Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 13, MAT-MIC

j<54 MED
Arrange- tainment wliicli a medallifl may expert from tlie trouble
mcnt, an[j eXpence he is at in making a colleftion.
It has already been obferved, that one of the prin¬
cipal ufes of medals is the elucidation of ancient hi-
flory. Hence the arrangement of his medals is the
firft thing that mull occur in the formation of a cabi¬
net. The moft ancient medals with which we are ac¬
quainted are thofe of Alexander I. of Macedon, who
began to reign about 501 years before Chrift. The
feries ought of confequence to begin with him, and to
be fucceeded by the medals of Sicily, Caria, Cyprus,
Heraclia, and Pontus. Then follow Egypt, Syria,
the Cimmerian Bofphorus, Thrace, Bithynia, Par-
thia, Armenia, Damafcus, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia,
Pergamus, Galatia, Cilicia, Sparta, Pseonia, Epirus,
Illyricum, Gaul, and the Alps, including the fpace of
time from Alexander the Great to the birth of Chrift,
and which is to be accounted the third medallic feries
of ancient monarchs. The laft feries goes down to
the fourth century, including fome of the monarchs
of Thrace, Bofphorus, and Parthia, with thofe of
Comagcne, Edefta or Ofrhoene, Mauritania, and Ju¬
daea. A moft diftinft feries is formed by the Roman
emperors, from Julius Caefar to the deftru£Hon of
Rome by the Goths 5 nay, for a much longer period,
were it not that towards the latter part of it the coins
become fo barbarous as to deftroy the beauty of the
collection. Many feries may be formed of modern po-
H4 tentatcs.
Diadem an By means of medals we can with great certainty
ancient em-(jetermine ^}ie various ornaments worn by ancient
foverda-n Princes as badges of diftinftion. The Grecian kings
authority, have generally the diadem, without any other orna¬
ment •, and though in general the fide of the face is
prefented to view, yet in fome very ancient Greek and
Roman confular coins, full faces of excellent work-
manftiip are met with. On feveral coins alfo two or
three faces are to be feen, and thefe are always account¬
ed very valuable.
The diadem, which was no more than a ribbon tied
round the head with a floating knot behind, adorns
all the Grecian princes from firft to laft, and is almoft
an infallible mark of fovereign power. In the Roman
confular coins it is feen in conjunction with Numa and
Ancus, but never afterwards till the time of Licinius,
the colleague of Conftantine. Dioelefian, indeed, ac¬
cording to Mr Gibbon, firft wore the diadem, but his
portrait upon coins is never adorned with it. So great
an averfion had the Romans to kingly power, that
they rather allowed their emperors to aflume the ra¬
diated crown, the fymbol of divinity, than to wear a
diadem *, but, after the time of Conftantine, it becomes
common. The radiated crown appears firft on the
pofthumous coins of Auguftus as a mark of deifica¬
tion, but in fomewhat more than a century became
common.
The laurel crown, at firft a badge of conqueft, was
afterwards permitted by the fenate to be worn by Ju¬
lius Caefar, in order to hide the baldnefs of his head.
From him all the emperors appear with it on their
medals, even to our own times. In the lower empire
the crown is fometimes held by a hand above the head,
as a mark of piety. Befides thefe, the naval, mural,
and civic crowns appear on the medals both of empe¬
rors and other eminent men, to denote their great ac-
I
A L S.
tions. The laurel crown is alfo fometimes worn by Arrange
the Greek princes. The Arfacidae of Parthia wear raent> &c.
a kind of fath round the head, with their hair in rows
of curls like a wig. The Armenian kings have the
tiara, a kind of cap which was efteemed the badge of
imperial power in the eaft. Conical caps are feen on
the medals of Xerxes, a petty prince of Armenia, and
Juba the father, the former having a diadem around
^* . . . . u5
The impious vanity of Alexander and his fucceflbrs Symbols 0f
in afluming divine honours is manifeft on their medals, dwinity on
where various fymbols of divinity are met with. Some ut'
of them have an horn behind their ear, either to de- ancThis foe
note their ftrength, or that they were the fucceflbrs of ceffors.
Alexander, to whom this badge might be applied as
the fon of Jupiter Ammon. This, however, Mr
Pinkerton obferves, is the only one of thefe fymbols
which certainly denotes an earthly fovereign, it being
doubted whether the reft are not all figures of gods.—
According to Eckhet, even the horn and diadem be¬
long to Bacchus, who invented the latter to cure his
headaches 5 and, according to the fame author, the
only monarch who appears on coins with the horn is
Lylimachus. We are informed, however, by Plutarch,
that Pyrrhus had a creft of goats horns to his helmet j
and the goat, we know, was a fymbol of Macedon.
Perhaps the fucceflbrs of Alexander wore this badge
of the horn in confequence. The helmet likewife fre¬
quently appears on the heads of fovereigns, and Con¬
ftantine I. has helmets of various forms curioufly orna¬
mented.
The diadem is worn by moft of the Greek queens,
by Orodaltis, daughter of Lycomedes, king of Bithy¬
nia ; and though the Roman emprefles never appear
Avith it, yet this is more than eompenfated by the va¬
riety of their headdrefles. Sometimes the bull of an
emprefs is fupported by a crefcent, to imply that fhe
was the moon, as her hulband was the fun of the ftate.
The toga, or vail drawn over the face, at firft implied
that the perfon was inverted with the pontifical office j
and accordingly avc find it on the bufts of Julius Caefar,
Avhile pontifex maximus. It likeAvife implies the au-
gurfhip, the augurs having a particular kind of gown
called lana, Avith which they covered their heads when
obferving an omen. In latter times this implies only
confecration, and is common in coins of emprefles.
It is firft met Avith on the coins of Claudius Gothicus
as the mark of confecration of an emperor. The
nimbus, or glory, now appropriated to faints, has been
already mentioned. It is as ancient as Auguftus, but
is not to be met Avith on many of the imperial medals,
even after it began to be appropriated to them. There
is a curious coin, Avhich has upon the reverfe of the
common piece, Avith the head of Rome, Urbs Roma,
in large brafs, Conftantine I. fitting amid Vi&ories
and genii, Avith a triple crown upon his head for Eu¬
rope, Afia, and Africa, with the legend Securitas
Rom;e.
In general only the buft is given upon medals, portraits
though fometimes half the body or more j in Avhich upon me-
latter cafe the. hands often appear Avith enfigns of ma-dals.
jefty in them 5 fuch as the globe, faid to have been in¬
troduced by Auguftus as a fymbol of univerfal domi-
the feeptre, fometimes confounded Avith the con-
116
fular ftaflf; a roll of parchment, the fymbol of legifla-
tive