MACRINUS & DIADUMENIAN 217AD Marcianopolis HERMES MERCURY Roman Coin i57905

Description

Item:
i57905
Authentic Ancient Coin of:
Macrinus - Roman Emperor: 217-218 A.D.
Macrinus and His Son Diadumenian
Bronze 27mm (13.58 grams) of Marcianopolis in Moesia Inferior
under Marcus Claudius Agrippa, consular legate.
Reference: Varbanov 1192
AVT K OΠΕΛ CEVH MAKPEINOC K M OΠEΛ ANTΩNEINOC, laureate head of Macrinus right and bare head of Diadumenian left, facing each other.
YΠ AΓΡΙΠΠΟΥ ΜΑΡΚΙΑΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ, Nude Hermes standing left, holding purse and caduceus; E in left field.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
Hermes
is the great messenger of the gods in
Greek mythology
and additionally as a
guide to the Underworld
. Hermes was born on
Mount Cyllene
in Arcadia. An
Olympian god
, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of
shepherds
and
cowherds
, of the cunning of thieves and liars, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics and sports, of weights and measures, of invention, and of commerce in general. His symbols include the tortoise, the rooster, the winged sandals, the winged hat, and the
caduceus
(given to him by Apollo in exchange for the lyre).
Symbols of Hermes were the palm tree, turtle, rooster, goat, the number four, several kinds of fish, incense. Sacrifices involved honey, cakes, pigs, goats, and lambs.
In the Roman adaptation of the Greek religion (see
interpretatio romana
), Hermes was identified with the Roman god
Mercury
, who, though inherited from the
Etruscans
, developed many similar characteristics, such as being the patron of commerce.
The
Homeric hymn
to Hermes invokes him as the one "of many shifts (
polytropos
), blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods."
He protects and takes care of all the travelers, miscreants, harlots, old
crones
and thieves that pray to him or cross his path. He is athletic and is always looking out for runners, or any athletes with injuries who need his help.
Hermes is a messenger from the gods to humans, sharing this role with
Iris
. An interpreter who bridges the boundaries with strangers is a
hermeneus.
Hermes gives us our word "
hermeneutics
", the study and theory of interpretation. In Greek a lucky find was a
hermaion
. Hermes delivered messages from Olympus to the mortal world. He wears shoes with wings on them and uses them to fly freely between the mortal and immortal world. Hermes was the second youngest of the
Olympian gods
, being born before
Dionysus
.
Hermes, as an inventor of fire, is a parallel of the
Titan
,
Prometheus
. In addition to the
lyre
, Hermes was believed to have invented many types of racing and the sports of wrestling and boxing, and therefore was a patron of athletes.
According to prominent
folklorist
Yeleazar Meletinsky
, Hermes is a deified
trickster
. Hermes also served as a
psychopomp
, or an escort for the dead to help them find their way to the
afterlife
(the
Underworld
in the Greek myths). In many Greek myths, Hermes was depicted as the only god besides
Hades
,
Persephone
,
Hecate
, and
Thanatos
who could enter and leave the Underworld without hindrance.
Hermes often helped travelers have a safe and easy journey. Many Greeks would sacrifice to Hermes before any trip.
In the fully-developed Olympian pantheon, Hermes was the son of
Zeus
and the
Pleiade
Maia
, a daughter of the Titan
Atlas
. Hermes' symbols were the
cock
and the
tortoise
, and he can be recognized by his purse or pouch,
winged sandals
,
winged cap
, and the herald's staff, the
kerykeion
. The night he was born he slipped away from Maia and stole his elder brother
Apollo
Marcianopolis
, or
Marcianople
was an ancient Roman city in
Thracia
. It was located at the site of modern day
Devnya
,
Bulgaria
.
The city was so renamed by Emperor
Trajan
after his sister
Ulpia Marciana
, and was previously known as Parthenopolis. Romans repulsed a
Gothic
attack to this town in
267
(or
268
), during the reign of
Gallienus
.
Diocletian
made it the capital of the
Moesia Secunda
province.
Valens
made it his winter quarters in 368 and succeeding years, Emperor
Justinian I
restored and fortified it. In 587, it was sacked by the king of the
Avars
but at once retaken by the Romans. The Roman army quartered there in 596 before crossing the Danube to assault the Avars.
Between 893 and 972 it was one of the most important medieval cities in south-eastern Europe.
Marcus Opellius Antoninus Diadumenianus
or
Diadumenian
(208–218) was the son of the Roman Emperor Macrinus, and served his father briefly as Caesar (May 217–218) and as Augustus (in 218). Diadumenian was born in 14th of September 208 a.C or according to Historia Augusta in 19th of September 208 a.C because he shared the same birthday with the emperor Antoninus Pius. His mother was Empress Nonia Celsa, although her existence remains dubious, because she was only mentioned by the Historia Augusta. He was born Marcus Opellius Diadumenianus, but his name was changed and added Antoninus to solidify connection to the family of Marcus Aurelius as done by Caracalla.
Diadumenian had little time to enjoy his position or to learn anything from its opportunities because the legions of Syria revolted and declared Elagabalus ruler of the Roman Empire. When Macrinus was defeated on June 8, 218, at Antioch, Diadumenian followed his father's death.
Marcus Opellius Macrinus
(ca. 165 - June 218) was
Roman
emperor
for fourteen months in 217 and 218. Macrinus was the first emperor to become so without membership in the senatorial class. Macrinus was possibly of
Berber
descent.
//
Background and career
Born in Caesarea (modern
Cherchell
, Algeria) in the
Roman province
of
Mauretania
to an
equestrian
family, Macrinus received an education which allowed him to ascend to the Roman political class. Over the years he earned a reputation as a skilled lawyer. Under the emperor
Septimius Severus
he became an important bureaucrat. Severus' successor
Caracalla
appointed him
prefect
of the
Praetorian guard
. While Macrinus likely enjoyed the trust of Caracalla, this may have changed when, according to tradition, he was prophesied to depose and succeed the emperor. Rumors spread regarding Macrinus' alleged desire to take the throne for himself. Given Caracalla's tendency towards murdering political opponents, Macrinus probably feared for his own safety should the emperor become aware of this prophecy. According to Dio, Caracalla had already taken the step of re-assigning members of Macrinus' staff.
In the spring of 217, Caracalla was in the eastern provinces preparing a campaign against the
Parthian Empire
. Macrinus was among his staff, as were other members of the praetorian guard. In April, the emperor went to visit a temple of
Luna
near the spot of the
battle of Carrhae
, accompanied only by his personal bodyguard, which included Macrinus. Events are not clear, but it is certain that Caracalla was murdered at some point on the trip (perhaps on
April 8
). Caracalla's body was brought back from the temple by his bodyguards, along with the corpse of a fellow bodyguard. The story as told by Macrinus was that the dead guard had killed Caracalla. By
April 11
, Macrinus proclaimed himself emperor. Macrinus also nominated his son
Diadumenianus
Caesar
and successor and conferred upon him the name "Antoninus", thus connecting him with the relatively stable reigns of the
Antonine emperors
of the 2nd century.
Reign (April 217 - June 218)
Despite his equestrian background, Macrinus was confirmed in his new role by the
Senate
. According to S.N. Miller, this may have been due to both his background as an accomplished jurist and his deferential treatment of the senatorial class. He found it necessary, however, to replace several provincial governors with men of his own choosing. Caracalla's mother
Julia Domna
was initially left in peace, but when she started to conspire with the military he ordered her to leave
Antioch
. Being at that time in an advanced stage of breast cancer (Cassius Dio) she chose instead to starve herself to death.
In urgent matters of foreign policy, Macrinus displayed a tendency towards conciliation and a reluctance to engage in military conflict. He averted trouble in the province of
Dacia
by returning hostages that had been held by Caracalla, and he ended troubles in
Armenia
by granting that country's throne to
Tiridates
, whose father had also been imprisoned under Caracalla. Less easily managed was the problem of
Mesopotamia
, which had been invaded by the
Parthians
in the wake of Caracalla's demise. Meeting the Parthians in battle during the summer of 217, Macrinus achieved a
costly draw
near the town of
Nisibis
and as a result was forced to enter negotiations through which was obliged to pay the enormous
indemnity
of 200 million sesterces to the Parthian ruler
Artabanus IV
in return for peace.
Macrinus' reluctance to engage in warfare, and his failure to gain victory over even a historically inferior enemy such as the Parthians caused considerable resentment among the soldiers. This was compounded by the rolling back of the privileges they had enjoyed under Caracalla and the introduction of a pay system by which recruits received less than veterans. After only a short while, the legions were searching for a rival emperor.
At a high point of his popularity monuments were built to revere Macrinus. The grand
tetrastyle
Capitoline Temple
, in
Volubilis
was erected to honour Emperor Macrinus in 217 AD.
His popularity also suffered in Rome. Not only had the new emperor failed to visit the city after taking power, but a late-summer thunderstorm caused widespread fires and flooding, and Macrinus' appointee as urban prefect proved unable to repair the damage to the satisfaction of the populace and had to be replaced.
Downfall
This discontent was fostered by the surviving members of the
Severan dynasty
, headed by
Julia Maesa
(Caracalla's aunt) and her daughters
Julia Soaemias
and
Julia Mamaea
. Having been evicted from the imperial palace and ordered to return home by Macrinus, the Severan women plotted from their home near
Emesa
in
Syria
to place another Severan on the imperial throne. They used their hereditary influence over the cult of
sun-deity
Elagabalus (the Latinised form of
El-Gabal
) to proclaim Soaemias' son
Elagabalus
(named for his family's patron deity) as the true successor to Caracalla. The rumor was spread, with the assistance of the Severan women, that Elagabalus was in fact Caracalla's illegitimate son, and thus the child of a union between first cousins.
On
May 18
, Elagabalus was proclaimed emperor by the
Gallica
Legio III
at its camp at
Raphana
. A force under his tutor Gannys marched on
Antioch
and engaged a force under Macrinus on
June 8
,
218
. Macrinus, deserted by most of his soldiers, was soundly defeated in the
battle
, and fled towards Italy disguised as a courier. He was captured near
Chalcedon
and later executed in
Cappadocia
. His son Diadumenianus, sent for safety to the Parthian court, was captured at
Zeugma
and also put to death.
Macrinus' short reign, while important for its historical "firsts", was cut short due to the inability of this otherwise accomplished man to control or satisfy the soldiery. In his death at the hands of Roman soldiers, Macrinus reinforced the notion of the soldiers as the true brokers of power in the third-century empire and highlighted the importance of maintaining the support of this vital faction. His reign was followed by another seventeen years of rule under the Severan emperors
Elagabalus
and
Severus Alexander
.
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