Gold Aureus of Septimius Severus, 7.12 g.
Title
Gold Aureus of Septimius Severus, 7.12 g.
Creator
Septimius Severus
Date
196 CE
Description
Obverse: Draped bust of Julia Domna facing right; IVLIA AVGVSTA: Julia Augusta.
Reverse: Diana Lucifera standing facing left, holding torch; DIANA LVCIFERA: Diana Lucifera.
Style/Period: Roman Empire
Julia Domna, the daughter of the high priest of the Sun at Emesa in Syria, married Septimius Severus in about 185 CE, while he was a governor in Gaul. Severus, a notoriously superstitious man, chose her on the basis of her horoscope, which predicted that she would marry a king. Julia Domna had two sons, Antoninus (Caracalla) and Geta, who would eventually attain the rank of Augustus, and two daughters. She was something of an intellectual who had philosophers among her circle at court. She also traveled with her husband on his campaigns and received unusual honors as empress. Like Faustina the Younger (see 91.181), she was given the title Mater Castrorum, Mother of the Camps. To this were added the unprecedented titles Mater Senatus and Mater Patriae, Mother of the Senate and Mother of the Country.
After the death of Severus, Julia Domna continued to receive honors from her sons, and even after Antoninus had his younger brother murdered in her arms, she continued to support him, accompanying him on his last campaign to the East. After Antoninus was assassinated, she committed suicide in 217 CE. She was deified by her great-nephew, Elagabalus.
Julia Domna's portraits are noted for her distinctive hairstyle, a mass of hair falling in waves from its central part, then caught in a braided bun at the back; the hair is so heavy and stiff that it is likely to have been a wig. On the reverse of this coin she is associated with Diana Lucifera, the moon goddess and bearer of light.
-- Kathleen L. Metzger Newmyer, LU '94
Bibliography: H. Mattingly and E.A. Sydenham, The Roman Imperial Coinage IV.1: Pertinax to Geta (London 1936) 548.
After the death of Severus, Julia Domna continued to receive honors from her sons, and even after Antoninus had his younger brother murdered in her arms, she continued to support him, accompanying him on his last campaign to the East. After Antoninus was assassinated, she committed suicide in 217 CE. She was deified by her great-nephew, Elagabalus.
Julia Domna's portraits are noted for her distinctive hairstyle, a mass of hair falling in waves from its central part, then caught in a braided bun at the back; the hair is so heavy and stiff that it is likely to have been a wig. On the reverse of this coin she is associated with Diana Lucifera, the moon goddess and bearer of light.
-- Kathleen L. Metzger Newmyer, LU '94
Bibliography: H. Mattingly and E.A. Sydenham, The Roman Imperial Coinage IV.1: Pertinax to Geta (London 1936) 548.
Source
Former collection of Ottilia Buerger. Purchased from Bank Leu, 1972.
Identifier
91.200
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Subject
Roman, Empire, Julia Domna, Diana Lucifera, torch
Files
Citation
Septimius Severus, “Gold Aureus of Septimius Severus, 7.12 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/301.