MEDAL. 
834 
themfelves; fo that the crefcent is now the chief Turkifh 
enfign. The bull is very frequent on Greek coins, figni- 
fying, as Mr. Pinkerton fuggefts fo be the mod probable 
opinion, a river, on which the country or town was litu- 
ated : accordingly, the river Achelous is called Bovy.^uso;, 
or “ bull-headed,” by Sophocles. The Latin poets tpeak 
of the horns of rivers; thus Horace defcribes the Aufidus, 
Sic tauriformis volvitur Aufidus. The bull was a token of 
fertility ; but the horns leem to allude to the force of the 
ftream. 
On Roman coins the deities and perfoniftcations have 
not only attributes, but their names likewife in the legend 
of the medal, fo that it is not neceffary to dwell upon the 
explanation of them. Some, however, it may not be im¬ 
proper to mention. On the reverfes of Roman colonial 
coins, eafily diftinguilhed by their rude fabric, and the 
name of the colony on them, commonly beginning with 
col. when an enfign ftands alone, and without any per- 
fons, it (hows a colony drawn from one legion ; but, 
when the enfigns or banners appear in the like circum- 
itances, they evince the colony to have been drawn from 
as many legions as there are enfigns. A bull on thefe 
coins often reprefents Apis as a fymbol of ftrength and 
fecurity; fuch was, probably, the bull upon the reverfe 
of the common coin of India, with two ftars over him, 
and the legend securitas reipub. The caduceus marks 
peace and concord; the cornucopia, abundance; the 
pontifical hat, the priefthood. They all appear upon a 
reverfe of Julius, and are fymbols of the concord of the 
empire, and the plenty which attended his power; the 
Lift: fymbol merely denotes that Csefar was Pontifex Maxi¬ 
mus. The parazonium on Roman coins was a baton of 
command, and not a pointlefs dagger, as it has been de- 
fcribed by many antiquaries. In later times, the globe 
on an altar, with three flats, is fuppofed to typify the 
world preferved by the gods for the three fons of Con- 
flantine. The fort and the gate are fymbols of fecurity. 
The altar is a well-known mark of piety ; the tripod was a 
portable altar, ufed in temples for liquid offerings, as the 
altar was for folid facrifice. A dolphin is fometimes 
twined among the legs of the tripod ; the dolphin was 
facred to Apollo, as appears from Servius on the 3d ^Tneid. 
The/e#£/7er/2faalfoappearon medals. (See Lectisternium, 
■vcl. xii.) The initruments of facrifice appear on many 
Roman coins : fuch are the fecefpita, an oblong hatchet, 
or large knife for killing the victim ; the a/perjorium, a 
vefi'el for holy water, with which the prieft lprinkled the 
aflillants; th t Jimpullum, or veffei for pouring wine on the 
facrifice ; the patina , or patera, a difh for the fat, and 
other portions facred to the god ; and the acerra, or little 
coffer for incenfe. The lituus, or wand twilled round at 
the top, fomewhat like the epifcopal ftaff, is a badge of the 
augurfhip, as the apex, or cap with firings, and terminat¬ 
ing with a tuft, is of the pontificate. The thenfa, or di¬ 
vine chariot, which carried the image of a deity in facred 
proceffions, (improperly termed carpentum by fonie,) is a 
badge of confecration of an emprels ; as is alfo the pea¬ 
cock, which was the bird of Juno, the queen of heaven. 
The eagle is the fign of confecration of an emperor. The 
palm-tree, on both Greek and Roman coins, is fymbolic 
of Phoenicia, where that tree flourilhed ; as the iilphium 
is of Cyrene, from the earlieft times down to thofe of the 
Roman empire. 
The titles are generally found upon the face of the me¬ 
dal. Thefe are titles of honour, as Imperator, Csefar, 
Augultus, given to all the Roman emperors after Otta- 
vianus; Dominus, firlt alfumed by Aurelian, and ufed by 
his fucceifors. Other titles arealcribed to particular per- 
fons on account of their virtues: as Pius to Antoninus, 
affumed alio by Commodus, with the addition of Felix ; 
Pater Patrice, firft bellowed on Cicero for difeovering and 
defeating the confpiracy of Cataline, and afterwards af- 
fumed by the emperors ; JuJlus, the title of Pefcennius ; 
Beatijimus and Fdtajftmits of Dioclefian 5 Optimus and Cle¬ 
mens, decreed to Trajan by the fenate ; Maximus, aflumed 
by Conllantine ; and Invidus, by Viflorinus. In the lower 
empire, Stauracius firlt, and then Michael Ducas, and 
others, aflumed the proud addition of BAEIAEYS, or 
king-, which was followed by that of AE2II0TES, or defpot. 
Other titles are the names of offices; as cos. for coni'ul, 
w'ith a number annexed to it, fignifying how many 
times the perfon had been thus defied : Tribunitia potejlas, 
with the year or the tribunelhip commonly exprelfed after 
the title. The office of Pontifex maximus, expreffed by p. m. 
was alfumed by the emperors, and generally expreffed 
among their titles, from Augultus to Conllantine, by 
whom it was refufed ; it was re-affumed by Julian, and 
laid afide by Gratian. Julius Caefar. alfumed the title of 
Dictator perpetuus ; Claudius, that of Cenfor ; and Domitian 
made himfelf Cenfor perpetuus. 
We lhall conclude with a few words upon the fubjed of 
legends. In driftnefs, the legend differs from the inferip- 
tion; this laft properly fignifying words placed on the re¬ 
verie of a medal, in lieu of figures. When the letters or 
words of a medal occupy the field, they are called an in¬ 
fer ip t ion ; but when they run round the margin, on either 
fide of the figures, or on the exergue, they are denomi¬ 
nated a legend. It feems as if the ancients had intended 
that their medals fhould ferve both as images and as em¬ 
blems: the one for the common people, and the other for 
perfons of talte and parts; the images to reprefent the 
faces of princes ; and emblems to reprefent their virtues, 
and great actions ; fo that the legend is to be looked on 
as the foul of the medal, and the figures as the body. 
Every medal has properly two legends ; that on the front, 
and that on the reverie. The firlt generally ferves only to 
diltinguilh the perl’on by bis name, titles, offices, &c. the 
latter is intended to exprefs his noble and virtuous fenti- 
ments, his good deeds, and the advantages the public has 
reaped by him. This, however, does not hold univerfally ; 
for fometimes we find the titles lhared between both fides, 
and fometimes alfo the legend. 
Legends and inlcriptions of medals are either in Latin 
or Greek. The Greek character, confiding of capital 
letters, appears uniform on all the medals ; no change or 
alteration being found in confronting the feveral charac¬ 
ters ; though it is certain there was in the ordinary ufe 
and pronunciation. All we obferve on medals is fome¬ 
times a mixture of Greek and Latin letters. Upon many 
of the coins (iruck in the Greek cities, we find the legend 
of the obverfe in Latin, while that of the reverie is in Greek. 
The reafon of this, fuggelted by Mr. Pinkerton, feems to 
be, that the magiflrate of fuch country mint, not having 
any portrait of the emperor, lent to Rome for one, which 
was returned in a die ready cut with the legend. To this 
a reverfe was made by the Greek artills; the magiltrate in¬ 
clining to fave the expenle of cutting another obverfe. 
This opinion is confirmed by the fact, that few or no 
coins occur with Latin legends on the reverie, and Greek 
in front; befides, the dies are haltily done, and after the 
manner of different mints. 
The legends of the earlieft Greek writers are very brief, 
rehearfing only the initials of the city or prince ; as A0E, 
money ot Athens; £Y, money of Sybafis, &c. Hence it is 
common for thole who attempt to explain letters that do 
not often occur, to fall into very ridiculous errors. Of 
this Mr. Pinkerton gives a moll remarkable inltance in 
Fortunius Licetus, a learned man, who finding upon a 
coin of Adrian the letters, r. IA fignifying the 14-th year 
of that emperor’s reign, imagined that they fignified Lu- 
cernas invenit Delta ; “ Delta invented lanthorns;” and 
thence aferibed the origin of lanthorns to the Egyptians. 
When the Roman empire fwallowed up the Grecian, the 
legends on Greek coins were as much diftinguilhed by their 
length as they had before been by their brevity. The 
titles of the emperors are tranflated from the Latin as lite¬ 
rally as pollible, as AYTOKPATfiP for Imperato , K.A12AP 
for Ctelar, &c. In order to exprefs Latin founds, the 
Greeks 
