About
This site was created as an assessment for the Classics department paper CLAS344: From Augustus to Nero: Scandal and intrigue in Imperial Rome, at the University of Otago, New Zealand. It was completed by a group of five undergraduate students studying Classics at the university; Eliza Thompson, Gaby Magnuson, Michaela Waite-Harvey, Sam Pinson and Tom Royal. The website was completed in August and September of 2018. This site displays five Roman Imperial coins that are currently kept at the Otago museum in Dunedin, New Zealand.The aim of this project is to display a narrative through five Julio-Claudian coins minted by emperors Caligula and Claudius in honour of their family. These two emperors were chosen for their devotion to their families in coinage, and their close relation; Claudius being the uncle of Caligula. This website displays, and analyses three coins minted under the third Roman emperor Caligula; a coin each for his mother (Agrippina), father (Germanicus), and brothers (Nero and Drusus). Two coins minted under Claudius, the fourth Roman emperor, are also displayed and analysed; one for his mother (Antonia) and one for his brother (Germanicus). The purpose of this is to display a connecting narrative that reveals Imperial Roman values, propaganda and the significance of family to the Julio-Claudian emperors.
This project was completed through detailed analysis of each of the five coins provided by the Otago museum. Prior to this website we had practiced analysing coinage and working together as a group, to ensure this project went smoothly. Ancient texts such as Suetonius and Tacitus were used to understand ancient narrative, and numismatic sites were used to better understand the specific coin details. Other information was gathered from secondary academic sources on Roman imperial coinage and the Julio-Claudians. This information was compiled to create a narrative about family representations under the Julio-Claudian emperors.
Special thanks to our teacher, Dr. Gwynaeth McIntyre, Charlotte Dunn for her contribution, and the Otago museum for providing the coins.