NGC Ancients: The 'Divas' of Ancient Rome

In modern times, the word “diva” has become associated with a talented female musician — not so in the ancient world.

It derives from the Latin words for “goddess” and “heavenly.” In that context, the word “diva” is found on many ancient Roman coins that celebrated the elevation of deceased female relatives of emperors to the level of the divine.

Roman and Greek mythology are rife with examples of people whose actions were so heroic that the gods provided them with a place in the heavens. An early example of divine honors being ascribed to a historical (rather than mythological) figure is the politician Theophanes, who successfully lobbied the Roman warlord Pompey to secure independence for his native Mytilene, a city on the island of Lesbos off the western coast of modern-day Turkey.

On the base metal coin of Mytiline shown here, Theophanes is portrayed opposite a woman, Archedamis, believed to be his wife. It was struck in about 5 B.C., after their deaths and consecrations, as it includes the inscriptions ΘЄOC and ΘЄA, indicating their divinity.

As part of the consolidation of power by Rome’s first emperor, Augustus (27 B.C.-A.D. 14), he merged the role of pontifex maximus (Rome’s chief priest) into the imperial role. When he died in A.D. 14, the senate declared Augustus “Divus” — a god. The brass dupondius shown above, struck by the emperor Claudius (A.D. 41-54), honors DIVUS AUGUSTUS, while the reverse shows his deified wife Livia, with the inscription DIVA AUGUSTA.

Augustus left Livia one third of his property and gave her the honorific title Augusta, allowing her to wield significant political influence after his death. Her son, the next emperor, Tiberius (A.D. 14-37), was not pleased, and when Livia died in A.D. 29, he vetoed divine honors for her. However, they were restored by her grandson, Claudius, an act which this dupondius celebrates.

Livia is identified by the inscription DIVA AUGUSTA on this silver denarius of the emperor Galba (A.D. 68-69). In his younger days, Galba was held in high esteem by Livia, who’d left him 500,000 gold aurei in her will. However, Livia’s son Tiberius — then emperor — denied Galba his inheritance and kept the money for himself. Nearly four decades later, when Galba became emperor, he used his coinage to honor the goddess Livia.

Livia’s great-grandson Caligula was the third Roman Emperor, whose erratic rule from A.D 37 to 41 led to his assassination. Caligula was especially close to his younger sister Julia Drusilla, who is shown on this rare coin struck at the city of Miletus after her death in A.D. 38 at age 21. Caligula mourned Julia Drusilla and deified her with the title Panthea (all-goddess). On this coin, her portrait is enclosed by the inscription: ΘEA ΔPOYΣIΛΛA (“Diva Drusilla”).

Caligula’s name lives in infamy alongside that of Rome’s fourth emperor, Nero, who ruled from A.D. 54 to 68. Nero banished his first wife and in A.D. 62 married his mistress, Poppaea Sabina, with whom he had a daughter soon after. Sadly, the child, named Claudia, lived only a few months.

The cause of Poppaea’s death in A.D. 65 is not known for certain, though some accounts attribute it to Nero kicking her in a rage. This base-metal coin struck at Caesarea, in Samaria, late in Nero’s reign honors Poppaea and Claudia, bearing their names and their elevated status (“Diva”) as gods.

Nero’s rule was followed by a terrifying civil war, in which the general Vespasian emerged victorious. Upon becoming emperor (A.D. 69-79), Vespasian honored his former wife, Domitilla the Elder, who’d died sometime prior to A.D. 69, with divinity. Shown above is a silver denarius with her portrait and the inscription DIVA DOMITILLA AVGVSTA, issued by her youngest son, Domitian, who reigned from A.D. 81 to 96.

Domitilla’s granddaughter Julia Flavia (daughter of the emperor Titus (A.D. 79-81) and niece of the emperor Domitian) was given divine honors after her death as a young woman. Her name is shown on this base-metal sestertius struck by Domitian shortly after her death in A.D. 91. Domitian was assassinated in A.D. 96, bringing an end to the Flavian Dynasty, which his father Vespasian had founded nearly three decades prior.

The emperor Trajan (A.D. 98-117) brought the Roman Empire to its maximum territorial extent by the time he died in A.D. 117. A variety of coins were issued for his female relatives, including his wife Plotina, his sister Marciana, and his niece Matidia. Trajan granted divine honors to his sister Marciana and struck for her this gold aureus with her portrait opposite an eagle, a bird associated with Jupiter.

Another coin honoring Marciana is this silver denarius, with a reverse showing a carpentum, a two-mule cart associated with matrons. The inscription CONSECRATIO relates to the process of imbuing someone with heavenly prestige after their death.

In addition to deifying Marciana, Trajan granted the title of Augusta to Marciana’s daughter Matidia. This obverse of this gold aureus struck late in Trajan’s reign shows the titles of both Marciana (DIVAE) and Matidia (AVG).

Before Trajan’s rule began in A.D. 98, Matidia had a series of marriages to powerful Roman politicians, giving birth to children who would have key roles in the 2nd century Roman aristocracy, including a daughter, Sabina, who one day would become a Roman empress.

When Matidia died in A.D 119, the title Diva was added to her title of Augusta, as seen on this silver denarius struck during the reign of Trajan’s successor, Hadrian (A.D. 117-138). He also gave her a full-scale temple of her own, a first for a divinized Roman woman.

Hadrian married Matidia’s daughter Sabina, who was featured on a great many Roman coins, including this silver denarius struck sometime after she was awarded the title Augusta in A.D. 128.

Sabina died in A.D 136 or 137, and though her marriage to Hadrian had reportedly been unhappy, Hadrian conformed to tradition by conferring divine honors on her. This gold aureus shows the title “Diva” on the obverse and an eagle bearing her skyward on the reverse.

In A.D. 138, Hadrian was succeeded by Antoninus Pius (A.D. 138-161), who was married to Faustina the Elder. She was known for her concern for the poor and the education of Rome’s children, especially girls. When she died in A.D. 140 or 141, her devastated husband ordered a host of tributes to her, including this gold aureus which shows her divine portrait opposite Aeternitas, the goddess of eternity.

The reverse of this silver denarius shows another posthumous honor for Faustina, a temple in the Roman Forum. Its structure still exists today, having been incorporated into the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda.

Another silver denarius honoring Diva Faustina shows a peacock on the reverse. The peacock was the sacred animal of Juno, the queen of the gods, and became a recurring theme on consecration issues for royal women of the Roman Empire.

Antoninus Pius was succeeded by Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180), who married Faustina’s daughter, Faustina Junior. This silver denarius struck after her death in A.D. 175 or 176 features the inscription CONSECRATIO above the enclosure of an altar.

Another consecration issue of Faustina Junior is this silver denarius with a peacock on the reverse. Faustina’s son Commodus (A.D. 177-192), whose cruelty is remembered alongside that of Caligula and Nero, was the last of the Antonine emperors.

After the assassination of Commodus late in A.D. 192, Rome went through a power struggle from which the general Septimius Severus emerged victorious. He and his influential wife Julia Domna, who hailed from a priestly dynasty in Syria, founded the Severan-Emesan dynasty.

Massive numbers of coins were struck for Julia Domna during her lifetime, but comparatively few after her death and consecration. An example of the latter is this silver denarius, which shows an impressive peacock with its feathers in splendor.

When the dynasty founded by Septimius Severus was briefly interrupted from A.D. 217 to 218, Julia Domna’s sister, Julia Maesa, re-established family power by organizing an armed effort to have her young grandson, Elagabalus (A.D. 218-222), installed as emperor.

When Elagabalus’ rule turned disastrous and he was assassinated, another of Julia Maesa’s grandchildren, Severus Alexander (A.D. 222-235), became emperor. It was under Severus Alexander that this consecration issue denarius was struck to honor Julia Maesa, who was declared a goddess after her death in A.D. 224 or 225.

Severus Alexander was assassinated in A.D. 235, leading to political and military insecurity for more than the next half century. The first of many short-reigning emperors to take power was Maximinus I (A.D. 235-238), who never set foot in Rome as emperor. His wife Paulina is believed to have died about the time he came to power, and he honored her with a memorial coinage.

Shown here are silver denarii with her divine portrait opposite a standing peacock with its feathers in splendor and a peacock taking flight, bearing Paulina to the heavens.

Less than two decades later, the same coin types were recycled for a woman named Mariniana, this time on double-denarii of low-purity silver. Little is known of Mariniana, though she is believed to be the wife of the ill-fated emperor Valerian I (A.D. 253-260) and the mother of the emperor Gallienus (A.D. 253-268). She is thought to have died sometime before A.D. 253, when Valerian became emperor.

Images courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group and Nomos