shrine (aedicula), not a separatetemple precinct. TheActs of the Arval Brothers (1st century AD) prescribe a cow as the sacrifice for Felicitas. Pompey established a shrine for Felicitas athis new theater and temple complex, which used the steps to the Temple of Venus Victrix as seating. Felicitas was cultivated with Honor and Virtue, and she may have shared her shrine there withVictory, as she did in the Imperial era as Felicitas Caesaris (Caesars Felicitas) atAmeria. Pompeys collocation of deities may have been intended to parallel the Capitoline grouping.

A fourth cult site for Felicitas in Rome had been planned by Caesar, and possibly begun before his death. Work on the temple was finished byLepidus on the site of theCuria Hostilia, which had been restored by Sulla, destroyed by fire in 52 BC, and demolished by Caesar in 44 BC. This temple seems not to have existed by the time ofHadrian. Its site probably lies under the church ofSanti Luca e Martina. v It has been suggested that anIonic capital and atufa wall uncovered at the site are the only known remains of the temple.

Felicitas was awatchword used by Julius Caesars troops at theBattle of Thapsus, the names of deities and divine personifications being often recorded for this purpose in the late Republic. Felicitas Iulia ("Julian Felicitas") was the name of acolony inRoman Spain that was refounded under Caesar and known also as Olisipo, present-dayLisbon, Portugal.

During the Republic, only divine personifications known to have had a temple or public altar were featured on coins, among them Felicitas. On the only extant Republican coin type, Felicitas appears as a bust and wearing adiadem.

Empire

Felicitas Temporum represented by a pair of cornucopiae on a denarius (193-194 AD) issued under Pescennius Niger

A calendar from Cumae records that a supplicatio was celebrated on April 16 for the Felicitas of the Empire, in honor of the dayAugustus was first acclaimed imperator. In extant Roman coinage, Felicitas appears with acaduceus only during the Imperial period. The earliest known example is Felicitas Publica on a dupondius issued underGalba. Felicitas Temporum ("Prosperity of the Times"), reflecting aGolden Age ideology, was among the innovative virtues that began to appear during the reigns ofTrajan andAntoninus Pius.Septimius Severus, whose reign followed the exceedingly brief tenure ofPertinax and unsatisfactory conditions underCommodus, used coinage to express his efforts toward restoring thePax Romana, with themes such as Felicitas Temporum and Felicitas Saeculi, "Prosperity of the Age" (saeculum), prevalent in the years 200 to 202. Some Imperial coins use these phrases with images of women and children in the emperors family.

When the Empire came under Christian rule, the personified virtues that had been cultivated as deities could be treated as abstract concepts. Felicitas Perpetua Saeculi ("Perpetual Blessedness of the Age") appears on a coin issued underConstantine, the first emperor to convert to Christianity.

Commodus (Latin:Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus; 31 August, 161 AD– 31 December, 192 AD), wasRoman Emperor from 180 to 192. He also ruled as co-emperor with his fatherMarcus Aurelius from 177 until his fathers death in 180.File:Commodus Musei Capitolini MC1120.jpg

His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded his father since Titus succeededVespasian in 79. He was also the first Emperor to have both a father and grandfather as the two preceding Emperors. Commodus was the first (and until 337 the only) emperor "born in the purple"; i.e. during his fathers reign.

Commodus was assassinated in 192.

Early life and rise to power (161–180)

Early life

Commodus was born on 31 August 161, as Commodus, inLanuvium, nearRome. He was the son of the reigning emperor, Marcus Aurelius, and Aureliuss first cousin, Faustina the Younger; the youngest daughter ofRoman EmperorAntonius Pius. Commodus had an elder twin brother, Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, who died in 165. On 12 October 166, Commodus was madeCaesar together with his younger brother,Marcus Annius Verus. The latter died in 169 having failed to recover from an operation, which left Commodus as Marcus Aurelius sole surviving son.

He was looked after by his fathers physician,Galen, in order to keep Commodus healthy and alive. Galen treated many of Commodus common illnesses. Commodus received extensive tuition at the hands of what Marcus Aurelius called "an abundance of good masters." The focus of Commodus education appears to have been intellectual, possibly at the expense of military training.

Commodus is known to have been atCarnuntum, the headquarters of Marcus Aurelius during theMarcomannic Wars, in 172. It was presumably there that, on 15 October 172, he was given the victory title Germanicus, in the presence of thearmy. The title suggests that Commodus was present at his fathers victory over theMarcomanni. On 20 January 175, Commodus entered theCollege of Pontiffs, the starting point of a career in public life.

In April 175,Avidius Cassius, Governor ofSyria, declared himself Emperor following rumors that Marcus Aurelius had died. Having been accepted as Emperor by Syria,Palestine andEgypt, Cassius carried on his rebellion even after it had become obvious that Marcus was still alive. During the preparations for the campaign against Cassius, the Prince assumed histoga virilis on theDanubian front on 7 July 175, thus formally enteringadulthood. Cassius, however, was killed by one of his centurions before the campaign against him could begin.

Commodus subsequently accompanied his father on a lengthy trip to the Eastern provinces, during which he visitedAntioch. The Emperor and his son then traveled to Athens, where they were initiated into theEleusinian mysteries. They then returned to Rome in the Autumn of 176.

Joint rule with father (177)

Marcus Aurelius was the first emperor sinceVespasian to have a biological son of his own and, though he himself was the fifth in the line of the so-calledFive Good Emperors, each of whom had adopted his successor, it seems to have been his firm intention that Commodus should be his heir. On 27 November 176, Marcus Aurelius granted Commodus the rank of Imperator and, in the middle of 177, the title Augustus, giving his son the same status as his own and formally sharing power.

On 23 December of the same year, the two Augusti celebrated a jointtriumph, and Commodus was giventribunician power. On 1 January 177, Commodus became consul for the first time, which made him, aged 15, the youngest consul in Roman history up to that time. He subsequently marriedBruttia Crispina before accompanying his father to the Danubian front once more in 178, where Marcus Aurelius died on 17 March 180, leaving the 18-year-old Commodus sole emperor.

Sole reign (180–192)

Upon his accession Commodus devalued theRoman currency. He reduced the weight of thedenarius from 96 perRoman pound to 105 (3.85grams to 3.35grams). He also reduced the silver purity from 79percent to 76percent– the silver weight dropping from 2.57grams to 2.34grams. In 186 he further reduced the purity and silver weight to 74percent and 2.22grams respectively, being 108 to the Roman pound. His reduction of the denarius during his rule was the largest since the empires first devaluation duringNeros reign.

Whereas the reign ofMarcus Aurelius had been marked by almost continuous warfare, that of Commodus was comparatively peaceful in the military sense but was marked by political strife and the increasingly arbitrary and capricious behaviour of the emperor himself. In the view ofDio Cassius, a contemporary observer, his accession marked the descent "from a kingdom of gold to one of rust and iron"– a famous comment which has led some historians, notablyEdward Gibbon, to take Commoduss reign as the beginning of thedecline of the Roman Empire.

Despite his notoriety, and considering the importance of his reign, Commoduss years in power are not well chronicled. The principal surviving literary sources are Dio Cassius (a contemporary and sometimes first-hand observer, but for this reign, only transmitted in fragments and abbreviations),Herodian and the Historia Augusta (untrustworthy for its character as a work of literature rather than history, with elements of fiction embedded within its biographies; in the case of Commodus, it may well be embroidering upon what the author found in reasonably good contemporary sources).

Commodus remained with the Danube armies for only a short time before negotiating a peace treaty with the Danubian tribes. He then returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph for the conclusion of the wars on 22 October 180. Unlike the preceding EmperorsTrajan,Hadrian,Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, he seems to have had little interest in the business of administration and tended throughout his reign to leave the practical running of the state to a succession of favourites, beginning withSaoterus, a freedman fromNicomedia who had become hischamberlain.

Dissatisfaction with this state of affairs would lead to a series of conspiracies and attempted coups, which in turn eventually provoked Commodus to take charge of affairs, which he did in an increasingly dictatorial manner. Nevertheless, though thesenatorial order came to hate and fear him, the evidence suggests that he remained popular with the army and the common people for much of his reign, not least because of his lavish shows of largesse (recorded on his coinage) and because he staged and took part in spectaculargladiatorial combats.

One of the ways he paid for his donatives and mass entertainments was to tax the senatorial order, and on many inscriptions, the traditional order of the two nominal powers of the state, the Senate and People (Senatus Populusque Romanus) is provocatively reversed (Populus Senatusque...).

The conspiracies of 182

A bust of Commodus as a youth (Roman-Germanic Museum, Cologne).

At the outset of his reign, Commodus, age 18, inherited many of his fathers senior advisers, notablyTiberius Claudius Pompeianus (the second husband of Commoduss sisterLucilla), his father-in-lawGaius Bruttius Praesens, Titus Fundanius Vitrasius Pollio, andAufidius Victorinus, who wasPrefect of the City of Rome. He also had five surviving sisters, all of them with husbands who were potential rivals. Four of his sisters were considerably older than he; the eldest, Lucilla, held the rank ofAugusta as the widow of her first husband,Lucius Verus.

The first crisis of the reign came in 182, when Lucilla engineered a conspiracy against her brother. Her motive is alleged to have been envy of theEmpress Crispina. Her husband, Pompeianus, was not involved, but two men alleged to have been her lovers,Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus (the consul of 167, who was also her first cousin) andAppius Claudius Quintianus, attempted to murder Commodus as he entered the theatre. They bungled the job and were seized by the emperors bodyguard.

Quadratus and Quintianus were executed. Lucilla was exiled toCapri and later killed. Pompeianus retired from public life. One of the twopraetorian prefects,Tarrutenius Paternus, had actually been involved in the conspiracy but was not detected at this time, and in the aftermath, he and his colleagueSextus Tigidius Perennis were able to arrange for the murder of Saoterus, the hated chamberlain.

Commodus took the loss of Saoterus badly, and Perennis now seized the chance to advance himself by implicating Paternus in a second conspiracy, one apparently led byPublius Salvius Julianus, who was the son of the juristSalvius Julianus and was betrothed to Paternuss daughter. Salvius and Paternus were executed along with a number of other prominent consulars and senators.Didius Julianus, the future emperor, a relative of Salvius Julianus, was dismissed from the governorship ofGermania Inferior.

Cleander

Perennis took over the reins of government and Commodus found a new chamberlain and favourite inCleander, aPhrygianfreedman who had married one of the emperors mistresses, Demostratia. Cleander was in fact the person who had murdered Saoterus. After those attempts on his life, Commodus spent much of his time outside Rome, mostly on the family estates at Lanuvium. Being physically strong, his chief interest was in sport: taking part inhorse racing,chariot racing, and combats with beasts and men, mostly in private but also on occasion in public.

Dacia and Britain

A bust of Commodus (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). According to Herodian he was well proportioned and attractive, with naturally blonde and curly hair.

Commodus was inaugurated in 183 as consul with Aufidius Victorinus for a colleague and assumed the title Pius. War broke out inDacia: few details are available, but it appears two future contenders for the throne,Clodius Albinus andPescennius Niger, both distinguished themselves in the campaign. Also, inBritain in 184, the governorUlpius Marcellus re-advanced the Roman frontier northward to theAntonine Wall, but thelegionaries revolted against his harsh discipline and acclaimed another legate, Priscus, as emperor.

Priscus refused to accept their acclamations, but Perennis had all the legionary legates in Britaincashiered. On 15 October 184 at theCapitoline Games, aCynic philosopher publicly denounced Perennis before Commodus, who was watching, but was immediately put to death. According to Dio Cassius, Perennis, though ruthless and ambitious, was not personally corrupt and generally administered the state well.

However, the following year, a detachment of soldiers from Britain (they had been drafted toItaly to suppress brigands) also denounced Perennis to the emperor as plotting to make his own son emperor (they had been enabled to do so by Cleander, who was seeking to dispose of his rival), and Commodus gave them permission to execute him as well as his wife and sons. The fall of Perennis brought a new spate of executions: Aufidius Victorinus committed suicide. Ulpius Marcellus was replaced asgovernor of Britain byPertinax; brought to Rome and tried for treason, Marcellus narrowly escaped death.

Cleanders zenith and fall (185–190)

Cleander proceeded to concentrate power in his own hands and to enrich himself by becoming responsible for all public offices: he sold and bestowed entry to the Senate, army commands,governorships and, increasingly, even thesuffect consulships to the highest bidder. Unrest around the empire increased, with large numbers of army deserters causing trouble in Gaul andGermany. Pescennius Niger mopped up the deserters in Gaul in a military campaign, and a revolt inBrittany was put down by twolegions brought over from Britain.

In 187, one of the leaders of the deserters, Maternus, came from Gaul intending to assassinate Commodus at the Festival of the Great Goddess in March, but he was betrayed and executed. In the same year,Pertinax unmasked a conspiracy by two enemies of Cleander– Antistius Burrus (one of Commoduss brothers-in-law) and Arrius Antoninus. As a result, Commodus appeared even more rarely in public, preferring to live on his estates.

Early in 188, Cleander disposed of the current praetorian prefect,Atilius Aebutianus, and himself took over supreme command of the Praetorians at the new rank of a pugione ("dagger-bearer") with two praetorian prefects subordinate to him. Now at the zenith of his power, Cleander continued to sell public offices as his private business. The climax came in the year 190, which had 25 suffect consuls– a record in the 1000-year history of the Roman consulship—all appointed by Cleander (they included the future EmperorSeptimius Severus).

In the spring of 190, Rome was afflicted by a food shortage, for which the praefectus annonaePapirius Dionysius, the official actually in charge of thegrain supply, contrived to lay the blame on Cleander. At the end of June, a mob demonstrated against Cleander during a horse race in theCircus Maximus: he sent the praetorian guard to put down the disturbances, but Pertinax, who was now City Prefect of Rome, dispatched the Vigiles Urbani to oppose them. Cleander fled to Commodus, who was atLaurentum in the house of theQuinctilii, for protection, but the mob followed him calling for his head.

At the urging of his mistressMarcia, Commodus had Cleander beheaded and his son killed. Other victims at this time were the praetorian prefect Julius Julianus, Commoduss cousinAnnia Fundania Faustina, and his brother-in-law Mamertinus. Papirius Dionysius was executed too.

The emperor now changed his name to Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus. At 29, he took over more of the reins of power, though he continued to rule through a cabal consisting of Marcia, his new chamberlain Eclectus, and the new praetorian prefectQuintus Aemilius Laetus, who about this time also had many Christians freed from working in the mines inSardinia. Marcia, the widow of Quadratus, who had been executed in 182, is alleged to have been a Christian.

Megalomania (190–192)

In opposition to the Senate, in his pronouncements andiconography, Commodus had always laid stress on his unique status as a source of god-like power, liberality and physical prowess. Innumerable statues around the empire were set up portraying him in the guise of Hercules, reinforcing the image of him as a demigod, a physical giant, a protector and a battler against beasts and men (see "Commodus and Hercules" and "Commodus the Gladiator" below). Moreover, as Hercules, he could claim to be the son ofJupiter, the representative of the supreme god of the Romanpantheon. These tendencies now increased tomegalomaniac proportions. Far from celebrating his descent from Marcus Aurelius, the actual source of his power, he stressed his own personal uniqueness as the bringer of a new order, seeking to re-cast the empire in his own image.

During 191, the city of Rome was extensively damaged by a fire that raged for several days, during which many public buildings including theTemple of Pax, theTemple of Vesta and parts of the imperial palace were destroyed.

Perhaps seeing this as an opportunity, early in 192 Commodus, declaring himself the newRomulus, ritually re-founded Rome, renaming the city Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana. All the months of the year were renamed to correspond exactly with his (now twelve) names: Lucius, Aelius, Aurelius, Commodus, Augustus, Herculeus,Romanus, Exsuperatorius, Amazonius, Invictus, Felix, Pius. The legions were renamed Commodianae, the fleet which imported grain fromAfrica was termed Alexandria Commodiana Togata, the Senate was entitled the Commodian Fortunate Senate, his palace and the Roman people themselves were all given the name Commodianus, and the day on which these reforms were decreed was to be called Dies Commodianus.

Thus he presented himself as the fountainhead of the Empire and Roman life and religion. He also had the head of theColossus of Nero adjacent to theColosseum replaced with his own portrait, gave it a club and placed abronzelion at its feet to make it look like Hercules, and added an inscription boasting of being "the only left-handed fighter to conquer twelve times one thousand men".

Character and physical prowess

Character and motivations

Dio Cassius, a first-hand witness, describes him as "not naturally wicked but, on the contrary, as guileless as any man that ever lived. His great simplicity, however, together with his cowardice, made him the slave of his companions, and it was through them that he at first, out of ignorance, missed the better life and then was led on into lustful and cruel habits, which soon became second nature."[8]

His recorded actions do tend to show a rejection of his father’s policies, his father’s advisers, and especially his father’s austere lifestyle, and an alienation from the surviving members of his family. It seems likely that he was brought up in an atmosphere ofStoicasceticism, which he rejected entirely upon his accession to sole rule. After repeated attempts on Commodus life,Roman citizens were often killed for raising his ire. One such notable event was the attempted extermination of the house of the Quinctilii. Condianus and Maximus were executed on the pretext that, while they were not implicated in any plots, their wealth and talent would make them unhappy with the current state of affairs.

Changes of name

On his accession as sole ruler, Commodus added the name Antoninus to his official nomenclature. In October 180 he changed his praenomen from Lucius to Marcus, presumably in honour of his father. He later took the title of Felix in 185. In 191 he restored his praenomen to Lucius and added the family name Aelius, apparently linking himself to Hadrian and Hadrians adopted sonLucius Aelius Caesar, whose original name was also Commodus.

Later that year he dropped Antoninus and adopted as his full style Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus Augustus Herculeus Romanus Exsuperatorius Amazonius Invictus Felix Pius (the order of some of these titles varies in the sources). "Exsuperatorius" (the supreme) was a title given to Jupiter, and "Amazonius" identified him again with Hercules.

An inscribed altar fromDura-Europos on the Euphrates shows that Commoduss titles and the renaming of the months were disseminated to the furthest reaches of the Empire; moreover, that even auxiliary military units received the title Commodiana, and that Commodus claimed two additional titles:Pacator Orbis (pacifier of the world) and Dominus Noster (Our Lord). The latter eventually would be used as a conventional title by Roman emperors, starting about a century later, but Commodus seems to have been the first to assume it.

Commodus and Hercules

Disdaining the more philosophic inclinations of his father, Commodus was extremely proud of his physical prowess. He was generally acknowledged to be extremely handsome. As mentioned above, he ordered many statues to be made showing him dressed as Hercules with a lions hide and a club. He thought of himself as the reincarnation of Hercules, frequently emulating the legendary heros feats by appearing in the arena to fight a variety of wild animals. He was left-handed, and very proud of the fact. Cassius Dio and the writers of theAugustan History say that Commodus was a skilled archer, who could shoot the heads offostriches in full gallop, and kill apanther as it attacked a victim in the arena.

Commodus the gladiator

Commodus also had a passion for gladiatorial combat, which he took so far as to take to the arena himself, dressed as a gladiator. The Romans found Commoduss naked gladiatorial combats to be scandalous and disgraceful. It was rumoured that he was actually the son, not of Marcus Aurelius, but of a gladiator whom his mother Faustina had taken as a lover at the coastal resort ofCaieta.

In the arena, Commodus always won since his opponents always submitted to the emperor. Thus, these public fights would not end in death. Privately, it was his custom to slay his practice opponents. For each appearance in the arena, he charged the city of Rome a millionsesterces, straining the Roman economy.

Commodus raised the ire of many military officials in Rome for his Hercules persona in the arena. Often, wounded soldiers and amputees would be placed in the arena for Commodus to slay with a sword. Commoduss eccentric behaviour would not stop there. Citizens of Rome missing their feet through accident or illness were taken to the arena, where they were tethered together for Commodus to club to death while pretending they were giants. These acts may have contributed to his assassination.

Commodus was also known for fighting exotic animals in the arena, often to the horror of the Roman people. According to Gibbon, Commodus once killed 100 lions in a single day. Later, he decapitated a running ostrich with a specially designed dart and afterwards carried the bleeding head of the dead bird and his sword over to the section where the Senators sat and gesticulated as though they were next. On another occasion, Commodus killed threeelephants on the floor of the arena by himself. Finally, Commodus killed agiraffe, which was considered to be a strange and helpless beast.

Assassination (192)

In November 192 Commodus held Plebian Games, in which he shot hundreds of animals with arrows and javelins every morning, and fought as a gladiator every afternoon, winning all the bouts. In December he announced his intention to inaugurate the year 193 as both consul and gladiator on 1 January.

At this point, the prefect Laetus formed a conspiracy with Eclectus to supplant Commodus with Pertinax, taking Marcia into their confidence. On 31 December Marcia poisoned his food but he vomited up the poison; so the conspirators sent his wrestling partnerNarcissus to strangle him in his bath. Upon his death, the Senate declared him a public enemy (a de facto damnatio memoriae) and restored the original name to the city of Rome and its institutions. Commoduss statues were thrown down. His body was buried in theMausoleum of Hadrian. In 195 the emperorSeptimius Severus, trying to gain favour with the family of Marcus Aurelius, rehabilitated Commoduss memory and had the Senate deify him.

Commodus was succeeded byPertinax, whose reign was short lived, being the first to fall victim to theYear of the Five Emperors. Commoduss death marked the end of theNervan-Antonian dynasty.

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