Ostrowski, Janusz A.: Personifications of rivers in Greek and Roman art (Warszawa [u.a.], 1991)

47

Christian mosaics from the area of Gaul97. This testifies to the adapting
by Christianity of personifications produced in a pagan milieu and endowing
them with new ideological inference.

In this subsection, all the coins (except for those several mentioned) on
which the rivers’ personifications associated with cult can be suspected, have
deliberately not been discussed in a more detailed way because it is felt that
such an enumeration might disturb the run of reasoning. On the coins which
the author classifies with this current, the personifications of rivers appear
beside standing deities, or before temples and altars, thus acquiring a sacral
character. They happen to occur foremostly in the regions of the Greek Orient
on the coins issued under the Empire and generally make quite stereotyped
representations 98 99.

C. Representations of propaganda character

Roman art, serving the aims of the policy pursued by the Imperium
Romanum, produced numerous personifications of rivers which performed
the function of an element of political propaganda. Most often they were
associated with military events and symbolized the rivers crossed by the
Roman army in the course of war campaigns. The ancient literary texts
informus, that during triumphal processions, the imagines of rivers were
born together with simulacra oppidorum or simulacra gentium ". From the

97 Similar mosaics have been discovered in Die and Reims. Cf. Reinach, RepPeint., PI. 47,5;
G. Lafaye, A. Blanchet, Inventaire des mosaiques de la Gaule, Paris 1909, No. 131 (the mosaic
from Die), No. 1090 (the mosaic from Reims). Four rivers of Eden are also to be seen on many-
early Christian sarcophagi depicting the Traditio Legis Scene.

88 For example, the coins of the following cities may be mentioned here (numbers according
to Imhoof-Blumer): cf Pautalia, No. 172 (the Strymon before a temple with the statue of
Aesculapius; Caracalla); of Philippopolis, No. 180 (the Hebros and? before a temple; Antoninus
Pius); of Delphi, No. 200 (the Pleistos and Apollo with the tripod; Hadrian); of Elis, No. 205
(the Alphaus and the Cladeos, between them a standing personification of Olympia; Hadrian);
of Juliopolis, No. 220 (the Sangarios reposing between Athena and Hermes; Caracalla); of Prusa,
No. 231 (the two rivers? before the temple facade; Julia Mammaea of Tlos, No. 235 (the Billaios
and the Sardos, between them the statue of Dionysus; Antoninus Pius); of Pergamon, No. 249
(the Seleinus and the Keteios — northern tributaries of the Kaikos, between them the statue of
Aesculapius; Marcus Aurelius); of Ephesus, No. 262 (the statue of Artemis of Ephesus between
the Kaistros and the Kenchrios; Antoninus Pius); of Magnesia ad Maeandrum, No. 269 (the statue
of Artemis Leukophryene, the two Nikes and two eagles between the Maeander and the Lethaios;
Septimius Severus); of Samos, No. 284 (the Imbrasos holding on his right knee a peacock — the
symbol of Hera of Samos; Traianus Decius); of Apamea, No. 356 (the statue of Artemis of Ephesus,
who is accompanied by two deer between the Maeander and the Marsyas; Gordian) of Damascus,
No. 482 (the Chrysoraos at the foot of the mountain on which a temple and altar are erected;
Macrinus); of Colonia Ptolemais (Ake), No. 491 (the Belos at the feet of seated nude Hermes;
Philippus the Arabian).

99 Plinius, N. H. 5, 36—37 (the triumph of Balbus). Tacit, Ami., II, 41 (the triumph of
Germanicus). Florus, 2.13, 88 (the triumph of Caesar during which the images of Nile were borne).