Представе Јуноне Соспите на римском републиканском и царском новцу

Abstract

Јунона Соспита (Iuno Sospita) ратничко je божанство, чије се седиште култа налазило у Ланувију. Поред основног, војног, аспекта, сматрана је још и спаситељком и богињом плодности. Као мотив на новцу, појављује се у време Римске републике, између 105. и 42.г.ст.е., а током Царства једино у ковању Антонина Пија и Комода као цезара. Сви издавачи новца у чијим се емисијама појављује овај редак мотив били су рођени у Ланувију и на тај начин су наглашавали своје порекло.

Juno Sospita (Sispes, Seispes or Sospes) is a deity which cult was evidenced in the mid-6th century BC in Etruria, as well as somewhat later, in the 5th century BC on Latin territory as well. She was considered to be the savior, the one helping the people, associated with the rituals of fertility related to agriculture, whereas also considered to be a deity of warriors. The center of Juno Sospita’s cult was in Lanuvium, where her temple was situated in the sacred grove. The cult of Juno Sospita was established in Rome where most probably two temples dedicated to this deity were situated. One of the temples was at the Green Market and it was pledged in 197 BC, and consecrated in 194 BC. There are some obscurities concerned with the second temple which are related to the testimony of Ovid, nevertheless, it is most probable that another, older center of cult existed on the Palatine Hill. Anthropomorphic form of Juno Sospita appeared in 7th and 6th century BC, inspired by, or under a powerful influence of Etruscan art. Its iconography was not significantly modified over time. She was represented with the goat skin on her head, a shield and a spear, and shoes with a pointed top. Her frequent accompanier was a snake, and rarely it was a crow. During the Roman Republic, the coins with the motif of Juno Sospita appeared in issues by six moneyers, starting from 105 BC until 42 BC (L. Thorius Balbus, L. Procili F., L. Papi, L. Rosci Fabati, L. Papius Celsus, M. Mettius, Q. Cornuficl). The representation of this deity appears as an averse or a reverse motif, most frequently on denars, exceptionally on aurei, quinarii and sestertii. As an averse morif, the most frequent representation is the head of Juno Sospita with a goat skin headdress; there is one representation in which a snake appears behind the head. The reverse representations are more diverse: the goddess is standing, holding a shield and a spear which she brandished in front of the snakes; the representation in a biga in which she holds a shield and a spear in front of the snakes; a girl that offers gifts to a snake; a moneyer crowned by Juno Sospita, with a crow on her sholder. During the Roman Empire, the motif of Juno Sospita walking, holding a shield and a spear, accompanied by a snake appears only in mintage of Antoninus Pius and Commodus Caesar. The cult of Juno Sospita was primarily respected in Central Italy, and it was not a part of official state propaganda expressed via coin representations. Without exceptions, each representation of Juno Sospita, either as an averse or a reverse motif, is linked to personal emotions of minters and their desire to indicate their Lanuvium origins.