Every Roman legion, which typically consisted of 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers, had a “primuspilus” (first spear) centurion, and a “secunduspilus” (second spear) centurion. These were the highest-ranking centurions and the most efficient and reliable officers in the army. In early episodes of 'Rome' Lucius Vorenus is a second spear centurion.
The Primus pilus was the senior centurion of the first cohort in a Roman legion. The name Primus Pilus is translated to "first spear". He was a career soldier and advisor to the legate. While normal cohorts were composed of five to eight centuries, the one led by the primus pilus had ten centuries, 800 men. It also had 200 staff, including cooks and clerks. The Primus Pilus was charged with protecting the legionary standard and pay-chest. The legion was largely self-supporting and among its men were specialists, such as engineers, surveyors, and architects, as well as craftsmen.
The primus pilus was the most senior of all the centurions within the legion. They were experienced, veteran soldiers who had moved up within the ranks. In modern terms the primus pilus would be a lieutenant colonel. The primus pilus was a well paid position. Only eight officers in a full legion outranked the primus pilus.
Altar by Marcus Aurelius Cocceius Florianus, Primus Pilus of Legio X Gemina.
Evocati were veteran soldiers who voluntarily re-enlisted after an offer from their commander. Evocati were better paid and didn't perform labour intensive tasks like road building.
The Ribchester Helmet is a cavalry helmet dating to the Roman period in Britain. It was found in Ribchester, Lancashire, in the northwest of England. The Ribchester Helmet was not used for combat but served either a sporting or ceremonial purpose. The helmet is incredibly rare. Only two other examples, the Crosby Garrett Helmet and the Newstead Helmet, have been unearthed in Great Britain.
The Ribchester Helmet was discovered in 1796. The hoard was buried about 2.7 m (9 feet) in the ground and contained a mass of corroded metalwork.
The Ribchester Helmet has been dated to between the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD. A Roman cavalry officer used the helmet, but it is clear that it was not meant to be worn in combat. The helmet may have been used in the hippika gymnasia (‘cavalry sports’). These exercises were meant to hone a cavalryman’s skills and to provide a display to entertain the troops.
The Crosby Garrett Helmet was discovered by a metal detectorist in 2010. An anonymous bidder bought the artifact for £2.3m.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman emperor from 161 to 180. A Stoic philosopher, he was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the Five Good Emperors and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, a golden age of relative peace, calm, and stability for the Roman Empire lasting from 27 BC to 180 AD.
Marcus Aurelius was the son of the praetor Marcus Annius Verus and his wife Domitia Calvilla. He was related through marriage to the emperors Trajan and Hadrian. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161.
Marcus Aurelius acceded to the throne in 161 alongside his adoptive brother, who took the regnal name Lucius Aurelius Verus. On his deathbed in the spring of 161, Emperor Antoninus Pius had spoken of nothing but his hatred of Vologases IV of Parthia, who made his move in late summer 161. The Parthian War of Lucius Verus was fought between the Roman and Parthian Empires over Armenia and Upper Mesopotamia. It concluded in 166 after the Romans sacked Ctesiphon, the Parthian capital.
Marcus Aurelius reduced the silver purity of the denarius to about 75% or less, a decrease from 83% to 84%. The Antonine Plague broke out in 165 and devastated the Roman Empire, causing the deaths of millions. Lucius Verus may have died from the plague in 169. Marcus Aurelius died in 180 and he was succeeded by his son Commodus. Marcus Aurelius’ reign is regarded as the end of the Pax Romana. (Roman Peace)
Commodus as Hercules
The preceding four emperors (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius) each adopted their successor, thus choosing a worthy candidate. Marcus Aurelius’ biological son Commodus marked, according to a famous quote by the Roman historian Cassius Dio, the descent "from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust". Commodus embarked on a career of bizarre, erratic behavior and monstrous cruelty. He enjoyed executing his enemies and perceived enemies personally.
It was the beginning of the end of Rome. In the words of a senator, Commodus himself was a curse worse than any plague.
See ---- Tyrant of ancient Rome Commodus
See ---- Antonine Plague
A massive earthquake leveled this entire metropolitan center in 178 AD. Emperor Marcus Aurelius personally funded the reconstruction of the Agora of Smyrna, embedding an intricate underground water grid right in the heart of what is now Izmir, Türkiye.. pic.twitter.com/nW68Gqi7Xk
The Furies were the three goddesses of vengeance: Tisiphone (avenger of murder), Megaera (the jealous) and Alecto (constant anger). They were also called the Daughters of the Night, but were actually the daughters of Uranus and Gaea. Another name for them is the Erinyes.
The Erinyes live in Erebus and are more ancient than any of the Olympians. Their task is to hear complaints brought by mortals against the insolence of the young to the aged, of children to parents, of hosts to guests, and of householders or city councils to suppliants—and to punish such crimes by hounding culprits relentlessly.
The Erinyes are crones and often described as having snakes for hair, dog's heads, coal black bodies, bat's wings, and blood-shot eyes. Their victims die in painful torment.
A victim seeking justice could call down the curse of the Erinys upon the criminal. The Roman Furies were originally nothing but a personification of curses pronounced upon a guilty criminal.
The decline of Roman coinage was driven by currency debasement, where emperors progressively reduced the precious metal content in coins. This brought severe inflation and the erosion of trust. People recognized the lower intrinsic value of the coin, and this weakened the entire economic order. The decline of coinage was a significant contributor to Rome's decline and fall.
A pre-reform denarius of Nero, about 98% pure silver.
For the first 90 years of the Roman Empire the purity of Rome’s silver coinage was 98% or higher. That standard was kept by emperors Augustus, Tiberius (14-37), Caligula (37-41) and Claudius (41-54), and the first decade of Nero's reign (54-68). The Great Fire of Rome in 64 marked the start of a debasement that would eventually bring Rome’s silver coinage to unfathomable depths.
Post-reform denarius of Nero, about 93% pure silver
Nero took the easiest path to raising cash – re-coining old money. Nero reduced the weight of the silver denarius from 1/84th of a Roman pound to 1/96th, lowering its silver content from 98% to 93%. At the same time the reduced weight of the denarius was about 12.5%, which further reduced silver content. Nero also reduced the weight of his gold aurei from 7.8 grams to 7.3 grams.
Nero's reformed coinage was created by recycling older, purer silver, with Republican denarii targeted for reminting.
Nero was overthrown in 68 giving rise to the Year of Four Emperors in 69. Vespasian (69-79), reduced the purity of the denarius to about 90%.
In 107 Trajan (98-117) reduced the purity of the denarius to 88%. From there the purity slid until 148, when Antoninus Pius (138-161) removed 5%. The denarius was now about 84% or 83% pure. The denarius reached about 71% purity near the end of the reign of Commodus (177-192)
Under Septimius Severus (193-211) the purity of the denarius dropped to about 57%. Over the next four decades, the purity of imperial silver coinage continued to slide, dropping steadily until it had reached about 41% purity under Trajan Decius (249-251). Under Trebonianus Gallus (251-253) and Aemilian (253), it sank to about 35% pure. By 268, the double-denarius had slid to a silver content of 5% or less – in some cases dropping to about 2.5%. The "silver" coin was effectively copper with a thin, easily worn-off plating.
In Greek mythology, Europa was the mother of King Minos of Crete, a woman with Phoenician origin of high lineage, and after whom the continent Europe was named. She was abducted by Zeus in the form of a white bull. Europa's earliest literary reference is in the Iliad, which is commonly dated to the 8th century BC.
Zeus was enamored with Europa and decided to seduce and ravish her. He transformed himself into a tame white bull and mixed in with her father's herds. While Europa and her helpers were gathering flowers, she saw the bull, caressed his flanks, and eventually got onto his back.
Zeus took that opportunity and ran to the sea and swam, with her on his back, to the island of Crete. He then revealed his true identity, and Europa became the first queen of Crete. Zeus later re-created the shape of the white bull in the stars, which is the constellation Taurus.
Europa is featured on a circulating commemorative €2 coin first issued in Greece in 2002.
Later she bore Zeus three sons, one of whom, Minos, became ruler of Crete.
Europa is featured on EU five-euro notes. The "Europa series" of banknotes started with the €5 note introduced on May 2, 2013. Her portrait is incorporated into the hologram and watermark as a security feature.
The Rold hoard is a major Viking Age gold hoard discovered in May 2026 near Rold in Himmerland, Northern Denmark. It consists of six solid gold bracelets (totaling 762.5 grams) from 900–1000 CE, making it the third-largest Viking gold find in Denmark’s history. The intact, high-status items were likely buried intentionally as a votive offering. Gold in the Viking Age was held almost exclusively by the highest levels of society. The bracelets feature both twisted and smooth designs, a sign of highly skilled goldsmithing. Archaeologists date the find to the late Viking Age, roughly 900 to 1000 AD.
This was the period when Denmark was consolidating into a single kingdom. Harald Bluetooth marked that shift on the Jelling Stone around 965 AD.
To the Greeks he was Hermes. To the Etruscans, he was Turms. To the Romans he was Mercurius.
He played many roles in the myths of ancient people, but as a god of profit and commerce, he was often represented on money. Possibly the earliest coin to depict Hermes is a silver stater of Kaunos dated to c. 490 BCE.
Populonia, an important center of iron production, was one of the few Etruscan cities that issued silver coinage in the fourth century BCE. A didrachm – one of only three known – depicts Turms.
The facing head of Hermes, dated to c. 402-399 BCE.
Perhaps the finest image of Hermes on any ancient coin appears on the reverse of a silver stater of Pheneos, c. 360-350 BCE
C. Mamilius Limetanus denarius serratus c. 82 BC. Bust of Mercury
One of the last appearances of Mercury on Roman coinage came during the brief reign of the emperor Trajan Decius. (249-251)
Pheneos produced a small silver obol c. 370-340 BCE
Hermes was often depicted as a young man, wearing traveling clothes, a flat hat known as 'petasus' and winged sandals on his feet. Often, he was depicted having wings attached to his shoulders and hat.
He usually held a caduceus, a winged staff with snakes wrapped around it so he could gain access everywhere. This staff helped Hermes to charm the gods. The staff is often mistakenly used as a symbol of medicine.
A sacrificial altar are among a treasure trove of 13,000 relics dating back over 3,000 years discovered by archaeologists in southwest China. The relics -- many made of gold, bronze and jade -- were unearthed in six sacrificial pits at the Sanxingdui archaeological site, near Chengdu. The Sanxingdui culture left behind no records. It is thought to be part of the ancient kingdom of Shu. It ruled in the western Sichuan basin along the upper stream of the Yangtze River until it was conquered in 316 BC.
Researchers found a turtleshell-shaped box made of bronze and jade. It's the first time such an object has been found.
In 2021 a partial, 3,000-year-old ceremonial mask weighing over half a kilo of 85% pure gold was found. A gold scepter is the largest ever found in China from this period.
