Commodus as Hercules Romanus

Commodus (180–192 CE) fell into extreme megalomania by declaring himself the living embodiment of the demigod Hercules, eventually adopting the supreme title "Hercules Romanus".  He would go on to claim to be the son of Jupiter, the supreme god of the Roman pantheon. Upon his ascension at age 18, Commodus devalued Roman coinage. He reduced the weight of the denarius from 96 per Roman pound to 105 per Roman pound (3.85 grams to 3.35 grams). He also reduced the silver purity from 79 percent to 76 percent – the silver weight dropping from 2.57 grams to 2.34 grams. In 186, he further reduced the purity and silver weight to 74 percent and 2.22 grams respectively. His reduction of the denarius during his rule was the largest since Nero's reign. Medallion of Commodus depicting him as Hercules, AD 192. Commodus's death marked the end of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.

The 'Commodus as Hercules' aureus is an iconic ancient Roman gold coin struck around 191–192 CE, late in his reign. It reflects Commodus’s spiralling megalomaniacal obsession that he was Herakles reincarnate. The coin's obverse features Commodus as Hercules, adorned with a lion-skin headdress. The reverse depicts a club, quiver, and the legend HERCVLI ROMANO AVG ("To Hercules, Roman Augustus").

Many aurei of Commodus are not really rare. But aurei showing Commodus as Hercules Romanus are extremely rare in top condition. In April 2025 such a coin hammered for 170,000 euros. In November 192, Commodus held Plebeian Games in which he fought as a gladiator dressed as Hercules, winning easily because his foes always submitted. He billed the Roman state 1 million sesterces per appearance to fight in the arena as 'Rome's Hercules'. He fought over 700 times and his exorbitant vanity fees drained the imperial treasury. He announced his intention to inaugurate the year 193 as both consul and gladiator on 1 January.

Commodus's mistress Marcia conspired with Praetorian prefect Laetus and chamberlain Eclectus. On 31 December, Marcia poisoned Commodus's wine, but he vomited up the poison, so the conspirators sent his wrestling partner Narcissus to strangle him in his bath. Upon his death, the Senate declared him a public enemy. (a de facto damnatio memoriae)

The highest paid athlete in history - Gaius Appuleius Diocles

Gaius Appuleius Diocles was born in 104 A.D in Lamecum, Portugal the capital city of Lusitania, province of Emerita Augusta (modern-day Mérida, Spain). His father owned a transport business and the family was wealthy. Roman obsession with panem et circenses (bread and games) showed what the people valued, the grain dole and chariot races in the Circus.

Diocles is believed to have started racing at the age of 18 in Ilerda. Life expectancy of a charioteer was short. One such celebrity driver was Scorpus, who won 2,048 races before being killed when he was about 26.

Diocles survived until his retirement at age 42.

Diocles earned 35,863,120 Roman sesterces in his lifetime. The number is inscribed on a monument in Rome, erected for Diocles at the end of his career. Even if Gaius Appuleius Diocles's total share was a tenth, his fortune was huge. A workman's daily wage at the time was 3 to 4 sesterces. The most famous races took place at Circus Maximus in Rome.

Betting was common among spectators at the circuses.

Drivers who became entangled in a crash risked being trampled or dragged along the track by their horses. Charioteers carried a curved knife (falx) to cut their reins. Diocles most commonly raced four-horse chariots and in most of his races (576) he came from behind to win. Records show that he won 1,462 out of his 4,257 four-horse races, second 861 times, and third 576 times. Diocles was exceptional in his longevity. He joined the White Faction in 122 before racing for the Greens in 128. In 131, he was a racer for the russati or “Red Faction” and stayed with them for 15 years until he retired aged 42.

Diocles is also notable for owning a rare ducenarius, a horse that had won at least 200 races.

The Circus Maximus

In AD 121, on the anniversary of Rome's founding, Hadrian inaugurated new games and chariot races at the Circus Maximus. A rare aureus commemorates the event, providing an absolute date of 874 years since the founding of Rome.

The coin depicts the Genius of the Circus Maximus holding a chariot wheel while reclining around the three-pointed metae (the turning posts that mark either end of the spina) of the Circus Maximus, accompanied by the accompanying legend: ANN. DCCCLXXIIII NAT. VRB. P. CIR. CON. ann(is) dccclxxiiii nat(ali) urb(is) P(rimum) cir(censes) con(stituti) Year 874 Since the Birth of the City; First Circus Games Established.

The crucible of Roman chariot racing was the Circo Massimo, or Circus Maximus. Chariot racing was fast and dangerous. According to the historian Livy, the inaugural events and wooden seating were instituted by Tarquinius Priscus in the sixth century BC. Julius Caesar gave the Circus Maximus its iconic shape in the first century BC by greatly extending the racing track and seating capacity.

At its largest, the Circus Maximus reached a length of 621 metres and 190 metres in width. It had three tiers of seating, with the lowest, nearest the action, reserved for the elite. It was said the Circus Maximus could accommodate 150,000 spectators. Located in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills, the arena had numerous additions over the centuries as well as major rebuilds. The Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus called it “one of the most beautiful” structures in Rome.

Races began when the sponsor dropped his napkin and ended seven laps later. A race consisted of 13 turns of the spina, totalling seven laps of the Circus Maximus, run counterclockwise. Those who didn't get maimed or killed and finished in the top three won prizes. Crashes were called naufragia ("shipwreck"). Drivers who became entangled in a crash risked being trampled or dragged along the track by their horses. Most commonly raced were four-horse chariots, known as quadrigae. Drivers (aurigae) wrapped the reins around their waists to steer with weight shifts, holding a knife (falx) to cut themselves free if needed. The two middle horses provided the primary pulling power, while the outer horses were steered.

Life expectancy of the highly paid aurigae was short.

Caracalla. AD 198-217. AV Aureus (20mm, 6.90 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 213. Near EF. Extremely rare with 4 known and an important architectural type. Est $75,000. Sold for $140,000.

Mithridates VI of Pontus - the Poison King

Mithridates VI was king of Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia (now Turkey) from about 120–63 BC. In the decades following the death of Alexander the Great, many new kingdoms emerged from his empire. The Kingdom of Pontus was proclaimed by its founder, Mithradates I, in 281 B.C. Its kings proudly proclaiming a bloodline through Alexander himself. Mithradates became the republic’s most dangerous and relentless enemy.

Map of the Kingdom of Pontus, Before the reign of Mithridates VI (dark purple), after his conquests (purple).

In 88 B.C. between 80,000-150,000 Roman and Italian citizens were murdered on a single day in the Greek settlements of Asia Minor. The plan was orchestrated by Mithradates who had convinced his friends and allies to rid themselves of their Roman oppressors. It was a brutal move, considered to be one of the first genocides in history.

KINGS OF PONTOS. Mithradates VI Eupator, circa 120-63 BC. Stater. Very rare. Marks and scrapes, otherwise, nearly extremely fine. 7,500 CHF May 31, 2026.

Mithradates VI of Pontus was referred to as the Poison King. He was a brilliant toxicologist.

He was obsessed with poison and took small doses of a specially prepared poison to help him develop a resistance if someone tried to poison him. He impressed history by eating poison, murdering his own mother to become king, and as Rome's worst enemy. King Mithridates hated the Roman Empire and sent his army west to crush the "Romans, the enemy of all humanity." He engaged three of the prominent generals from the late Roman Republic in the Mithridatic Wars: Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Lucius Licinius Lucullus and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus.

In the end, Rome was victorious and Mithradates lost his kingdom and his life. After Pompey defeated him in Pontus, Mithridates fled to the lands north of the Black Sea in the winter of 66 BC in the hope that he could raise a new army and carry on the war.

His preparations proved to be too harsh on the populace, who rebelled against him. He reportedly attempted suicide by poison. This failed because of his immunity. According to Appian's Roman History, he then requested his Gaulish bodyguard, Bituitus, to kill him. Machiavelli praised his military genius. European royalty sought out his secret elixir against poison. His life inspired Mozart's first opera, while for centuries poets and playwrights recited bloody, romantic tales of his victories, defeats, intrigues, concubines, and mysterious death.

Decline of Roman coinage

The decline of Roman coinage was driven by currency debasement, where emperors progressively reduced the precious metal content in coins in order to raise funds. This brought severe inflation and the erosion of trust. People recognized the lower intrinsic value of the coin, and this weakened the entire Roman economic order. The debasement 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 easy 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, 12.5%, 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.

The Amphipolis Tomb

The Amphipolis Tomb lies within the Kasta Hill burial mound, 100 km east of Thessaloniki in Greece. See - Here. 

It's in what was once the ancient city of Amphipolis, conquered by Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, in 357 BC. The tomb was found to contain sculptures of caryatids, an ornate mosaic, and coins featuring Alexander the Great. The tomb appears a memorial dedicated to the friend of Alexander the Great, Hephaestion.

Hephaestion was a Macedonian noble that grew up with Alexander, studying with him under the tutelage of Aristotle. They became close friends, as well as comrades. Hephaestion became a member of Alexander’s personal bodyguard and went on to command the Companion cavalry. Hephaestion died suddenly in Ecbatana, Iran, in 324 BC. Alexander ordered a series of monuments to be built for Hephaestion.

The remains of five were found in the burial chamber of the elaborate tomb. A woman over 60 years old, two men between the ages of 35 and 45, a newborn infant, and a set of cremated remains. Speculation is that the woman is Alexander the Great’s mother, Olympias, who was executed when she was about 60 years old.

According to legend Hephaestion was cremated.

Aureus of Hadrian - 67k in 2019

Hadrian’s 'Travel Series' is a celebrated collection of gold, silver, and bronze Roman coins minted between AD 130 and AD 138. They commemorate the travels of Emperor Hadrian in 3 trips across the Roman Empire. The coins were meant to spread propaganda of the emperor's travels.

An aureus of Hadrian (A.D. 117 to 138). The reverse shows the river god Nilus reclining, half draped, with one arm supporting his weight on a sphinx and the other holding a cornucopia. Highly desired coins include depictions of Egypt (Aegyptos), Africa, and Germania. Some 28 regions are mentioned by name.

Between 128–132 Hadrian's second voyage included Africa.