ELUCIDATION OF THE ORNAMENTS WITH WHICH THE GREEKS AND ROMANS ADORNED THE HUMAN HEAD ON COINS AND MEDALS.
THE DIADEM.
The chief of these ornaments is the diadem, or vitta, which was a ribband worn about the head, and tied in a floating knot behind. This was anciently the simple, but superlative badge of kingly power. It is observable upon the Greek monarchical medals, from the earliest ages, to the last, without any other ornament, and is almost an infallible sign of kingly power, and that the portrait, if there be no other characteristic, is that of a prince. In the Roman coins it is seen on the Consular ones with Numa and Ancus; but never afterwards till the time of Licinius. So great an aversion had the Romans to this kingly distinction, that their emperors had for more than two centuries worn the radiated crown, peculiar to the gods, before they dared to assume the diadem, which was considered as the symbol of tyranny. In the family of Constantine, the diadem becomes common, though not with the ancient simplicity, being ornamented on either edge with a row of pearls, and various other decorations.
The Greek queens used the diadem, but the Roman empresses never appear with it; however, the variety of their head dresses more than compensates for the want of this ornament.
THE RADIATED CROWN.
The radiated crown was, at first, as on the posthumous coins of Augustus, a mark of deification, and in little more than a century after, was put upon most of the emperors’ heads on their several medals.
THE CROWN OF LAUREL.
The crown of laurel was at first the honorary prize of conquerors, but was afterwards commonly worn, at least on their medals, by all the Roman emperors, from Julius Cæsar, who was permitted by the senate to wear it always, to hide the baldness of his forehead. This perhaps gave rise to the first emperors always appearing with it on their coins, a circumstance continued even to our times, and looking at its origin is now a little laughable. The laurel employed by the ancients in forming their crowns, is apparently what we term the Alexandrian laurel, a most beautiful evergreen, of a fine tender verdure. In the lower empire the laurel is often held by a hand above the head as a mark of piety.
THE ROSTRAL CROWN.
Agrippa appears on his coins with the rostral crown, a sign of naval victory or command, being made of gold, in resemblance of prows of ships, tied together.
THE MURAL CROWN.
Agrippa is likewise seen with the mural or turretted crown, the prize of first ascending the walls of an enemy’s city.
THE CIVIC CROWN.
The oaken or civic crown is frequent on reverses, as of Galba and others; and was the badge of having saved the life of a citizen, or of many citizens.
THE HELMET.
The helmet appears on coins; as in those of Macedon under the Romans, which have a head of Alexander, sometimes covered with a helmet. Probus also has often the helmet on his coins; and Constantine the first, has helmets of different forms curiously ornamented.
THE NIMBUS OR GLORY.
The nimbus or glory, now peculiar to the saints, was formerly applied to emperors. A nimbus appears round the head of Constantine the second, in a gold coin of that prince; and of Flavia Maxima Fausta, in a gold medallion; and of Justinian in another. But the idea is as ancient as the reign of Augustus, and is found in Roman authors, before it appeared on coins. Oiselius gives a coin of Antoninus Pius, with the nimbus, but this however is doubtful, and may have been some flaw in the coin from which he engraved his representation.
OTHER ORNAMENTS OF THE HEAD.
Besides the diadem, the Greek princes sometimes appear with the laurel crown. The Arsacidæ, or kings of Parthia, wear a kind of sash round the head, with their hair in rows of curls like a wig. Tigranes and the kings of Armenia, wear the tiara, a singular kind of cap, but the well known badge of imperial power in the ancient eastern world. Xerxes, a petty prince of Armenia, appears in a coin extant of him in a conical cap, with a diadem around it. Juba, the father, has a singular crown, like a conical cap, all hung with pearls.
The successors of Alexander assumed by way of distinction, different symbols of the Deity, to be observed on the busts of their medals, such as the lion’s skin of Hercules, which surrounds the head of the first Seleucus; the horn placed behind the ear, an image of their strength and power, or of their being the successors of Alexander, called the son of Jupiter Ammon; the wing placed in like manner behind the ear, symbolic of the rapidity of their conquests, or of their being descendants from the god Mercury.
Some authors, however, have doubted if all these heads be not of gods, except those with the horn. Eckhel observes, that even the horn and diadem belong to Bacchus, as on a coin of Nuceria Alfaterna. Bacchus, according to Diodorus Siculus, invented the diadem, to cure his head-aches, and was horned like his father Jupiter Ammon. The only king who appears on coins, according to Eckhel, with the horn, is Lysimachus. Pyrrhus had a crest of goats’ horns to his helmet, as we are informed by Plutarch, in his life, and the goat was the symbol of Macedon. It is likely that the successors of Alexander took this badge of the horn in consequence.
Besides the distinctions of supreme power, or honorary reward, there are other symbolic ornaments of the head, observable on some Roman coins. Such is the veil, or, more properly, the toga drawn over the head, to be seen on the busts of Julius Cæsar, when Pontifex Maximus, and others. This shews that the person bore the pontificate or the augurship; the augurs having a particular gown, called laena, with which they covered their heads, when employed in observing omens. Latterly the veil is only a mark of consecration, and is common in coins of empresses, as Faustina, Mariniana, and others. In the coins of Claudius Gothicus we first find it as a mark of the consecration of an emperor; and it continued in those of Constantius the first, Maximian the first, and Constantine the first.
The remarkable part of the Roman head dress among the ladies, was the sphendona, or sling, on the crown of the head; answering to the modern hair cushion. But it was of gold, and so prominent as to be even remarkable in a coin. The hair appears in many fashions, as now. Sometimes the bust of an empress is supported by a crescent, to imply that she was the moon, as her husband was the sun of the state.
Generally, only the bust is given on ancient coins; but sometimes half the body or more. In the latter case the hands often appear, with tokens of majesty in them. Such is the globe, said to have been introduced by Augustus, to express possession of the world. The sceptre, sometimes confounded with the consular staff. The roll of parchment, symbolic of legislative power; and the handkerchief expressing that of the public games, where the emperor gave the signal. Some princes even hold the thunderbolt, shewing that their power was equal to that of Jupiter in heaven. Others hold an image of victory.
Most queens of Egypt, on their coins, have the sceptre. It appears at the top of their head; and would seem part of the dress, were it not that in other coins, it passes beneath the neck transversely, so that both ends appear.
The victors, at the sacred games among the ancients, had bound round the head, an ornament called anadema, which has sometimes been confounded with the diadem worn by the ancient Persian kings.