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Virtual Gallery
Very little is known about the wife of Philip I. In A. D. 237, she gave birth to a son who was later to become the emperor Philip II. Even the reverses of the coins struck in her name do not tell us very much about this woman but are simply typical reverses for a female personality of the mid Third Century.
No reliable accounts of the events of this time period have been found. It is generally accepted by scholars that the Historia Augusta is unreliable as history from about A. D. 222 onward. At this point, it assumes the character of a collection of fairy tales and anecdotes of mystical or supernatural happenings. There are short biographical sketches of the Roman rulers and amily members in many of the Roman coin reference books, but even these scholarly works are in disagreement as to what happened to Otacilia Severa. On one point, the scholars seem to agree. Philip II was killed in her arms by the Praetorian Guard in A. D. 249 near Rome or Verona. She was then either killed also or allowed to go into retirement.
Otacilia Severa AR Antoninianus. MARCIA OTACIL SEVERA AVG, diademed, draped bust right on crescent / CONCORDIA AVGG, Concordia seated left with patera & double cornucopiae. RIC 119b, RSC 9.
Collection : Roman Personalities