Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XVI 26 Sep 2018
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Titus, as Caesar, AV Aureus. Rome, AD 73. T CAES IMP VESP PON TR POT CENS, laureate head right / VESTA, tetrastyle circular Temple of Vesta, a statue of Vesta standing within, holding sceptre, two statues flanking outside. RIC 530 (Vespasian, Rome); BMCRE pg. 18, note † (Vespasian, Rome) & 411 (Vespasian, Lugdunum); Calicó 796 (same obv. die); C. 349. 7.37g, 20mm, 6h.
Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare; only two other examples on CoinArchives.
Ex E. Bourgey, 10-12 March 1976, lot E.
It is impossible to ignore the importance of the Temple of Vesta to the Roman state. Containing not a statue of Vesta but her sacred fire, the ancient sources tell us that its fate was entwined with the city so closely that if the fire were to be extinguished it would be interpreted as "an omen that portends the destruction of the city" (Dionysius of Halicarnassus 2.67). The Vestal Virgins thus devoted their lives to completing the rituals required to ensure the protection of the flame, and so the city. Their purity and dedication was seen to guard the city from danger, and as a consequence if ever they disregarded their duties or were proven to no longer be virgins, severe punishment was dispensed. Alongside the flame, the Vestal Virgins protected important state documents such as the emperor's will and items of legendary fame, reportedly including the Palladium, brought from Troy by Aeneas.
Although commonly called a temple today this building was not in fact a temple in the Roman sense of the word, being that it was not a space consecrated by augurs that could be used for meetings of Roman officials (and indeed, entry to the temple was restricted to the Vestals and the pontifex maximus). However, the sacred site had been in use since the seventh century BC, although the temple itself was destroyed and rebuilt many times over the centuries. One such occasion was after the fire of AD 64, which saw only four of the fourteen districts of Rome escape damage and the Temple of Vesta burnt to the ground. The final destruction occurred during the reign of Commodus in AD 191 after which it was rebuilt by Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. The version seen on this coin therefore is the Neronian structure, also featured on coins of that emperor (see RIC I, 61).
Architecturally, the numismatic imagery corroborates the descriptions given in the ancient literature concerning this temple. Firstly, no matter how many times it was destroyed the temple was always reconstructed in circular form, just like the huts of the early settlers of Rome and a fitting form for the shrine of the goddess of the hearth, home and family as a symbolic representation of Vesta in her guise as Mother Earth. That this was her position in the Roman consciousness is attested by Dionysius of Halicarnassus who stated that the Romans regarded " the fire as consecrated to Vesta, because that goddess, being the Earth and occupying the central position in the universe, kindles the celestial fires from herself " (2.66.3), while Ovid noted that "Vesta is the same as the earth, both have the perennial fire: the Earth and the sacred Fire are both symbolic of home." (Fasti, 6.269-70).
The distinctive domed roof of the temple, clearly visible in the present depiction, featured an open oculus. This was perhaps designed in part to vent smoke from the sacred fire while allowing light into the cella, for the ancient sources tell us that in contrast to other temples the cella was fully enclosed to protect the sacred flame from wind and rain. These walls, which hid the sacred fire from the eyes of all except those permitted to enter, and the lack of a statue of the goddess in the temple is noted by the ancient sources such as Ovid: "there is no image of Vesta or of fire" (Fasti, 6.297). This therefore present us with a problem, as the temple seen in this reverse type clearly contains and is flanked by three statues. Philip Hill (The Monuments of Ancient Rome as Coin Types, Seaby, London, 1989) argues convincingly that what we are in fact being shown is the Aedicula Vestae on the Palatine Hill (pg. 32), which was constructed in 12 BC after Augustus gave part of his private house to the Vestals as public property and incorporated a new shrine of Vesta within it.
Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare; only two other examples on CoinArchives.
Ex E. Bourgey, 10-12 March 1976, lot E.
It is impossible to ignore the importance of the Temple of Vesta to the Roman state. Containing not a statue of Vesta but her sacred fire, the ancient sources tell us that its fate was entwined with the city so closely that if the fire were to be extinguished it would be interpreted as "an omen that portends the destruction of the city" (Dionysius of Halicarnassus 2.67). The Vestal Virgins thus devoted their lives to completing the rituals required to ensure the protection of the flame, and so the city. Their purity and dedication was seen to guard the city from danger, and as a consequence if ever they disregarded their duties or were proven to no longer be virgins, severe punishment was dispensed. Alongside the flame, the Vestal Virgins protected important state documents such as the emperor's will and items of legendary fame, reportedly including the Palladium, brought from Troy by Aeneas.
Although commonly called a temple today this building was not in fact a temple in the Roman sense of the word, being that it was not a space consecrated by augurs that could be used for meetings of Roman officials (and indeed, entry to the temple was restricted to the Vestals and the pontifex maximus). However, the sacred site had been in use since the seventh century BC, although the temple itself was destroyed and rebuilt many times over the centuries. One such occasion was after the fire of AD 64, which saw only four of the fourteen districts of Rome escape damage and the Temple of Vesta burnt to the ground. The final destruction occurred during the reign of Commodus in AD 191 after which it was rebuilt by Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. The version seen on this coin therefore is the Neronian structure, also featured on coins of that emperor (see RIC I, 61).
Architecturally, the numismatic imagery corroborates the descriptions given in the ancient literature concerning this temple. Firstly, no matter how many times it was destroyed the temple was always reconstructed in circular form, just like the huts of the early settlers of Rome and a fitting form for the shrine of the goddess of the hearth, home and family as a symbolic representation of Vesta in her guise as Mother Earth. That this was her position in the Roman consciousness is attested by Dionysius of Halicarnassus who stated that the Romans regarded " the fire as consecrated to Vesta, because that goddess, being the Earth and occupying the central position in the universe, kindles the celestial fires from herself " (2.66.3), while Ovid noted that "Vesta is the same as the earth, both have the perennial fire: the Earth and the sacred Fire are both symbolic of home." (Fasti, 6.269-70).
The distinctive domed roof of the temple, clearly visible in the present depiction, featured an open oculus. This was perhaps designed in part to vent smoke from the sacred fire while allowing light into the cella, for the ancient sources tell us that in contrast to other temples the cella was fully enclosed to protect the sacred flame from wind and rain. These walls, which hid the sacred fire from the eyes of all except those permitted to enter, and the lack of a statue of the goddess in the temple is noted by the ancient sources such as Ovid: "there is no image of Vesta or of fire" (Fasti, 6.297). This therefore present us with a problem, as the temple seen in this reverse type clearly contains and is flanked by three statues. Philip Hill (The Monuments of Ancient Rome as Coin Types, Seaby, London, 1989) argues convincingly that what we are in fact being shown is the Aedicula Vestae on the Palatine Hill (pg. 32), which was constructed in 12 BC after Augustus gave part of his private house to the Vestals as public property and incorporated a new shrine of Vesta within it.