Dear friends of ancient mythology! After the article on Homonoia, now the article on her counterpart, the Roman Concordia. Concordia is an ancient Roman concept of virtue, like Fides, Spes, Iustitia, Pax or Libertas, which was personified by the Romans. Originally, these deities were not worshipped in images or statues. The Romans first adopted the idea of gods in human form from the Greeks and Etruscans. Concordia is the personification of concord and thus corresponds to the Greek Homonoia. She promotes and maintains the harmony and unity of the Roman citizens. Unlike the Greek Homonoia, however, the Roman Concordia always has a close connection to the Res publica. The first temple (Aedes) is said to have been erected in 367 BC by M. Furius Camillus at the clivus Capitolinus and to symbolise the end of the class struggles between patricians and plebeians. The reconciliation was completed in 367 BC with the laws of Gaius Licinius Stolo and Lucius Sextus Lateranus, the so-called Licinian laws (leges Liciniae Sextiae). They established the broad political equality of both estates. Camillus had recognised the need for unification and contributed decisively to these laws. Camillus, the first historically comprehensible figure in Roman history, was the most important personality in 4th century Rome. Because of his successes against Veji, the Faliscans and the Gauls, he was considered the "second founder of Rome". However, many things were attributed to him that were not historically true. Some of this was already doubted in antiquity (Livius). It is certain that he organised the Roman army in such a way that Rome was able to achieve supremacy in central Italy. But the construction of the 1st Temple of Concordia unfortunately belongs to the unproven narratives. Structural remains from this phase have not been preserved. A second temple was vowed by Praetor L. Manlius Vulso in 218 BC during a mutiny of the army in the war against the Boians, built in arce (the castle) after the rebellion was settled and consecrated on 5.2.216 (Livius). After the bloody persecution of the Gracchi, which ended with their murder, a temple of Concordia was built by L. Opimius near the sanctuary donated by Camillus. This temple building is often called a renewal of the temple of Camillus. But according to the sources it can only be a new temple. It was richly furnished with numerous art treasures and the Senate met here at times. Cicero delivered his 4th speech against Catilina here. The feast of Concordia was celebrated on 16 January. This was considered the foundation day of the 1st temple. Today, nothing remains of this temple except the podium. Even the podium is partly hidden under a staircase leading up to the Capitol. Remains of the Temple of Concord. The three columns on the left belong to the Temple of Vespasian. Of the Temple of Concordia, only the podium remains on the left behind these columns. All these temples stood near the place where Romulus and Titus Tatius joined forces when the Romans and Sabines allied. A Republican denarius of L. Mussidius Longus from 42 BC shows the shrine of Venus Cloacina (from Latin cluere = to purify). The cult of Cloacina played an important role in the reconciliation of the Sabines with the Romans. On the obverse the Concordia is depicted still veiled. Thus the political Concordia appears here as a secondary form of that covenant goddess, who for her part is nothing other than a form of Venus (Roscher). Mussidia 6b Later, the usually veiled Concordia joins the Venus Victrix. A denarius of L. Vinicius (Vinicia 1a), ca. 54 BC, with Venus Victrix on the reverse, shows her already wearing a laurel wreath. The image comes from wildwinds.com It is reported that in 164 BC the Censor Q. Marcius had a statue of Concordia erected in public. This was brought to the Curia in 154 by the Censor C. Cassius. But when he wanted to dedicate the Curia to Concordia at the same time, the Pontifices prevented the dedication. After Iulius Caesar's victory over Pompeius, the Senate 44 vowed a temple to the Concordia Nova. Whether this temple was actually realised is uncertain. In imperial times, the cult of Concordia was one of the most prestigious of all. Augustus erected an altar in 9 BC, on which sacrifices were made to Ianus, Salus, Concordia and Pax on 30 March. Livia dedicated a shrine to Concordia in the porticus Livia 7 BC on 11 June in honour of her marriage to Augustus (Ovid). Tiberius vowed in the same year to renew the sanctuary founded by Camillus and consecrated it on 16 Jan. 12 AD on the occasion of his triumph over the Pannonians and Dalmatians, but as a temple to Concordia Augusta. The image of the goddess in this temple wore a laurel wreath. Still in later times, the Senate restored the temple After the discovery of the conspiracy of M. Libo in 16 AD, Concordia also received rich gifts along with other gods. The legend Concordia Augusta first appears on coins under Nero. There she is depicted as a seated woman with a patera in her right hand and a cornucopiae in her left arm. But she also appears standing and sacrificing at an altar, as here in Aquilia Severa (RIC IV/2, 226), the 2nd and 4th wife of Elagabal. Concordia is mainly the patron goddess of imperial marriage and the imperial house in the imperial period. The connection of two cornucopias in the arm of the goddess seems to refer to the union of the two members of the imperial house and the blessing of children resulting from the marriage (Roscher). Especially in the arm of Concordia, the double cornucopiae has become a standing symbol. The hope placed in marriage is expressed by a statue of Spes accompanying Concordia, on which she sometimes places her left arm. Sabina, RIC III, (Hadrian) 398 The emperors especially often praise the Concordia exercitum and the Concordia militum on the coins, this extraordinarily often on coins of the later imperial period. This was a time when emperors depended on the goodwill of their soldiers. Their fate depended on their armies. These deposed emperors and raised others to their shields. So this was more a wish than a description of facts. It is not for nothing that these legends are found particularly frequently among the soldier-emperors. The standard depiction was Concordia Militum with a field sign in each hand. This is an Antoninian of Probus (276-282), RIC V/2, 480 The next coin was minted by Aureolus under Emperor Postumus. Aureolus was dux equitum under Valerian, later attacked Postumus and took the imperial dignity himself in 268 AD. The legend Concordia Equitum says nothing other than that he was dependent on his cavalry and hoped for a good relationship with them. Significantly, Fortuna on the reverse was also supposed to be favourably disposed towards him. At the end of this year he was killed by his own praetorian guard. Aureolus under Postumus, RIC V/2, 373 According to a conjecture by Hübner, the expression Concordia Augusti expresses the concord of the emperor with the people. In the following solidus of Honorius with the legend Concordia Avggg, however, the promise or the wish for harmony among the emperors resonates. This was not self-evident even among brothers, as we know from the time of Constantine. Honorius, RIC X, Arcadius 24 Outside Rome, Concordia was mainly used in Spain, Africa and Gallia cisalpina (Pauly). Sources: (1) Plutarch (2) Sallust, Historiae (3) Livius, Ab urbe condita (4) Sueton, De vita Caesarum (5) Cassius Dio, History of Rome (6) Ovid, Fasti Literature: (1) Benjamin Hederich, Gründliches mythologisches Lexikon, 1770 (2) Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher, Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie (3) Der Kleine Pauly (4) Wikipedia Best regards Jochen
Very nice research again, congrats. Fortuna or Concordia ? These 2 deities share the same attribute, the rudder, this can actually make the attribution difficult. But the patera is the exclusive attribute of the Concordia in the case that interests us. So in the past this type was described as Fortuna, but in recent attribution it’s Concordia.
« Concordia mit Füllhorn u. Ruder, thront nach links, unter dem Thron Rad. » « Concordia mit Füllhorn und Ruder. » And this is the description of Jérôme Mairat in his « Coinage of the Gallic Empire » 2014:
Informative and interesting write-up, as usual, @Jochen1! You might enjoy my write-up about Concordia from three years ago. Here's my most recent CONCORDIA reverse type. Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman orichalcum sestertius, 24.67 g, 31.1 mm, 7 h. Rome, mid 152- autumn 154. Obv: FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG·FIL·, bare-headed and draped bust right. Rev: CONCORDIA S C, Concordia seated left, holding flower and resting elbow on cornucopiae set on globe under chair. Refs: RIC 1374a; BMC 2175-76; Cohen 57; RCV 4713; Strack 1315.
I don't understand : these two deities with rudder and cornucopia are Fortuna: Fortuna Redux seated and Fortuna Felix standing. I never read anywhere that Fortuna Redux, a well-known goddess, was in fact Concordia!
You’re probably right Gino. I just copied the description from a quick look at a Acsearch. But the point is: Fortuna and Concordia are often mixed-up. About the attribution of Aureolus’ coin in the last years, I’m not expert enough to challenge MAIRAT !
Which temple should this building then be? (Tiberius 61 ) My most interesting depiction of Concordia herself is one of Antoninus Pius as Caesar under Hadrian and fully corresponds to the sestertius of Sabina shown above. With Pius, the statuette of Spes is not (well)described in the catalogs (safe the new RIC) See patera and cornucopiae under chair.
CONCORDIA AVG, with ...CERES VESPASIAN, denarius Ephesus, 71 S 2269 - C 67 - RIC 329 IMP CAESAR VESPAS AVG COS III TR P PP, Laureate bust right CONCORDIA AVG, Ceres, veiled, seated left on throne, holding corn ears, poppy and cornucopiae - In exergue EPHE
Great pic of that section of the Forum and excellent write up. Tiberius Æ Sestertius.(33mm, 25.5gm) Rome, AD 35-36.Tiberius Æ Sestertius.(33mm, 25.5gm) Rome, AD 35-36. The Temple of Concordia: Concordia seated left on throne, holding patera and sceptre, above altar within hexastyle façade set on podium; entrance flanked by statues of Hercules and Mercury; pediment decorated with statues of Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, and Victories in acroteria; wings of transverse cella with windows behind; pediments decorated with statues / TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVST P M TR POT XXXVII around large S•C. RIC 61; C. 69; BMC 116; BN 100. NGC graded Choice Fine. Stack's Jan NYINC, lot 22114.
Jochen1, Another outstanding article . Pictured below is a Theodosius II solidus from my collection with the Concordia theme on the reverse .
Terrific write-up as always, @Jochen1 My only Concordia of 2022 so far is this sestertius of Volusian on a characteristic squared-off flan. She's not very visible on this one - it was one of my "bought it for the portrait" buys: Volusian Æ Sestertius (251-252 A.D.) Rome Mint IMP CAE C VIB VOLUSIANO AVG, laureate draped, [and cuirassed] bust right / CONCORDIA AVGG S-C, Concordia seated left holding patera and double cornucopiae. RIC 250a (see note); Cohen 26. (14.23 grams / 28 x 23 mm) eBay Jan. 2022 Attribution Note: Flan is defective, so it is difficult to see if bust is cuirassed; most of them are. OCRE only lists cuirassed type, but Wildwinds notes draped only, as 250a, with 250 listed as cuirassed, which contradicts OCRE. Four Bad Years agrees with OCRE: RIC 250a: draped & cuirassed RIC 250b: as denomination
