Browse Exhibits (7 total)

Our exhibit focuses on the relationships that Rome had with other empires and leaders. Throughout these times the massive empire had quite the list of friends and enemies. Rome's allies or “friends” would become allies of Rome after they were defeated by the large empire. The enemies of Rome dared to stand against the Roman Empire and were grudgingly respected by the Romans. The extensive history of war and conquering empires is deep-seated in the roots of Rome. In this exhibit we focus on coins that were embossed with friends and enemies of the Roman Empire. We dig deep into finding their place and influence on the Roman Empire throughout its time as the most powerful empire in the world.  

Coinage began in the western portion of Anatolia in ancient Lydia, part of modern Turkey, in what would later become the heart of the Byzantine Empire. The imagery and material used for coins changed significantly as power changed hands and culture shifted. Various rulers, gods, goddesses, items, and symbols were used to show what was important to the culture at the time, for propaganda by the ruler, or as a means to denote a great event. As time progressed there is a clear shift in what was important to depict on the coins, from rulers as conquerors to deities to rulers as pious, there are marked differences throughout time. Some of these choices are rooted in the culture they derive from, where some found it important to place the likeness of gods to connect themselves to a higher being on coins while others showed the rulers to remind the people of their strength. Regardless, coins evolved through time as the understandings of their worth grew and artistic depictions shifted.

Our exhibit focuses on both the differences and similarities found when comparing ancient Greek and Roman coins to one another. As seen through the various comparisons conducted in our gallery, one can learn that the biggest differentiation between these two types of coins is that while Greek coins often depict the busts of gods on their obverse sides, the obverse sides of Roman coins were often made with the busts of specific rulers or emperors from when the coin was minted. This being the largest distinction between them in regards to how they were designed, the symbolism behind them is actually quite similar. That is, in both Greek and Roman coins, the gods or other prominent human figures who were stamped into the currency were meant to be held in reverence by the populace. Moreover, both types of coins emphasized previous victories in battle for each of their respective cultures, as well as the importance of certain idealized virtues in their societies that became a part of their identities as citizens. With all of this in mind, it can be seen in our exhibit that the Greeks played a large role in influencing Roman culture. 

Beginning his rule on December 15, 37, Nero became one of Rome’s most well-known emperors through both his positive and negative actions, starting with how he got his place on the throne. Much of his early rule was controlled by his mother Agrippina, who killed and manipulated her way to power through her son. She started by killing her second husband in order to marry her uncle, the emperor Claudius, and married off his daughter Octavia to Nero to give him a better chance of being picked to rule next. Once Nero was picked, she most likely killed Claudius with poisonous mushrooms to solidify Nero as Rome’s ruler.

The first five years of Nero’s rule were controlled by Agrippina and two other advisors, Burrus and Seneca. He was politically generous in his first five years, as he promoted the share of power within the Senate as well as making political trials open to the public and well-known. After five years had passed his advisor Seneca pushed him to rule on his own, but as this would take power away from Agrippina she was against it. She countered by saying that Claudius’ blood son should be on the throne instead of Nero and used his affair with Poppaea Sabina to say he was unfit to rule. His response to this was one that Agrippina herself would have come up with, his stepbrother “mysteriously” died, his wife Octavia was exiled and killed, and Agrippina was stabbed to death on his orders. He married Poppaea after this ordeal, but their marriage lasted for only three years before he killed her as well.

After his familial ordeal, Nero began to focus on art and entertainment throughout Greece. He encouraged dance and art lessons within the upper class, sang and performed at private events, started and participated in quinquennial public games, and recreated Rome after the tragic fire starting on June 19, 64. The fire damaged 10 of Rome’s 14 districts, with 3 being completely destroyed, and rumors began to spiral that Nero burned Rome to gain more land for a larger palace complex on the Palatine Hill. Along with this rumor was one that said Nero performed parts of “The Sack of Ilium” while standing on a roof, which has changed into the modern false fact of Nero fiddling while Rome burned. After the fire Nero used most of the treasury money to rebuild Rome around his palace complex, with a 100-foot-tall bronze-casted statue of himself, the Colossus Neronis, standing in the center. Regardless of if he played a part in the fire, Nero blamed the disaster on the Christians in the area and had them persecuted and killed for years.

After the fire, British and Judean revolts, Parthian conflicts, and rebuilding costs, Nero was forced to devalue the currency, with the silver denarius becoming worth 10% less. Not many people were happy with him after this, so there was an attempt on his life in 65 that led to him ordering the deaths of many prefects and senators, including his former advisor Seneca. He took this time to do a tour of Greece where he continued his artistic passions, but eventually returned to Rome in 68. With his return he ignored a Gallic revolt, leading to continued unrest in Africa and Spain, and governor Galba took this as an opportunity to claim leadership of the Senate and Roman People. The Praetorian Guard and the Senate allied with Galba, declaring Nero an enemy of the people. Nero tried to escape, but was unable to and took his life instead, with his last words being “What an artist dies in me!”