Diocletian, Aureus, 284-294, Rome, Very rare, Gold, SUP, RIC146

  

Bust of Diocletian, laureled, draped, armored, facing right. Jupiter stands on the left, head turned backward, throwing a lightning bolt at a kneeling Titan/Giant. An example of superb quality, on a very broad flan, still showing part of its striking brilliance.

A slight wear from circulation on the beard of the portrait; otherwise, it is extremely well preserved. A splendid representation on the reverse as well, with a striking mythological scene: Zeus striking down a giant with eel/serpent legs, who would be none other than Porphyrion, the "king of giants," or "the greatest of giants." Originating from Greek mythology, this giant would be one of the main actors in the Gigantomachy, the battle between the gods of Olympus and the Giants. Here, he is seen kneeling, defeated by Zeus and being finished off by the king of the gods' lightning bolts. According to legend, Eros, who intended to kill him with one of his arrows (or Zeus himself), provokes him to attack Hera and tears her robe.

This prompts Zeus's intervention, who strikes him with his lightning, and the giant is finally finished off by a poisoned arrow from Heracles. Perhaps this should be seen as an imperial propaganda tool brought by Diocletian, then Augustus and head of the western part of the Roman Empire, associating himself with the king of the gods, and perhaps through this mythological scene, linking his enemies (notably the usurper Carausius in Gaul and on the insular Britain) with the giant Porphyrion being struck down by the gods, a sign of a future victory over the one who usurped the imperial throne. Cohen 285; Calicó 4531 (these dies).

DIOCLETIA - NVS P F AVG, IOVI FVL - GE - RAT - ORI // PR.