Roman Gods on Coins: Julio-Claudian Propaganda in Circulation

This exhibit shows the use of Roman gods and goddesses on various coins from the lives of Augustus (63 BCE-14 CE) to Nero (37-68 CE). The Julio-Claudian emperors were the first family to rule the Roman Empire in the Imperial period, and as such, focused heavily on creating widespread acceptance of the new dynastic system of transferring power. There were five emperors in the Julio-Claudian family between 27 BCE and 68 CE. This began with the transferral of multiple new Republican powers to Augustus, and ended with the death of Nero.

An effective way for an emperor to solidify their power was by linking themselves to the divine. A notable example of this was when Augustus created links to the deified Julius Caesar in order to solidify his legitimacy as emperor. Succeeding emperors followed this example, using the images of divinities on coins as symbols of power, family ties, and to represent achievements of individuals or the empire. The gods were an integral part of life for the Roman people, and using these figures on coins was an effective method of propaganda since coins were constantly in circulation and in use.

Written accounts of Imperial Rome’s history occasionally disagree, as they sometimes tell different stories from the other evidence which we have from the period. These differences can be caused by the time differences between the event and the time of writing. It is widely agreed that the written records of the time are inherently biased. Though coins can be biased in their own way, what they reveal are the particular messages that an emperor wanted to emphasise. Surviving coins are crucial in understanding the public portrayal of emperors, as they are primary material from the time unlike many of our written accounts which are secondary. As Susan Wood (1995:461) wrote, coins can give us insight into the reality of Imperial Rome because they “generally tell a less distorted story than written accounts...”.

See our information tab to learn more about the anatomy of Roman Imperial Coins, and for more general information, such as the Julio-Claudian family tree, and the dates of each emperor's reign.