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He is attired in the oriental silk dress with "long hanging sleeves," at which the Romans were so scandalized, and which Herodian describes as being between the sacred stola of the Phoenicians and the military læna of the Medes. This was stamped A. D. 221, by the obsequious and supple senate to the "Rerum Dominus,"-a mere foreign boy, whom they permitted to set at nought the morals and institutions of Rome, and disgrace the world by his profligacy, cruelty, and atrocious infamy in "peccatum illud horribile, inter Christianos non nominandum.

CCCLXXXII.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. M. AVR. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG. (Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Pius, Augustus.) The laurelled head of the Emperor, with the shoulders attired as before, and a young beard on the chin. This medal is of yellow brass without patina, and in capital preservation; it has the little silver eagle of the Modena Cabinet stamped upon it, and was purchased at Ostia, in 1823.

Reverse. SACERDOS DEI SOLIS ELAGAB. (Sacerdos Dei Solis Elagabali.*) In the field S. C. and a star. The Emperor in his oriental garb, richly bedecked with jewels, stands by a decorated altar, on which is a flame; he holds a patera in his right hand, and a trimmed palm-branch in his left. This commemorates the fact of the Romans permitting a wretched Syrian boy to bring them a new god to the displacement of their own deities, and of all that they held in sacred reverence! An aureus and a medallion of this reign, shew us that this important deity consisted of a mere conical block of stone; which in the device is seen riding in a triumphal quadriga. Elagabalus himself officiated as high-priest, wishing, though he lived in brutal infamy, to appear pious. His superstition, however, was unattended with many privations; it is true that he abstained from pork; but whole hecatombs of oxen, and flocks of sheep, were laid on altars smoking with spices, and washed with streams of the rarest and most generous wines, while dances were performed to exquisite music, by women brought out of Phoenicia for the purpose. Indeed, feasting at sacrifices was so general and voluptuous, that "Saliares Epulæ,' and "Pontificum Cœna," had become common proverbs for profuse cheer; but it was reserved for Elagabalus to carry gourmandise to its fullest extent. See XXV.

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As there is nothing more conspicuous or agreeable to the human senses, than the splendid structure, regular motion, and sensible influences of the sun, that luminary was probably the earliest object of divine honours with the worshippers of second causes. The early descendants of Noah, perhaps, gave the example; Diodorus Siculus mentions its prevalence in Egypt; and Philo Biblius, out of Sanchoniathon, tells us that the Phoenicians adopted it from the remotest ages. In the exhortation of Moses to obedience, he warns the children of Israel against being allured to ethnic adoration, when lifting their eyes towards the heavenly bodies. Ezekiel, in his vision, saw five-and-twenty men "with their backs turned toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun." Job exclaimed"If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness, and my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge; for I should have denied the God that is above." The emperor Julian, in his "Oration to the Sun," says, that the grand luminary had been worshipped at Edesa from all eternity; and Aurelian, returning thanks for the honours conferred upon him by Valerian, closed his speech by an appeal to the undoubted God." Deus Certus Sol." Such was the veneration in which the ancients, losing sight of the First Cause of all blessings, held the glorious orb of day; but the extraordinary madness of diverting this admiration towards a mis-shapen stone, proves that superstition-whether lashed with the cord, trembling under obi, or crushed by the wheels of Jagernat, is, under all its varied forms, essentially the same degradation of the best faculties of man. See CCCCII.

* Vopiscus mentions that the god Elagabal existed at Emesa, in the time of Aurelian.

+ The custom was to offer up a part of the victim to the Gods, and to distribute the remainder among those who assisted in the ceremony. The forbidding of musicians to feed with the priests, by the severe Appius Claudius, led those lovers of good eating to desert Rome, to the infinite grief of the Senators and Magistrates. A well applied feast, however, incited them to jollity, and when far gone in drunkenness, they were tossed into carts, and awoke in the Forum.

The medal which has given rise to these remarks, was one of the last minted by Elagabalus, for the vengeance of heaven shortly afterwards overtook him. As a violent end had been predicted to the effeminate monster, he built a lofty tower, decorated with gold and pearls, whence he might precipitate himself, in case of need. He also prepared cords of crimson silk for strangling, and golden daggers for stabbing himself; and expensive poisons in caskets of emeralds and jacinths, that he might choose a death according to his humour-declaring that his should be more glorious than that of any one before him; whereas, on the contrary, none was ever more ignominious than his.

CORNELIA PAULA.

Julia Cornelia Paula, the daughter of Julius Paulus, a Prætorian præfect, was married to Elagabalus A. D. 219, on which occasion the Senate waited upon her in a body, to offer their homage and present her with the title of Augusta. Though this lady was beautiful in person and blameless in character, she was repudiated within a few months, stripped of her honours, and dismissed into private life. As a plausible pretext for his inconstancy, her infamous husband imputed to her a personal blemish which made her unfit for the wife of so great a prince ;-well knowing that her modesty would not permit her to disprove his assertion. The time of her death is unknown, but she probably enjoyed greater happiness in retirement than she had experienced as an empress.

From the appellation Cornelia, which is only given on the Greek-Imperial medals, it is conjectured that this Princess was descended from the illustrious family of that name: that of Julia was assumed by most of the Augustæ, as Antoninus was by the Augusti. The Emperor selected her, as he said, to make himself a father betimes, whence some imagine that she had been previously married, and as the mother of children, had proved her fertility. Her nuptials were most splendidly celebrated, a magnificent congiary was given, and an elephant and 51 tigers were killed in the amphitheatre. All ranks in the city partook of the Emperor's prodigal bounty, and favours were heaped upon the senators, the knights, and the principal ladies.

The Roman medals of Cornelia Paula are rare in all metals, those of silver being the commonest ; and there are none known in small-brass. The Colonies, Greece, and Egypt, commemorated her on their coins; and Vaillant produces a noble medallion struck by the Perinthians, to testify their gratitude for the metro-political privileges which they acquired as Neocore, after the disgrace of Byzantium.

CCCLXXXIII.

Obverse. IVLIA PAVLA AVG. (Julia Paula Augusta.) A pleasing profile of the Empress, with the hair closely dressed and turned up at the hinder part of her head, on which is a frontal diadem; the features are handsome and intelligent, the neck finely turned, and the bust enveloped in drapery. This fine medal is covered with green and red patina, and is in the highest preservation; it was purchased at El Marsa, near Tunis, in 1822.

Reverse. CONCORDIA. On the exergum S. C. In the field the star of Elagabalus.

A sedent female richly attired, with a double cornucopia on her left arm, holds forth the sacred patera― a device emblematic of the union and fruitfulness expected from the imperial marriage.

CCCLXXXIV.

Obverse. IVLIA PAVLA AVG. (Julia Paula Augusta.) The head of Cornelia Paula, with features indicating beauty, sense, and an age of about twenty years. This medal, in very fine condition and coated with a brownish-green patina, was purchased on the 27th day of Mr. Trattle's sale, in 1832.

Reverse. CONCORDIA. On the exergum S. C. In the field a star. A sedent female with attributes similar to those on the last medal; from which this differs in the form of the throne which has a high and ornamented back.

AQUILIA SEVERA.

Julia Aquilia Severa, the daughter of Quintus Aquilius Sabinus "vir consularis," was a vestal virgin, till in A. D. 220 she was, to the indignation of all Rome, sacrilegiously married to Elagabalus. This fickle wretch seemed only to exalt women to the throne for the pleasure of hurling them down from it again; Aquilia was soon repudiated to make room for others, and the downfall wrought the ruin of her father: but after three or four more wives had been equally the victims of his caprice, Aquilia was recalled into the despot's favour, and lived with him till his death, in A. D. 222. What became of her afterwards is not known; probably the gratification of her ambition, by consenting to cast off the suffibulum and veil, exposed her to insult and detestation, but the being married to so impure a husband, was almost a sufficient penalty for the breach of her vows.

This Princess is represented as one of the most beautiful women in Rome, and the vestal's habit added to the power of her personal attractions. No sooner was Cornelia Paula divorced, than Elagabalus affecting excessive love for Aquilia, drew her from the temple, and justified this odious cohabitation to the Senate, by assuring the sage Patres, that nothing could be more commendable than a marriage between the priest of a God and the priestess of a Goddess, as from them might spring a divine race, worthy of the immortals ;-thus audaciously sporting with a crime, for which, says Herodian, he deserved the worst of deaths.

The Latin medals of this frail Vestal are all very rare, except the dupondii, or second-brass, which are by no means common; and in small-brass none are known. There also exist Greek-Imperial, Colonial, and Egyptian coins in honour of her, allof which, if in good condition, bear high prices.

CCCLXXXV.

Obverse. IVLIA AQVILIA SEVERA AVG. (Julia Aquilia Severa Augusta.) A profile of the Empress, with her head ornamented and dressed after the fashion of Cornelia Paula: the face is small and pretty, the neck well turned, and the shoulders covered by robes. This medal, in excellent preservation, and slightly varnished with brown patina, was purchased from an antiquist at Pisa, in 1823. Reverse. CONCORDIA. In the field S. C. and a star. A stately female figure in full robes, with a double cornucopia on her left arm, is standing by a blazing altar, over which she holds a patera. Notwithstanding the grief affected by the Senate, at the daring jest of the Imperial maniac, who overstepped all the barriers of decency, we have here their own signature to an acknowledgment of this faithless priestess as an Augusta; and also to their pious wishes for the mutual love and fertility of the guilty pair, as expressed by Concord and her cornucopiæ. CCCLXXXVI.

Obverse. IVLIA AQVILIA SEVERA AVG. (Julia Aquilia Severa Augusta.) The head of the Empress, with the same characteristics as in the last, but rather fuller cheeks. A medal in tolerable condition, and thinly coated with Saxon-green patina, procured at Patras, in 1820. Reverse. AEQVITAS PVBLICA. On the exergum S. C. Three females standing in full robes, with the attributes of Fortune. This is an uncommon device for medals in honour of females; and is, I believe, only known upon this, and one of Cornelia Paula-so that it may be taken for an allusion to the high fortune to which Elagabalus elevated those ladies. But in this sense the device has little relation to the legend.

ANNIA FAUSTINA.

Annia Faustina, the daughter of Claudius Severus and Vibia Aurelia Sabina, daughter of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina Junior, has been scarcely noticed by historians. It seems that she was a woman of extraordinary beauty, and endued with a greater share of principle and prudence than was shewn by her predecessors of the same name. She was happily married to the worthy senator, Pomponius Bassus, and was living in domestic tranquillity, when the lascivious Elagabalus was attracted by her charms, A. D. 221. To murder the husband, obtain the widow, honour her as an empress, and degrade her by divorce, was the work of a few weeks—and she is never mentioned after her fall.

The learned Patin, who is followed by other numismatists, considered this princess as the first wife of the Emperor; but the splendid nuptials of Cornelia Paula seem to give her the priority, as well as the declaration of Elagabalus, that he married her in order that he might be a father betimes. Honest old Tristan gives a cogent reason why he never became one.

Unlike her cotemporaries, this lady did not assume the name of Julia, thinking, no doubt, that she was sufficiently ennobled as the grand-daughter of Marcus Aurelius, as well as by her belonging to the Annian family. Her Latin medals are excessively rare, being only known in gold, silver, and large-brass; and of the latter

there is but one reverse. There are Greek-Imperial, Colonial, and Egyptian coins with her effigies, but they are also very valuable. Owing to this scarcity, the Falsarii have palmed off some ingenious forgeries, among which may be placed the famous Aureus described by Khell.

CCCLXXXVII.

Obverse. ANNIA FAVSTINA AVGVSTA. The head of the Empress, with her hair dressed after a fashion between that of Domna and Aquilia, and having the frontal diadem. Her features are lively and pretty, without being intelligent, her neck is finely turned, and her bosom neatly robed. This rare medal is in the highest preservation, though but thinly patinated. It formerly belonged to the collection of Mr. Henderson, where I first became acquainted with it. After his decease it was purchased at the sale of his collection in 1830, for £22.; a price certainly below its value. On this occasion, Mr. Young was instructed not to bid against the officers of the British Museum-which does not possess one-should a reasonable sum be offered by them; a courtesy which in general would be observed towards that Institution. Shackled, however, as they are, by short-sighted enactments, they are seldom authorized to bid even a fair price where there is competition; and it may be readily conceived how mortified the talented numismatists, who have the charge of the public medals, and are naturally zealous for the literary and scientific pre-eminence of their country, feel on such occasions. In a similar manner the rare and beautiful gold Albinus which belonged to the late Mr. Trattle, was lost to our national cabinet, and purchased by a foreigner. It is essential that the Trustees should arm their officers with greater power in cases of moment.

Reverse. CONCORDIA. On the exergum S. C. and in the field a star. The Emperor and Empress, in imperial robes, take each other by the right hand, a marriage ceremony symbolical of sincere affection, which was probably derived from the Persians. See CCCLXV. Yet this love must have been sorely constrained on the part of the female, who was just torn from a murdered husband: "Postea uxorem duxit, nec ei, ut mariti mortem lugeret, permisit.”

This medal is beautifully figured by Mionnet, but there are two important points in which that plate differs from the specimen before us. Though the fashion of the Empress is the same, she is there older, and with a different expression of feature; while on the reverse, the figure of the Emperor is too large. It is curious, but probably correct, that on this medal Elagabalus is made smaller and younger than Faustina. The drawing of one in Queen Christina's collection, is liable to similar objections; besides which the artist, perhaps mistaking some peculiar blemish, has introduced an altar under the star.

JULIA SOEMIAS.

Julia Soæmias* was the eldest daughter of Julius Avitus, a man of consular dignity, and Julia Mæsa. She was living at the court of Caracalla A. D. 204, but afterwards resided at Emesa. She married Varius Marcellus, the brother of Gessius Marcianus, her sister's husband, by whom she had Elagabalus—though Mæsa scrupled not to prostitute her daughter's honour, by reporting this child to be

* This lady may have been named after the king Sohemus of whom Josephus speaks, see CCLXXVI; Dio and Herodian call her Soamis; Capitolinus and Lampridius Semiamira; and the Greek marble quoted by Eckhel, which informs us that she had more children than one, terms her Bassiana: in this choice of names I have preferred that of the medals.

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