Art Institute of Chicago

Denarius (Coin) Depicting the Goddess Roma

Roman

Date

about 136 BCE

Medium

SIlver

Culture

Roman Empire

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The front (obverse) of this coin depicts the head of Roma facing right witha winged helmet. The back (reverse) depicts the god Jupiter standing in a quadriga (four-horse chariot) galloping to the right, holding a sceptre and launching a thunderbolt. The denarius, introduced in 211 BCE, was the principal silver coin of Rome for five hundred years. The profile head of the goddess Roma—the personification of Rome—was the most popular image depicted on silver denarii in the second and first centuries BCE.

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