Hercules Romanus, Hercules Gaditanus, Iovis Olympius, Sandan and Iupiter Victor: Local Cults and Imperial Selections on Hadrian’s Coinage

Abstract

The emperor Hadrian’s travel biography is generally divided into two major phases. The first, mostly in the West, took place be­tween the years 121 and 126, while the sec­ond was centred on the East, in particular in some of the key cities of Asia Minor, Cap­padocia, Syria, Judaea and Egypt. During the first phase, in the year 124, Hadrian was initiated at Eleusis, near Athens, following in the tradition of Hercules. After his vis­it to Africa at the start of the second phase of his travels in 128, he took part in further mystic Eleusinian rites, this time linking him to Zeus Olympius in Athens. Looking at some of his most important coin series, both imperial and civic, this article provides a new interpretation of Hadrian’s career as governor, suggesting that there was a dual­ity to the years of the emperor’s rule, as he first modelled himself on Hercules and then on Jupiter. This was a Macedonian concept, but there are echoes and parallels to be found with other emperors, culminating in Diocletian and Maximian.