The naturalistically-rendered portraits of individual emperors popular on Roman coins were replaced on Byzantine solidi by a series of impersonal imperial effigies that can barely be differentiated from one another. The Roman interest in the accurate depiction of physical likeness through attention to profile and surface appearance was replaced by a desire to stress the homogeneity of physical features and to emphasize a simpler, flatter, and more abstract design. This shift in approach to the imperial portrait can be explained by recognizing that the imperial image was being manipulated in the service of imperial propaganda. The imperial portraits on Byzantine solidi are intended to convey a fundamental message about the imperial office itself: the repetitive, stiff, wooden portraits declare that the imperial office is greater than any one individual and that when an individual ascends to this office, he is transcended by the status of the office. The repetition of the almost identical portrait for successive emperors serves to emphasize the unchanging majesty and power of the imperial office and declares the continuity of the institution.

The Byzantine emperor was believed to be a semi-divine figure invested with imperial authority directly through God's will. For such a person, it would have been considered inappropriate to emphasize those incidental physical traits particular to a single individual. Rather than attempting to preserve an accurate likeness, the portraits convey the public and official image of the ruler. They are images in which the power, authority, and majesty of the imperial office are expressed through a highly stylized representation of the incumbent. Despite the rejection of the naturalistic pictorial style of ancient Rome, the imperial effigies possess a powerful and commanding presence. In each case the emperor rigidly faces the spectator and stares out from the coin with a fixed, emotionless expression. Unmoved by what he sees, the emperor remains aloof and remote, untouched and untouchable by his subjects. The immobile pose, exaggerated staring eyes, and complete lack of animated expression invest each figure with a dominating and authoritarian demeanor. Even though the figures no longer possess the sense of the individual, their severely abstracted appearance conveys an aura of power and authority and exerts a talismanic effect.

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