DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.26205#0047
45
which a serpent creeps out, directing its head towards the water, offered
to it by the river god. The strictly cult character of this scene is indisputable.
The association of the Tiber with Aesculapius is also stressed by bronze
medallions struck by Antoninus Pius in 140—144 89. In front of the rock
surmounted with edifices (.Insula Tiberina) there is the bearded Nile reclining
who raises his right hand as if hailing the sacred serpent of Aesculapius,
sliding down the rock from the bow of a ship passing past the two piers of
Pons Aemilius.
It appears that the last two examples can be listed with the solemnities
of the Rome’s 900th anniversary, celebrated during the reign of Antoninus
Pius. On many coins and medallions emitted then there are the scenes from
the earliest history of Rome, emphasizing the long existence of the Urbs.
One of important events was the introduction of the cult of Aesculapius
in R.ome in 293 B. C. 90 and therefore it attained its reflection under Antoninus
Pius.
The question of the classification of the images of the Tiber on the so-called
Ara Casali, kept in the Vatican Museums and dated to the reign of Septimius
Severus is disputed 91. If it were actually an altar, then as in the case of the
altar from Ostia thisimage could be defined as a cult one. However, writes
E. Simon, such a form of decoration did not appear with altars and the base
is here in question for a rather indefinite object. On it, three main cycles
of illustrations are represented: on the front wall Mars and Venus, on both
sides scenes from a Trojan myth, and on the rear wall a Roman myth about
Mars, Rea Silvia, and Romulus and Remus. In the latter group there occurs
two or three times the personification of a river. In the upper register, next
to the reclining Rea Silvia and approaching her Mars, there is a seated bearded
old man with a bundle of reeds, being the personification of the Tiber. Below,
in the second register, the seated Tiber and standing shepherds watch Rea
Silvia holding her children in her arms. In the third register, standing armed.
Mars is seen looking at the servants of Amulius, throwing away the Twins.
This scene is also observed by a bearded half-naked old man, seated on a high
cliff. Perhaps he is the personification of the Tiber, yet he may also be that
of the Palatine, which would be indicated by his position on the top of the rock.
The lower register is occupied by the image of a She-Wolf, suckling the Twins.
In Le Gall’s opinion, in this case we are dealing rather with the personification
89 Gnecchi, Medaglioni, II, PI. 45, 1, 2.; Imhoof-Blumer, No. 551, PI. 17, 11; Toynbee,
pp. 113—114, PI. 16, 5; Le Gall, p. 30.
90 Liv. 10, 47, 7; Ovid. Met. 15, 622 ff. Toynbee, loc. cit., is however of the opinion that
’’The issue of these medallions suggests that some special attention was paid by Pius to the cult
of Aesculapius as being, in spite of his Greek origin, by now a long-established Roman deity”.
91 A me lung, TI, p. 236 ff., No. 87 a.; Toynbee, p. 235, PI. 58 (dates to the period of Hadrian);
Le Gall, p. 26, PI. 9; Helbig1, No. 268.
which a serpent creeps out, directing its head towards the water, offered
to it by the river god. The strictly cult character of this scene is indisputable.
The association of the Tiber with Aesculapius is also stressed by bronze
medallions struck by Antoninus Pius in 140—144 89. In front of the rock
surmounted with edifices (.Insula Tiberina) there is the bearded Nile reclining
who raises his right hand as if hailing the sacred serpent of Aesculapius,
sliding down the rock from the bow of a ship passing past the two piers of
Pons Aemilius.
It appears that the last two examples can be listed with the solemnities
of the Rome’s 900th anniversary, celebrated during the reign of Antoninus
Pius. On many coins and medallions emitted then there are the scenes from
the earliest history of Rome, emphasizing the long existence of the Urbs.
One of important events was the introduction of the cult of Aesculapius
in R.ome in 293 B. C. 90 and therefore it attained its reflection under Antoninus
Pius.
The question of the classification of the images of the Tiber on the so-called
Ara Casali, kept in the Vatican Museums and dated to the reign of Septimius
Severus is disputed 91. If it were actually an altar, then as in the case of the
altar from Ostia thisimage could be defined as a cult one. However, writes
E. Simon, such a form of decoration did not appear with altars and the base
is here in question for a rather indefinite object. On it, three main cycles
of illustrations are represented: on the front wall Mars and Venus, on both
sides scenes from a Trojan myth, and on the rear wall a Roman myth about
Mars, Rea Silvia, and Romulus and Remus. In the latter group there occurs
two or three times the personification of a river. In the upper register, next
to the reclining Rea Silvia and approaching her Mars, there is a seated bearded
old man with a bundle of reeds, being the personification of the Tiber. Below,
in the second register, the seated Tiber and standing shepherds watch Rea
Silvia holding her children in her arms. In the third register, standing armed.
Mars is seen looking at the servants of Amulius, throwing away the Twins.
This scene is also observed by a bearded half-naked old man, seated on a high
cliff. Perhaps he is the personification of the Tiber, yet he may also be that
of the Palatine, which would be indicated by his position on the top of the rock.
The lower register is occupied by the image of a She-Wolf, suckling the Twins.
In Le Gall’s opinion, in this case we are dealing rather with the personification
89 Gnecchi, Medaglioni, II, PI. 45, 1, 2.; Imhoof-Blumer, No. 551, PI. 17, 11; Toynbee,
pp. 113—114, PI. 16, 5; Le Gall, p. 30.
90 Liv. 10, 47, 7; Ovid. Met. 15, 622 ff. Toynbee, loc. cit., is however of the opinion that
’’The issue of these medallions suggests that some special attention was paid by Pius to the cult
of Aesculapius as being, in spite of his Greek origin, by now a long-established Roman deity”.
91 A me lung, TI, p. 236 ff., No. 87 a.; Toynbee, p. 235, PI. 58 (dates to the period of Hadrian);
Le Gall, p. 26, PI. 9; Helbig1, No. 268.