The Clasping Hands

Oh well, now that you have flipped the coin - welcome to the other side! This is actually where the story about the marriage of Plautilla and Caracalla starts. Could you tell this by looking at this handshake? You would normally assume that a handshake between two people is a sign to say hello or goodbye – at least if you’re not living in a global pandemic. Clasping hands can also show a union between the two people.

But would that mean that they are actually married? In the Roman Empire a handshake was part of the ritual of marriage and was called dextrarum iunctio. If you have ever been to a Catholic wedding, this may seem familiar to you. In ancient times however, an already married woman was part of the ceremony and she brought together the hands of the bride and the groom. Afterwards they had to make a sacrifice and then they were actually married. This part of the ritual is always represented in Roman arts, such as on urns or sarcophagi, and is therefore known to us.

Especially in the third century AD during the reign of the Severan dynasty, which includes Caracalla, does the gesture of clasping hands appear on coinage. Nearly all empresses have been presented this way. Plautilla is shown on this coin as the wife of Caracalla. Clasping hands on coins is meant to present a union. Happy wife? Happy life? Not at all in the story of this couple. Let us have a look at the husband first: who is Caracalla?