A New Goddess

In 176 AD the emperor of the Roman Empire, Marcus Aurelius, was mourning the death of his wife Faustina. She had died while accompanying him on one of his military campaigns. The place where she died would from then on be called ‘Faustinopolis’ in her honor. But that is not all. The emperor would also tell the Senate in Rome to deify Faustina, meaning to turn her into a goddess, and to issue coins for her with a suitable title: Diva Faustina. Marcus Aurelius had married Faustina years earlier, in 145. She was 15 years old, which was a perfectly good age to get married. She was quite a catch, not only because she was considered beautiful, but also because she was the daughter of the reigning Roman emperor Antoninus Pius. Marrying her could only be good for Marcus’ political career. And indeed, Marcus ended up succeeding Antoninus Pius as emperor. Faustina then becomes empress, and not a bad one at that. She performs her most important duty as the emperor’s wife: she gives birth to an heir. But it is not all sunshine and rainbows. Faustina seems to have had a bad reputation. She is said to have cheated on her husband many (many) times, and is even accused of plotting to overthrow him. If all this is true, we might wonder why Marcus Aurelius still felt so strongly about honoring Faustina after her death. This coin might give us some answers.