Ancient Rome - AD 177-192 Commodus AE Sestertius NGC Choice VF

Commodus, 177-192. AE Sestertius (Orichalcum, 30 mm, 21.36 g, 6 h), Rome, 183. Obverse: M COMMODVS ANTONINVS AVG PIVS Laureate head of Commodus to right. Reverse: TR P VIII IMP VI COS IIII PP / S - C Jupiter seated on throne left, holding Victory in his right hand and long scepter with his left. BMC 509. Cohen 873. RIC 367. Superior strike with dramatic green toning on both sides.

Commodus as Hercules, Capitoline Museum. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

In his proclamations and iconography, Commodus always presented himself as a unique individual, an important source of god-like power, liberality, and physical skill. Numerous statues around the Roman empire were crafted portraying him in the guise of Hercules, which reinforced the concept of him as a demigod, a physical colossal, as well as warrior who successfully battled men and beasts. Thus, as Hercules, he could claim to be the son of the god Jupiter, the leading deity of Roman culture and religion; this may explain the appearance of Jupiter upon the coin being offered by AUCM. Such tendencies grew to megalomaniacal proportions. Instead of honoring his actual descent from Marcus Aurelius, from whom he attained power, Commodus promoted his uniqueness as the source of a new order, and sought to recreate the empire in his own image.