Gordian III - Roman Emperor: 238-244 A.D. -
Silver Antoninianus 22mm (4.9 grams) Rome mint: 241-243 A.D.
Reference: RIC 95, C 404
IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG - Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
VIRTVTI AVGVSTI - Hercules, nude standing right, resting hand on hip and leaning
on club with lion skin.
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item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime
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Hercules is the the Roman name for the
mythical
Greek
demigod
Heracles,
son of
Jupiter (the Roman equivalent of
Zeus), and the
mortal Alcmena.
Early Roman sources suggest that the imported Greek hero supplanted a mythic
Italic shepherd called "Recaranus" or "Garanus", famous for his strength, who
dedicated the
Ara Maxima that became associated with the earliest Roman cult of
Hercules. While adopting much of the Greek Heracles' iconography and mythology as
his own, Hercules adopted a number of myths and characteristics that were
distinctly Roman. With the spread of Roman hegemony, Hercules was worshiped
locally from Spain through Gaul.
Hercules's Latin
name is not directly borrowed from Greek Heracles but is a modification
of the
Etruscan
name Hercle, which derives from the Greek name via
syncope, Heracles translates to "The Glory of Hera". An oath invoking
Hercules (Hercle! or Mehercle!) was a common
interjection in
Classical Latin.
In Roman works of art and in Renaissance and post-Renaissance art that adapts
Roman iconography, Hercules can be identified by his attributes, the
lion
skin and the
club: in
mosaic he is
shown tanned bronze, a virile aspect. While he was a champion and a great
warrior, he was not above cheating and using any unfair trick to his advantage.
However, he was renowned as having "made the world safe for mankind" by
destroying many dangerous monsters. His self-sacrifice obtained him the ascent
to the Olympian realms and he was welcomed by the gods.
In their popular culture the Romans adopted the Etruscan Hercle, a
hero-figure that had already been influenced by Greek culture — especially in
the conventions of his representation — but who had experienced an autonomous
development. Etruscan Hercle appears in the elaborate illustrative engraved
designs on the backs of Etruscan bronze mirrors made during the fourth century
BC, which were favoured
grave
goods. Their specific literary references have been lost, with the loss of
all Etruscan literature, but the image of the mature, bearded Hercules suckling
at
Uni/Juno's
breast, engraved on a mirror back from
Volterra,
is distinctively Etruscan. This Hercle/Hercules — the Hercle of the interjection
"Mehercle!" — remained a popular cult figure in the Roman legions.
The literary Greek versions of his exploits were appropriated by literate
Romans from the 2nd century BCE onwards, essentially unchanged, but Latin
literature of Hercules added anecdotal detail of its own, some of it linking the
hero with the geography of the Western Mediterranean. Details of the Greek
cult, which mixed
chthonic
libations and uneaten
holocausts with Olympian services, were adapted to specifically Roman
requirements as well, as Hercules became the founding figure of
Herculaneum and other places, and his cult became entwined with Imperial
cult, as shown in surviving frescoes in the Herculanean collegium. His
altar has been dated to the 5th or 6th century BC. It stood near the
Temple of Hercules Victor. Hercules became popular with merchants, who
customarily paid him a
tithe of their
profits.
Marcus Antonius identified himself with Hercules, and even invented a son of
Hercules, called
Anton, from whom Antonius claimed descent. In response, his enemy
Octavianus identified with
Apollo. Some
early emperors took up the attributes of Hercules (e.g. Traianus), and later
Roman
Emperors, in particular
Commodus
and Maximian,
went further and often identified or compared themselves with him and supported
his cult; Maximianus styled himself "Herculius". The cult of Hercules spread
through the Roman world. In their gardens, wealthy Romans would often build
altars to Hercules, who was regarded as the benefactor of mankind.[5]
In Roman Egypt, what is believed to be the remains of a Temple of Hercules are
found in the
Bahariya Oasis.
The Romans adopted the myths of Heracles including his twelve labors,
essentially unchanged, but added anecdotal detail of their own, some of it
linking Hercules with the geography of the Western Mediterranean.
In Roman mythology, Acca Larentia was Hercules's mistress. She was married to
Tarutius, a wealthy merchant. When he died, she gave his money to charity. In
another version, she was the wife of Faustulus.
In Aeneid 8.195ff., Vergilius relates a myth about Hercules' defeating the
monstrous Cacus, who lived in a cave under the Palatine Hill (one of the
eventual Seven Hills of Rome).
Death of Hercules
Hercules was married to
Deianeira. Long after their marriage, one day the
centaur
Nessus offered
to ferry them across a wide river that they had to cross. Nessus set off with
Deianeira first, but tried to abduct her. When Hercules realized the centaur's
real intention, Hercules chased after him and shot him with a poisoned arrow.
Before he died Nessus told Deianeira to take some of his blood and treasure it:
if she ever thought Hercules was being unfaithful, the
centaur told
her, the blood would restore his love. Deianeira kept the phial of blood. Many
years later after that incident she heard rumours that Hercules has fallen in
love with another woman. She smeared some of the blood on a robe and sent it to
Hercules. When he put on the robe, the blood still poisoned from the same arrow
used by Hercules, burnt into his flesh and when he realized this, he told his
friends to build him a pyre out of hardy oak and wild olive. He was burnt to
death on the pyre, the fire hurt far less than the poison. His father Jupiter
then turned him into a god.
Marcus Antonius Gordianus Pius (January
20, 225
–
February
11, 244),
known in
English as Gordian III,
was
Roman
Emperor from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of
Antonia Gordiana and his father was an unnamed Roman Senator who died before
238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor
Gordian I
and younger sister of Emperor
Gordian II.
Very little is known on his early life before becoming Roman Emperor. Gordian
had assumed the name of his maternal grandfather in 238.
Rise to power
Following the murder of emperor
Alexander Severus in Moguntiacum (modern
Mainz), the
capital of the
Roman province
Germania Inferior,
Maximinus Thrax was acclaimed emperor, despite strong opposition of the
Roman senate and the majority of the population. In response to what was
considered in Rome as a rebellion, Gordian's grandfather and uncle, Gordian I
and II, were proclaimed joint emperors in the
Africa Province. Their revolt was suppressed within a month by Cappellianus,
governor of
Numidia and a loyal supporter of Maximinus Thrax. The elder Gordians died,
but public opinion cherished their memory as peace loving and literate men,
victims of Maximinus' oppression.
Meanwhile, Maximinus was on the verge of marching on Rome and
the Senate elected
Pupienus
and Balbinus
as joint emperors. These senators were not popular men and the population of
Rome was still shocked by the elder Gordian's fate, so that the Senate decided
to take the teenager Gordian, rename him Marcus Antonius Gordianus as his
grandfather, and raise him to the rank of
Caesar and imperial heir.
Pupienus
and Balbinus
defeated Maximinus, mainly due to the defection of several
legions,
namely the
II Parthica who assassinated Maximinus. But their joint reign was
doomed from the start with popular riots, military discontent and even an
enormous fire that consumed Rome in June 238. On
July 29,
Pupienus and Balbinus were killed by the
Praetorian guard and Gordian proclaimed sole emperor.
Rule
Due to Gordian's age, the imperial government was surrendered
to the aristocratic families, who controlled the affairs of Rome through the
senate. In 240,
Sabinianus
revolted in the African province, but the situation was dealt quickly. In 241,
Gordian was married to Furia Sabinia
Tranquillina, daughter of the newly appointed praetorian prefect,
Timesitheus. As chief of the Praetorian guard and father in law of the
emperor, Timesitheus quickly became the de facto ruler of the Roman
empire.
In the 3rd century, the Roman frontiers weakened against the
Germanic tribes across the
Rhine and
Danube, and the
Sassanid kingdom across the
Euphrates
increased its own attacks. When the Persians under
Shapur I
invaded
Mesopotamia, the young emperor opened the doors of the
Temple of Janus for the last time in Roman history, and sent a huge army to
the East. The Sassanids were driven back over the Euphrates and defeated in the
Battle of Resaena (243). The campaign was a success and Gordian, who had
joined the army, was planning an invasion of the enemy's territory, when his
father-in-law died in unclear circumstances. Without Timesitheus, the campaign,
and the emperor's security, were at risk.
Marcus Julius Philippus, also known as
Philip the Arab, stepped in at this moment as the new Praetorian Prefect and
the campaign proceeded. In the beginning of 244, the Persians counter-attacked.
Persian sources claim that a battle was fought (Battle
of Misiche) near modern
Fallujah (Iraq)
and resulted in a major Roman defeat and the death of Gordian III[1].
Roman sources do not mention this battle and suggest that Gordian died far away,
upstream of the Euphrates. Although ancient sources often described Philip, who
succeeded Gordian as emperor, as having murdered Gordian at Zaitha (Qalat es
Salihiyah), the cause of Gordian's death is unknown.
Gordian's youth and good nature, along with the deaths of his
grandfather and uncle and his own tragic fate at the hands of another usurper,
granted him the everlasting esteem of the Romans. Despite the opposition of the
new emperor, Gordian was deified by the Senate after his death, in order to
appease the population and avoid riots.
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