jlueke Posted November 4, 2006 Report Share Posted November 4, 2006 One of the things that intruiges me is the connection of modern designs to those of the past and the when and the how behind the osmosis of design. One such example is the seated goddess design. The US version is pretty easily traced to Britannia and she clearly has her roots in 2nd century Rome. Rome presents a few more challenges in tracing the design. It seems to me that the design originated as seated Baal in the satrapies of Asia Minor. Alexander III then adopted this design with Zeus replacing Baal and spread it throughout much of the world. While most of the successor states adopted their own reverses sooner or later the Seleukids produced a long series of a seated deity. Back in Rome, Roma can be found occasionnally on Republican coinage seated on a pile of shields or weapons. However, under Caligula the Vesta reverses look more like the inspiration of Britannia under Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. Does that make sense? Where could Caligula's interest in the reverse design have started? Was he trying to copy Alexander like when he made the pontoon bridge and wore his breastplate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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