Keeping Faustina's Memory Alive
Coin with the Profile of Faustina the Elder, 138-161 A.D.
The temple perpetuated memory of Faustina; so did coin issues which sometimes included an image of her temple. [1] During this era-when emperors without male heirs adopted their successors-the theme of family played an important role in visual communication. Faustina's ongoing significance speaks to her role as intercessor and guarantor of stability, even after death. [2]
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1. Harold Mattingly, “The Consecration of Faustina the Elder and Her Daughter,” The Harvard Theological Review 41 (1948): 149.
2. Barbara Levick, Faustina I and II: Imperial Women of the Golden Age (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014): 60.