458/1. Julia (47-46 BC)

AR Denarius (African mint, 47-46 BC)

O/ Head of Venus wearing diadem r.

R/ Aeneas l., carrying palladium in r. hand and Anchises on l. shoulder; CAESAR downwards on r.

Crawford 458/1 (390 obverse dies/433 reverse dies)

3.51g

Gaius Julius Caesar:

This denarius refers to Caesar's claim that the Julii descended from Venus, through her love affair with Anchises, a relative of King Priam of Troy. Their son Aeneas was indeed a Trojan prince who escaped the burning city by carrying his father and the Palladium, a sacred statue of Athena -- the scene depicted on the reverse.

Aeneas then traveled throughout the known world and landed in Carthage where he met its Queen Dido, who fell in love with him and committed suicide when he left to Italy. Since this denarius was minted during Caesar's campaign against the last Optimates in Africa, this use of Aeneas is a particularly clever propaganda.

Aeneas had a son named Ascanius, but Caesar claimed he was also called Iulus and that the Julii descended from him, and therefore from Venus. Virgil wrote an epic poem, The Aeneid, based on this story, at the request of Augustus, in order to give weight to the divine ascendancy of the Julii.

Collection : Roman Republic