PERSONIFYING EMPERORS

A common occurrence for the emperors of Rome was to link their image to a god or goddess.  Nero and Claudius are two emperors who did this exact thing. On the obverse of the coin was an engraving of their bust so all would know the face of the one who ruled them.  On the reverse was the depiction of the divine entity that they linked with their image. In the case of Claudius, it was Constantia, for Nero it was Virtus. Constantia is the personification of courage and perseverance.  Claudius was always fighting with the nobility and had to use perseverance to get through it and he did and is remembered as one of the better emperors of the Roman Empire. Nero on the other had did not succeed at living up to the personification that he linked with himself.  Virtus personified valor and bravery. Nero is not remembered as that though, he was seen as a cruel and psychotic leader during his life. He is seen as a coward that could not face the responsibilities of leading. After his death the Christian population that he tried his best to kill off started to spread and his memory only got worse.  Between these two coins we can see the successes and failures of linking your image to a divine being. Claudius succeeded by following through with what the goddess he aligned himself with, stood for. Nero on the other hand was a coward who did not act like the goddess he choose to be remembered for. Not even putting his face on something that was used every day by his populace could save him from his sins.