God of the Fishes and Birds of the Marshes

Hapi was believed to live in a cavern at the supposed source of the Nile near Aswan. He was in charge of sending Nile waters through the land of the dead, the heavens and finally into Egypt, where waters emerged again between the Islands of Elephantine and Philae. Hapi was powerful, sometimes destructive, but also very beneficial: annual Nile floods deposited silt on the river’s banks, allowing the Egyptians to grow their crops each year. The cult of Hapi was situated at the First Cataract, on the island of Elephantine. To monitor Nile’ level and the transparency of its Nile waters, Priests maintained on the Elephantine island and elsewhere special devices called nilometers. Hopefully, we still have coins that show how both Hapi and Nilometers looked like.

Rare Coin with a Sleeping Hapi

The coin below is extremely rare – only a few coins like this one have been fund. Its reverse depicts Hapi and his main attributes. Hapi is seen here seated on a rock, and his right hand is raised above his head indicating that he is asleep. One can see to right a Nilometer with a scale and above the Nilometer there is a hawk – Horus.   

Nilometers on coins  

The depiction of nilometers on coins struck in Egypt during Roman time is not very common, but we still have a few coins showing them. The coin below was struck during the reign of Elagabalus and the Nilometer is shown here as an obelisk with two genii attendants. The figure on the obverse of the coin is reclining Nilus himself. This way to depict Nile became really standard for the time. There is a statue in Vatican – the personified river Nile is sculpted exactly as on the coin below.

What to see there now ?

One of the best places to assess the significance of Nile for Egyptians and to see two existing Nilometers is the Island of Elephantine. 

This relatively small island is located on the Nile near to the city of Aswan in southern Egypt. According to Egyptian mythology, the island – known to them as Abu – was the dwelling palace of Khnum, the ram-headed god of the cataracts who guarded and controlled the waters of the Nile. In antiquity, this island stood on the border between Egypt and Nubia, and its location served as a defensive site for a city and commercial center. The site is notable for the Elephantine papyri, caches of legal documents written in Aramaic that record a Jewish community that lived here in around the 5th century B.C.

There are a number of excellent ancient remains to be seen on Elephantine, including several temples. On the island, one is able to see the Temple of Satet, the personified goddess of the Nile inundation. The temple has existed since around 3200 B.C., but a new temple was built by Ptolemy VI in the first half of the second century B.C.; the Ptolemaic dynasty was careful to maintain the religious customs of Egypt, often associating native deities and customs with their own. To the south of the island, there is also the Temple of Khnum, the oldest ruins on the island.

Also, as mentioned, of interest are the 2 Nilometers at Elephantine. These structures served as devices for measuring the depth and clarity of the annual floods.

Author: TTR. 

Source of header pic – please see sources of coins mentioned in the article.

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Three lost honorific columns on coins 

The first of columns that ever appeared on coins is Columna Minucia – it was also the first honorific column of Rome. It was erected in 439 BC on Comitium. Its construction was financed through a popular subscription to commemorate L. Minucius Augurinus, who was consul in 497 and in 491 BC. During his service, he consecrated the temple of Saturn on the Forum and Saturnalia festival took place for the first time. Also, he managed to deal with famine that struck Rome in 490 BC. The theme of salutary grain shipments from Sicily can be seen on the republican denarius struck by C. Augurinus in 135 BC in honor of his famous ancestor.  

The second famous column of antiquity is Columna Rostrata Augusti. It was erected on the Forum in 36 BC by Octavian to commemorate its victory over Sextus Pompey, who was the last center of opposition to the Second Triumvirate. The victory over Sextus was hard to achieve and Octvian spared to no means to commemorate it. This column stood between the Forum’ Rostra and the spring on the Forum called Lacus Curtius.  It is likely that the entire column was built from melted beaks of enemy’s ships. Its was possibly gilded, as well as Octavian’s statue that was placed on top of it. 

The third column preserved on coins is the Columna Antonini Pii – the column of Antoninus Pius. It was built by emperors Marcus Aurelius and Licius Verus in the memory of Fausina and Antoninus Pius. This column stood on Campus Martius not far from the column of Marcus Aurelius (the latter is still standing today). The column was made of a monolithic slab of red granite and had a decorated base of white marble. The column survived until modern times, but it was damaged by fire in 18^th century. Its granite broken pieces were recycled for the restauration of the obelisk of Augustus that stands now on the Piazza Monte Citorio. Only the base of the column was preserved: it has a dedicatory inscription on one side and reliefs on three others. One of three relief of the basement depicts Faustina and Antonius carried by a genius on its wings. Two other reliefs show the Decursio Equitum – a procession that was held before the funeral pyre was lit. The depiction of the base, which was heavily restored, can be seen here.   

Columna Traiana: The most spectacular one 

Three ancient columns still stand today in Rome: the column of Trajan (called Columna Traiana), the Column of Marcus Aurelius (its whole name is “Columna Centenaria Divorum Marci et Faustinae”) and the column of Phocas. The latter is also called the Columna Focae – it was erected in 608 AD by Smaragdus, exarch of Italy. But the most spectacular of the three columns of Rome is certainly the Column of Trajan. 

The Column of Trajan was dedicated to Trajan war in Dacia. Between 101 – 102 and 105 – 107 AD, the Emperor Trajan waged a war in the territory that is now Romania and Transylvania, partly to contain the Dacian threat, partly to incorporate their natural resources, and partly to avenge an earlier humiliating defeat that Rome had suffered under Domitian. Rome inevitably triumphed. And doing what a Roman emperor did best, Trajan decided to monumentalise Rome’s victory by literally setting it in stone (or rather marble) on a 30 metre-tall victory column. 

As well as a commemorative monument gloating over a barbarian defeat, Trajan’s Column also doubled up as the emperor’s sepulchre. This was pretty controversial. Burial within the city limits was a rare privilege, and with him being the modest man that he was, we can assume that Trajan wouldn’t have presumed this privilege for himself—even if the Senate did vote him Optimus Princeps (or “best ruler”). But he hedged his bets by having a tomb built within his column’s base. And he guessed right, his ashes deposited sub column in a golden urn late in the sweltering summer of 117 AD.

First we advanced to Berzobim…

Trajan’s Column is most famous for portraying scenes from the emperor’s Dacian campaigns on its spiralling frieze. It shows a staggering 155 stages of the war (Trajan appearing in 58 of them) and would have stood between two libraries containing his dispatches from the frontline. Indeed, Trajan actually wrote a commentary about the war—probably in the style of Caesar’s Bellum Gallicum—in a work known as the Dacica. Only five words of it have survived, however—the deeply moving lines inde Berzobim, deinde Aizi processimus roughly translating as, “first we advanced to Berzobim, then we moved on to Aizi.” 

Curiously enough, few of the column’s scenes are violent. Depictions of battle feature far less than those of travel, sacrifice, adlocutio (divine summoning) and submissio (the enemy’s submission). So why, on a monument commemorating military victory, would its designers have decided to tone down the bloodshed? The answer probably lies with the fact that around the time of the column’s completion in 113 Trajan was already planning another campaign in Parthia. 

The Pathian campaign would prove far more costly than the campaigns in Dacia and reap far fewer rewards: undertaken principally to enhance Trajan’s prestige as a good old-fashioned military imperator. The decision to represent the Romans as being so militarily superior that their enemies would readily submit was therefore a propagandistic one intended to get the populace on board. Understandably, it was a far better alternative to depicting the harsh realities of attritional warfare which in reality they would have to fight. 

A story that was impossible to read? 

As impressive as the column is, scholars have long scratched their heads trying to work out how contemporaries would have been able to piece together its narrative without walking round and round in circles and severely cricking their necks. And that’s when its frieze was still polychrome! You could certainly once get an elevated view of the column from the Basilica Ulpia’s first-floor terrace. But given that this terrace didn’t spiral around the monument, it could quite literally only give you one side of the story. 

Ultimately we don’t know. It could simply be that the architect’s blind vision got in the way of the monument’s practicalities. What’s beyond doubt is the magnificence of the column itself: within the monument is a spiralling staircase, at the base of the column is a dedicatory inscription from the Senate and the People of Rome, and once standing atop the column was a bronze statue of the emperor. But it has long since been lost; stolen along with the earthly remains of the emperor which were looted in the Middle Ages.

Author: Alexander Meddings with additions and edits by TTR. 

Source of header pic – please see sources of coins mentioned in the article above.

To find out more: Timetravelrome.

Scene of most cruel battles 

As foreign riches flooded the city in the wake of the victories of dynasts like Marius, Pompey, and Caesar during the late Republic, the Circus Maximus became the site of some truly bizarre scenes. In 55 BC, Pompey provided the combative spectacle of twenty African elephants forced to fight to the death. The result of this battle, unsurprisingly, caused some serious damage to the stands. By channelling the Tiber, Caesar built a protective moat between the sand and the stands. He did this partly to outdo his rival and partly to make sure no fights in the arena can damage stands again. 

One of the Rome’ most beautiful buildings 

The circus was at its greatest under Augustus (31 BC – 14 AD). The first emperor added to its grounds an Egyptian obelisk (the Flaminio Obelisk which now stands in the Piazza del Popolo), expanded its seating capacity to 150,000, and rebuilt many of its sections in stone. His successors too made their own additions. Claudius in particular has built carceres (starting gates) out of marble. The Great Fire of 64 AD caused significant damage. But it wasn’t serious enough that Nero didn’t have the circus up and running for his return from Greece in 68 AD.  

Pliny the Elder (23 – 79 AD) counted the Circus Maximus among the most beautiful buildings in Rome. And Procopius tells that the last games to take place in the Circus Maximus were held in 550 AD. Unfortunately, the circus’s destruction began in the same century. However, the circus has never been destroyed to the extent that its former greatness hasn’t been instantly recognisable. 

Rome’s greatest shows on coins 

A few coins struck under several rules tell us the story of Circus Maximus renovations. They also provide a glimpse of how the most spectacular shows of antiquity looked like. The first coin below was struck under Trajan. In 103 AD he restored and expanded the grandstand of the Circus Maximus. Thanks to this renovation, an additional five thousand places were added.

The coin shows the Circus from the Palatine hill. One can see the spina and all major decorative elements of it: the obelisk of Augustus, the statue of Cybele on a lion, the dolphin lap counter, and two metae (turning points). The arch of Titus seen on the eastern side of the Circus should not be confused with another arch dedicated to this Emperor by his brother Domitian in 82 AD. This latter arch still stands on the Forum, while the former one has left virtually no traces, excepting its depiction on Circus Maximus coins. 

Rome mint. Struck under Trajan circa AD 103. Laureate head right, slight drapery / View of the Circus Maximus. The image in public domain. Annotations by TTR.

The next coin is interesting because it shows the evolution of Circus architectural elements. It was struck some hundred years later than the first one, under Caracalla. Trajan sestertius served as the prototype for it, but the coin of Caracalla also depicts starting boxes, called carceres. The coin that we have used as a header of this article was also struck under Caracalla and one can see departing gates on it too. 

The last coin is very scarce and it depicts on its reverse one of the great Circus Shows. In 204 AD Romans held Saecular Games (Ludi Saeculares) which included sacrifices, distribution of money to citizens, and Circus races and games. This coin is likely corresponding to this event. Fortunately, we also have a full description of the show provided by Dio Cassius (LXXVII, 4-5). Here is his description of the great show: 

“The whole construction in the amphitheatre was constructed in the form of a ship, and was so conceived that 400 beasts might be received into it, and at the same time be sent forth from it. Then, when it suddenly collapsed there issued out of it bears, lionesses, panthers, lions, ostriches, wild asses and bison, so that seven hundred beasts, both wild and domesticated, were seen running about at the same time and were slaughtered.” 

The coin is so well engraved that one can actually see animals described by the historian: there is an ostrich on the left, a leaping lion, and bison standing on the right side of the ship. 

What to see there now ?

The Circus Maximus is Rome’s best example of a perfectly preserved structure in which nothing of the actual structure has survived. More than being situated in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills, the Circus Maximus is the valley: its ancient shape stretching from the exit of the Circo Massimo metro stop right up to the Via dell’Ara Massima di Ercole near the Forum Boarium. 

Regrettably, little material has survived from one of the most important structures of the ancient city. The only traces of its foundations that have been found are located either towards the east end of the circus or running along its northern side near the Palatine. But you can easily make out its shape and size of this enormous racetrack: a total length of 600 metres and total width of 200 metres with a cavea (or seating area) that would have stood three storeys tall. 

Rather counter-intuitively, some of the Circus Maximus’s best remains are actually to be found on the slopes of the Palatine. Several inscriptions have been recovered from the area known as Cermalus Minisculus which seems to have been the home of shops, workshops, and other buildings associated with the running of the circus. Some of these have been preserved beneath the Basilica of Santa Anastasia, while others—dating from the late Republic to the late Empire— run between the basilica and the grounds of the circus. 

To find out more: Timetravelrome.

Authors: Alexander Meddings with additions and edits by TTR. 

Ancient story of Ephesus

Ephesus is located on the Aegean coast of Modern Turkey, southwest of Selçuk. Ephesus area was inhabited since the Neolithic period (ca. 6000 B.C.) and was once one of the most esteemed cities in the ancient world. The mythical founder was an Athenian Prince Androklos. He is also famous as the founder of the Ionian League.

In the Archaic period, the city came under the control of the Lydian King, Croesus. He is most famous in history for his huge wealth. During this time, Ephesus flourished. The city was home to esteemed figures such as Heraclitus the philosopher. He famously said that a man could never set foot in the same river twice, the world being in a constant state of flux. 

Hellenistic Kingdom conquered by Romans

Ephesus rebelled against Persian rule at the turn of the 5th century B.C. It was actually the trigger for the Ionian revolt and the Greco-Persian Wars. The city initially sided with Athens, but then later with Sparta. During the Hellenistic period, the city welcomed Alexander the Great’s triumphal entry, as he liberated the Greek cities of Asia Minor from Persian rule. After Alexander death, the city changed hands a few times between several rulers. The latest was Attalus III: after his death in 133 B.C., the Seleucid kingdom was bequeathed to the Roman Republic, and Ephesus became a Roman city. 

Roman authority, and with it increased taxation, was not appreciated by locals. As a result, the Pontic King, Mithridates, was welcomed here. It is from Ephesus that he ordered the so-called Asiatic Vespers; the slaughter of Roman citizens in Asia. The city was duly punished when it was reclaimed for Rome by Sulla in 86 B.C. 

Artemis Temple: one of the Seven Wonders of Antiquity

In antiquity, Ephesus was most famous for the Temple of Artemis (Artemision) that was located nearby. It is believed that the construction of the Temple was financed by Croesus. This is indicated by the discovery of his signature on the base of one of the columns. The Temple was so splendid, that it was considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  According to Pausanias it was also the largest structure of antiquity – larger by a few meters on a side than a modern football field – and it was the first Temple to be entirely of marble.  

The Temple had taken some hundred twenty years to complete, but it was destroyed by fire in 356 BC, soon after completion. It was burned down by Herostratus, who immortalized his name in this infamous way. Ancient believed that the Temple could avoid the destruction, but its divine protector, Artemis, was absent from the shrine, assisting this very same day in the delivery of Alexander the Great… 

The Temple was rebuilt soon, and stood there for centuries, in spite periodical earthquakes. But, unfortunately, it was burned again by the Goths in AD 262. After this event, and even before its definite closure by Theodosius I in AD 391, the site started serving as a quarry for building the Byzantine city at Ephesus. The remaining parts of the great Artemision were slowly sinking in marshy soils, and covered by alluvial deposits. The Temple no longer survives, but we know how it appeared in the past thanks to descriptions by ancient writers and to its depictions on ancient coins.  

Artemis Temple : Ancient Coins tells the Story 

Pliny mentioned that the temple had 127 columns, each some 18 meters high. Vitruvius described the Temple as dipteral octastyle: two rows of columns around the temple with eight on the front and rear façades. Thirty-six of columns, according to Pliny, were decorated with reliefs. This description is confirmed by the bronze medallion minted under Hadrian, shown below. 

The next coin below was minted some 100 years earlier, under Claudius. It is in an exceptional state of conservation and reveals interesting details of the temple’s architecture. One can see on Temple’s pediment three square openings or windows. Archaeologists don’ know the exact use of these windows: the goddess may have been displayed through them or they may have served to relieve the pressure of the structure. The reconstruction of the Temple in the Ephesus museum shows how they might have looked like in the past

Artemis Festival and Symbols 

The third coin shows how the statue of Artemis looked like. The Goddess wears a head-gear, the modius (or polos), symbolizing powers over fecundity. Indeed, Temple’s goddess was worshipped for fertility: during Artemisia festivals celebrated in March – April, men and women used to choose their fiancés; Ephesus festivals drew in both locals and foreign visitors.  Below Goddess’ neck, one can see ‘breasts’ of Artemis. Nobody really knows what their meaning is. Some believe they depict eggs, breast, acorns, and, last but not least, testicles of bulls. Anyhow, the Ephesian Artemis was a very different version of the deity than Diana – the “usual” goddess of the hunt. She was worshipped in Ephesus for fertility, and this can be seen on ancient coins like this one:

The city flourished with the advent of the Pax Romana, prospering as a city of considerable commercial wealth. It was destroyed by Goths in 262 A.D., during the so-called Third Century Crisis. This moment marked the beginning of the city’s decline, despite Constantine investing in its restoration. It endured as a significant Byzantine city, but its deterioration was accelerated by an earthquake in 614 A.D., and the progressive silting up of the Küçükmenderes River.

Artemis Temple in later antiquity 

The city flourished with the advent of the Pax Romana, prospering as a city of considerable commercial wealth. It was destroyed by Goths in 262 A.D., during the so-called Third Century Crisis. This moment marked the beginning of the city’s decline, despite Constantine investing in its restoration. It endured as a significant Byzantine city, but its deterioration was accelerated by an earthquake in 614 A.D., and the progressive silting up of the Küçükmenderes River.

What to see there now 

Ephesus is a splendid archaeological site in its own right and is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Unfortunately, the famous Temple of Artemis is less spectacular to see. It was built on marshy soils and was heavily damaged by earthquakes in antiquity. Today the Temple of Artemis is identifiable only by a single, rather inconspicuous, column, and the fragments of the frieze that are housed in both London and Istanbul. Besides the temple itself, we also recommend to see in Ephesus the Library of Celsus, which is a spectacular site in its own right. Built in 125 A.D. in memory of Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, the library once held an estimated 12,000 scrolls and was a monument to the ex-governor who patronised the library’s construction and is buried beneath. There is also a theatre with a capacity of around 25,000, making it one of the largest in the ancient world. Ephesus also contains the ruins of many of the recognisable aspects of ancient urban life. Several major bath houses accompany a couple of agoras, and an Odeon, as well as the remnants of the Temples of the Sebastoi (dedicated to the Flavian imperial dynasty) and the Temple of Hadrian.

Archaeological remains from Ephesus are displayed variously, including at the Ephesus Museum in Vienna, the Ephesus Archaeological Museum in Selçuk, and in the British Museum. 

Written for Timetravelrome by Kieren Johns, with additions and edits by TTR. 

For primary accounts of Ephesus, see:

Strabo, Geography, 14.1.24

Pausanias, Description of Greece, 4.31.8

A rostrum was not a mere platform or podium for the talkers, but a true symbol of the Roman state. Here ordinary Romans found contact with their institutions and leaders. It was the place from which the voice of Rome was heard by its People.

One thousand years of history 

Rostra have a very long history. The first Rostrum was constructed in Rome in the 6th century BC. It was rebuilt and enlarged over centuries but remained at the same site. Here Romans would give speeches, deliver eulogies, and present emperors (dead or alive) to the crowds. 

The name “rostra” is more recent than the first construction. They have only been called like this since 338 BC, after the end of the Latin Wars which ravaged Italy. A consul, Gaius Maenius, seized the ships of Rome’s enemies, cut off their rams (or prows) – called rostra in Latin – and placed six of them upon the speakers’ podium. Rostra became symbols of Rome’s glorious past. 

What is shown on this coin? The reverse of the coin depicts a rostrum and a subsellium – the seat of Tribune. The seat should not be confused with sella curulis, dedicated to curule offices, or the highest ranks in Rome. The reverse is likely to be dedicated to moneyer’s father who was tribune in 71 BC. He was instrumental in returning powers to the tribunes, which had been removed by Sulla. Note that the rostrum still has its original circular form. 

Symbol of power

Julius Caesar moved the rostrum of Rome from its original position near the Comitium and Curia to its present site in 44 BC. It was dedicated by his right-hand man and most ambitious general, Mark Antony. In around 29 BC, Caesar’s heir, Augustus, sworn enemy of the, now late, Mark Antony , modified the structure. He extended the curved platform backwards to form a rectangle. 

Further modifications, columns and monuments were added to rostrum under the Flavians, the Severans and fifth-century Tetrarchy. 

In 29 BC Augustus built a second rostrum in front of the Temple of Caesar. The structure was also decorated with the prows of galleys. They came from ships captured during the great naval Battle of Actium. During this battle, Augustus’s fleet destroyed the forces of Marc Antony and Cleopatra. His victory cleared the way to his absolute power. Unfortunately, we have no traces of this second rostrum.

It is a pure speculation, but the coin below may depict the second rostrum as it then appeared. It was struck in 13 BC, after the second rostrum was built by Augustus. And only three prows can be seen here, while the “old” rostra counted six. The coin probably commemorates the renewal of Augustus’ friend Agrippa’s appointment as tribune. Unfortunately, he died prematurely the year after this coin was issued. 

What is to see there now? 

The Rostra Augusti are very much shells of their former selves. For millennia, they have been stripped of the very “rostra”—or ships’ rams – which gave them their name. However, the recesses into which these oars were inserted are still visible. Also, one can see the set of stairs of Caesar’s original structure on the western side. But even without its former imperial splendor, the remains of the rostra on the Forum are still a must-see: they played a pivotal role in some of the most important moments in Roman history.

Authors: Alexander Meddings with contributions and additional edits from TTR.