Women Of Rome - Julia Domna

Hair styles are ever so much fun with the female personages.

Those heavy braids must have hurt. Women supposedly followed the hairstyles portrayed on these coins. Ouch!

This is not my coin. Yet. It is my holy grail - the deification of Julia Domna, wife of Severus, mother of Caracalla and Geta.

Nice coin EFLargeCents

Good detail...is that a curl of hair or an earring?
I agree she is one of the easiest to aquire but looking at your list you've got some tougher ones in the future
so maybe it's good to start here.

I'm not sure about this but I thought that the majority
of the noble Roman women had their heads shaved,or at least cut very short,they then wore a sort of large skull cap.This was the base for them to be able to change their hair style and colour to suit the occasion or fashion by using wigs...Sometimes changing their hair 4 or 5 times a day...Like I said I'm not 100% on this

Really looking forward to this thread.

Saludos Paul

That is a GORGEOUS denarius EF. It makes me want one of my own.

I've been reading up of Julia Domna, and it seems that she had quite an interesting and tragic life.

Iulia Pia Felix Aug(usta)
Diana Lucifera : she is here identified as Diana who brings the light.
Not only the hair style is fun , also the face . My Iulia had a bad night and needed a light. albert

This is an early antoninianus of Julia Domna issued early in the sole reign of Caracalla after the death of Septimius Severus and the murder of Geta in 212. Characteristically for women on this denomination the bust rides on a crescent.




The inscriptions for Julia Domna in this period are IVLIA PIA FELIX AVG in various groupings of the letters. Her portrait now is distinguished by the appearance of a stephane, a type of crown sometimes used as an emblem of mourning that curves up from the top of her head toward the front. The reverse type for this coin is the VENVS GENETRIX with Venus seated to left holding a patera forward (as opposed to an apple in a later version). This coin is listed as BMCRE 23A for the sole reign of Caracalla.



This next coin, another denarius, requires a bit of special consideration for its dating. The BMC clusters all of the IVLIA AVGVSTA obverses into the period of joint rule of the father and two sons. However it notes that this obverse inscription continued in use until 211, a bit after Septimius had died. However, the reverse type may add a bit more distinctiveness to this issue.





The reverse inscription MATER AVGG appears above the figure of Cybele sitting in a chariot car driving a quadriga of lions. In Roman lore Cybele was the "Great Mother" and this association was particularly strong for Domna after the death of her husband. Geta had been elevated to the position of Augustus in 209, so after the death of Septimius in 211, her role as the Great Mother of the surviving Augusti (note AVGG) must certainly have had a significant if brief day in the sun. BMCRE 48 for the period of joint reign.

EFLC has invited coins of all metals into these discussions, imperial and Roman Provincial, so long as they have portraits of the featured empress. Here are two pentassaria from my Roman Provincial collection:


This is AE27 from Nikopolis bears a portrait of Julia Domna on the the obverse, with her name in Greek letters and the abbreviated title (Sebasta);



the reverse has the name of the magistrate Aurgallou and the city name Nikopoliprosi surrounding a recumbant figure who appears to be holding up a serpent. I cannot tell if this is a representation of Nilus or Promethius or someone else, but it is well executed.


This next is an AE27 from Markianopolis featuring Domna face to face with her son Caracalla (as we saw from chrsmat71) but here the reverse features Serapis enthroned, holding a patera in right hand. I don't recognize what he is holding in his left.



If anyone has Domna on Imperial bronze, by all means show us something.