Friday, September 13, 2024
Sol with a Whip
Denarius of Severus Alexander, 234 AD. Obverse lettering IMP ALEXANDER PIVS AVG (i.e. IMPERATOR ALEXANDER PIVS AVGVSTVS), with bearded laureate bust facing right. Reverse lettering P M TR P XIII COS III P P (i.e. PONTIFEX MAXIMVS TRIBVNICIA POSTESTATE XIII CONSVL III PATER PATRIAE), with Sol advancing towards the left, raising his right hand and holding a whip in his left hand:
See Harold Mattingly et al., Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. IV. Part II: Macrinus to Pupienus (London: Spink & Son, Ltd., 1938), p. 80, Severus Alexander number 123, and David R. Sear, Roman Coins and Their Values, Vol. II: The Accession of Nerva to the Overthrow of the Severan Dynasty AD 96-AD 235 (London: Spink, 2002), p. 648, number 7916.
On the whip see Steven E. Hijmans, Sol: Image and Meaning of the Sun in Roman Art and Religion (Leiden: Brill, 2024), pp. 68-69 (§ 2.7, footnotes omitted):
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On the whip see Steven E. Hijmans, Sol: Image and Meaning of the Sun in Roman Art and Religion (Leiden: Brill, 2024), pp. 68-69 (§ 2.7, footnotes omitted):
From the earliest representations in Roman art, a horse-whip (scutica) is a standard attribute of Sol. The scutica typically consists of an arm-length rod to which a single cord, or leather thong, is attached at one end. The whip logically refers to Sol’s role as charioteer of the solar chariot, and as such also occurs when Sol is represented as a standing figure or as a bust. The whip is not unique to Sol, as it is also is an attribute of Luna, but no other deities have a whip as a standard part of their iconography. Thus, when any other male deity is depicted with a whip, this often can be taken as a reference to Sol.This is the only silver coin in my collection, a gift from my son.
