In search of Auctoritas et Maiestas – the Flavian Dynasty and Religions
Vespasian and his sons were forced to create their own style of politics, and, in search of auctoritas and maiestas, they could not neglect the realm of religion. We should bear in mind that in the Roman world, religion was an integral and indispensable component of social and po- litical life. For these reasons, these representatives of the Roman Imperial Dynasty, just like their predecessors and successors, successfully used different forms of activity surpassing the narrow interpretation of the domain of religio, including massive building programmes, monetary policy or even poetry, to express devotion and respect for mores maiorum as well as to confi rm the legal- ity of their power by presenting the divine approval of their political strength. It seems legitimate to acknowledge that the Flavian era did not bring revolutionary changes in traditional religion. This clearly shows that the new dynasty was perfectly aware that one of the aspects of a well-functioning Rome was preservation of the ancestors' customs and a belief in divine protection which could ensure safety, strength and belief in the unity of the Empire.
The Symbolism of Minerva on the Coins of Domitianus
I t is particularly hard to evaluate Domitianus both as a ruler and as an individual because literary sources are very slanted. Ancient historians' were prejudiced and put him besides such tyrants as Tiberius, Caligula, or Nero.2 Much of this is being revised now, be it his military exploits or concept of power. Domitianus's coins prove to be a particularly objective and accurately dated source for the latter. Since Domitianus used them for his official propaganda we are now able not only to describe general tendencies in his policy but also to determine its specific stages. The goddess Minerva was his favourite and frequently appears on the coins. She can be seen on bronze coins minted in Rome in 81-82. Then in 84-96 she was replaced by other godheads or personifications and moved to silver coins exclusively. She always appears in Corinthian helmet and peplos but because of various symbols and positions the images fall into four types. The first shows Minerva advancing right. Her raised right hand holds a javelin and her left a shield (see fig. 1). In the second she looks the same but stands right on a ship. She is accompanied by an owl beside her right foot (see fig. 2). In the third she stands left and holds a spear in her right hand, her left hand akimbo (see fig. 3). In the fourth she stands also to the left. Her extended right hand holds a thunderbolt, her left a spear and behind her feet there is a round shield^ (see fig. 4.). According to H. Mattingly each Image shows Minerva in a different role. She is the goddess of war, the goddess of the Roman fleet and armed forces, then a goddess of a niore peaceful nature, and Jupi ter ' s vicegerent, respectively.^ This view can be argued. The first type was introduced by Claudius^ (see fig. 5). Minerva was then regarded as " suitable patroness for an Emperor who was scholar as well as soldier".6 This issue was continued by Titus (see fig. 6 ) a n d might have been an example for his silver coins to follow.« These, however, carried a Minerva with an owl (see fig. 7) and here she is seen as a " child of Jupiter and his vicegerent
Neotectonic rotations in the Orava-Nowy Targ Intramontane Basin (Western Carpathians): An integrated palaeomagnetic and fractured clasts study
Abstract The objectives of this contribution are: (1) to promote the application of fractured clasts analysis in conglomerates for regional stress reconstructions and (2) to advance reconstruction of the Western Carpathians structural development. Our results show that the Neogene fill of the Orava-Nowy Targ Intramontane Basin underwent CCW rotation of about 30°. We infer that the rotation terminated after 8 Ma and was related to shift along NW-SE to NNW-SSE trending faults at the NE termination of the sinistral Mur-Žilina Fault Zone. Our results show that, fractured clasts analysis can be good tool for regional tectonic reconstructions. The tool is especially useful when other tectonic tools are scarce or absent. Results of our palaeomagnetic study and fractured clasts analysis verify and supplement each others. In the studied case, palaeomagnetic results allow to distinguish between regional stress field rotation and rotation of the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin Neogene fill, whereas, results of fractured clast analysis help to constrain the age of rotation.