Showing Rome in the Round: Reinterpreting the ‘Commemorative Medallions’ of Antoninus Pius

Abstract

AbstractThis article re-examines the ‘commemorative medallions’ of Antoninus Pius, a series of medallions showing the early history of Rome. It is suggested that these pieces should be seen not in a Saecular Games context but as a continuation of Hadrianic precedent, probably connected with the construction of the Temple of Venus and Rome. These medallions represent a wider imperial emphasis on the distant past under both Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, an interest that we observe in other coin types, public building works and perhaps also works of literature. A detailed examination of these Pius medallions reveals that their iconography was drawn from earlier types, and that they in turn inspired later imagery. This phenomenon reveals a certain intertextuality in numismatic language, and suggests that coin imagery did not merely grace Rome’s currency, but was recorded and was accessible to later generations. These medallions, truly ‘monuments in miniature’, reveal a new understanding of Pius’ reign and his (self-)presentation as Hadrian’s successor.