"Leos must be more tactful": The Signs of the Zodiac on Coins

Augustus and the goatfish

Like in many other things, it was Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) who – in a self-confident manner – made a start by having his personal astrological sign minted on his coins: the goatfish (Latin: capricornus).

As the name implies, the goatfish is a hybrid creature of a goat and a fish. In ancient astrology, this took the place of today’s Capricorn. The ancient Babylonians also knew a sign of the zodiac called the goatfish. Even today, Capricorn is often portrayed with the tail of a fish and the upper body of a goat. Using the goatfish on the coins of Augustus reflected for the main part his unshakeable confidence in the destiny that had been proclaimed to him: as a young man – according to an anecdote in the Augustus biography of the Roman author Suetonius – Augustus was supposed to have consulted an astrologer in Apollonia about his future. After hesitating for a long time, the future emperor is said to have revealed the astrological sign at the moment of his conception: the goatfish.

The astrologer’s reaction spoke volumes: he is supposed to have jumped up and fallen on his knees in front of Augustus – knowing full well about the great future of the young man. It is a fact that the goatfish is associated so strongly with Augustus that it is even connected with him beyond the official coinage. The coins of Rhoimetalkes I, a king by the grace of Rome in the ancient region of Thrace (16 BC – 14 AD), are probably the best known example of this: the reverse sides of some of his coins show the portraits of Augustus and his wife Livia and in front of these – as was to be expected – the goatfish.

The zodiac in Egypt

The search for signs of the zodiac on ancient coins ultimately leads to Egypt: Alexandria can justifiably be considered to be the centre of ancient astrology as early as the Hellenistic period. So how could it be otherwise that the city also had astrological motifs minted on its coins? Some coins from the reign of Antoninus Pius (138 - 161 AD) show the Egyptian deities Isis and Serapis on their reverse sides. These are surrounded by a double circle, in which the signs of the zodiac are arranged. Due to their form, coins are simply made for being edged with a ring. This original shape of the zodiac is spoken of as “zodiacus” in numismatic literature. Incidentally, three other type of zodiacus compositions were also in circulation. Yet why did the zodiac according to Antoninus Pius become suddenly so prominent, and particularly in Alexandria? The reason for this is the so-called Sothic cycle: every 1460 years, the solar year and the fixed civic year coincided, which, according to ancient Egyptian perception, marked the beginning of a new period of time.

A further series of coins from the reign of Antoninus Pius is probably also due to the Sothic cycle. The reverse sides of these coins, likewise minted in Alexandria, are each decorated with one of the signs of the zodiac. This zodiac sign is complemented by a planetary deity. Even the ancient Babylonians had named the planets after their gods – and the Greeks and Romans adopted this custom. In this series of coins, the choice of the planetary deity invariably illustrated the planetary constellation of the year of mintage (144/145 AD) belonging to the respective sign of the zodiac. Thus, the reverse side of one coin shows a bust of Jupiter above two fishes, another a bust of Saturn above the already well-known goatfish. A bust of Saturn can again be seen on the reverse side of another coin, together with a reclining water god who is pouring out water from an amphora: this is a matter of the zodiac sign Aquarius.

What other images can be recognised on the individual coins of this group? The zodiac sign of Gemini has its origin in Greek mythology: Apollo and the famous demigod Heracles are depicted – and not, as on most of the other pictorial testimonies, the Dioscuri Castor and Pollux. The zodiac sign of Virgo is represented by the virgin Athena. Libra is appropriately embodied by a female figure holding scales in her right hand. In the zodiac sign of Sagittarius, a centaur is drawing a bow. This is a matter of a mythical creature with the lower body and legs of a horse and the upper body of a human, which we know above all from the Hercules myth: here the “good” centaur Chiron was accidentally killed in the pursuit of his sacrilegious fellows. Since it was particularly this Chiron – how could it be otherwise? -  who happened to be a superb archer, the connection with this zodiac sign is obvious.

One shining example is a coin image from the Cilician city of Aegeae on the south coast of today’s Turkey: the winged head of the terrible Medusa, surrounded by a circle with the signs of the zodiac – a zodiacus. In the Perseus myth, the Medusa is a monster that turned the viewer into stone. The message of this coin image from the reign of the soldier emperor Valerian (253 – 260 AD) is unmistakable: the city of Aegeae was endeavouring to emphasise its supposed great age in the minting of coins.

With the award of a so-called “Neokorie“ from the Roman emperor Severus Alexander (222 – 235 AD) – that is, the privilege of being allowed to celebrate an emperor cult –, Aegeae had received a special honour, and from then on was one of the most prominent cities in the ancient region of Cilicia. It was precisely for this reason that it did not want to lag behind really old competing cities like Tarsos and Anazarbos. For this purpose, the reference to the zodiac and to the ancient Perseus myth was quite an effective means.

The city of Amastris in the region of Paphalagonia minted coins for Julia Maesa. She went down in history as the influential grandmother of the priest emperor Elagabalus, well-known for his scandalous behaviour, and of the emperor Severus Alexander already mentioned. Some of these coins show a classical zodiacus portrayal: we can see Zeus and a female deity, probably his Olympian wife Hera, who are displayed within a circle with the twelve signs of the zodiac. However, there seems to be a different focus here from that of the portrayals of the zodiac from Alexandria and Aegeae: the zodiacus itself is not the centre of attention, but clearly the two deities within it. Yet it is particularly the zodiac around the divine Olympian couple which skilfully sets the scene for their divine power.

During the reign of the young emperor Severus Alexander, coins and medallions with portrayals of the zodiac were put into circulation in some of the cities of today’s Turkey. Some of the medallions from the city of Persinthus in Thrace became famous: on the reverse sides we can see the father of the gods Zeus sitting on his throne and surrounded by a zodiac. The special feature here is that the cosmic component of this zodiacus is additionally emphasised by the portrayal of the sun god and the moon goddess over Zeus on his throne. These are each sitting in their own chariots and are driving towards each other. The figures of Gaia (as personification of the earth) and Thalassa (as personification of the sea) beneath Zeus on his throne also make it clear that the supreme god’s sphere of power extended over sun, moon, earth and sea – and over the cosmos as symbolised by the zodiac. When we consider that, in many respects, Severus Alexander placed himself expressly under the protection of the supreme Roman god, then this coin image had quite a specific meaning: none other than the ruler of the cosmos was the divine patron of the emperor! What this meant for the self-legitimation of the young and otherwise quite inexperienced emperor was obvious: Zeus himself presided over his reign.

Incidentally, there are also some quite similar image compositions on medallions from the city of Cyzicus in the region of Mysia. The difference is that two river gods appear here instead of those of the earth and sea. It was particularly in Cyzicus that there has been evidence of the signs of the zodiac since Augustus: thus, the reverse side of a coin from the early imperial period (middle of the 1st century AD), which cannot be dated exactly, shows again the goatfish – which is certainly to be interpreted as a homage to Augustus.

And what does this quick tour through Roman astrology teach us? Perhaps that, when browsing through the weekly horoscope, the one or other reader will realise that we are by no means the first people who wondered about what the stars could reveal about our future. On the contrary, the zodiac had already captured the imagination of our ancestors 2,000 years ago – and had also even motivated the famous Augustus to put his personal astrological sign on his coins. So we are in the very best of company.