(86) Domitian - AE sestertius, A.D. 85, 28.20 g. (inv. 91.154).
Obverse: Laureate bust of Domitian with aegis r.; IMP(ERTAOR)
CAES(AR) DOMIT(IANVS) AVG(VSTVS) GERM(ANICVS) CO(N)S(VL) XI CENS(ORIA) POT(ESTATE)
P(ATER) P(ATRIAE): Imperator Caesar Domitianus Augustus Germanicus, consul
for the eleventh time, with the power of the censorship, father of the country.
Reverse: Domitian, draped and veiled, standing l. with
patera in r., sacrificing over altar; behind, shrine with statue
of Minerva; S(ENATVS)-C(ONSVLTO): by decree of the Senate.
Provenance: Coin Galleries, 1959.
Bibliography: H. Mattingly and E.A. Sydenham, The Roman
Imperial Coinage II: Vespasian to Hadrian (London 1926) 283.
Domitian's devotion to the goddess Minerva is expressed at its fullest on
the reverse of this sestertius of A.D. 85 (see also no. 85).
Domitian himself, veiled in the manner of a priest, pours from a patera
or offering bowl onto a lighted altar. In the background is a small
open shrine and in it a statue of the goddess holding her spear and one
of her attributes, an owl. The name Germanicus, acquired as a result of
his defeat of the Chatti in Germany in the previous year, suggests that
the offering is in gratitude for his military success.
In the portrait on the obverse, Domitian wears an aegis, a shawl-like garment
that is a regular attribute of Minerva. It is sometimes also worn by emperors,
especially those like Domitian who are particularly associated with the
goddess.
C.L.L.
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Lawrence University
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