A History of Monsters. 283

listening is a certain sign of the work a man is about to undertake. However, the figure of a man sitting upon spoils, shields, and weapons, with his hand placed beneath his knee, indicates—according to Erizzo—that the King of Dacia has been conquered by the Emperor. In a similar vein, the image of a man shooting an arrow was struck on the coinage of Darius, the King of the Persians.

Now we turn to images engraved upon horses. Through the figure of an armed man sitting on a horse, equipped with a spear and a whip, Erizzo identifies Mars. Neptune, however, is depicted on silver Tarentine coinage just as Choul described: he was engraved as a naked, helmeted man riding a horse, with a cloth hanging from his shoulders and fluttering in the wind, holding one javelin in his right hand and two in his left. Elsewhere, a man clinging to a horse with a javelin in his left hand and the image of a star hanging over his head represents the god Castor. Erizzo, however, interprets this same figure as the province of Parthia.

When we see a man upon a winged horse who is hurlng a weapon at a beast made of a lion’s head and a dragon’s body, we can understand this to be Perseus fighting the Chimera, as Erizzo suggested; although others have said the youth sitting on the winged horse is Bellerophon, this actually coincides with Perseus, since the name Bellerophon signifies a man of integrity and wisdom. In another style, a man running on a horse and striking a lion with a spear signifies, in Erizzo’s opinion, someone who fought against wild beasts in a public spectacle. Truly, two men riding and extending their right arms, as can be seen on the silver coinage of Philip, signify Virtue according to Choul.

When there is an armed man riding on a coin, preceded by an armed man on foot and followed by several other armed men, Erizzo understands this to be the Emperor’s expedition to war. In the same way, a man on horseback running and armed with a club indicates the Emperor rushing to battle. But if the rider strikes another man stretched out on the ground with a spear, then, as Erizzo believes, it must be declared that the Emperor has defeated the Sarmatians and the Goths. When a foot soldier with trophies precedes the rider and another with military ensigns follows, Erizzo proclaims a victory won over the Parthians. If it happens that on the coins a foot soldier carrying military ensigns in his left hand precedes the rider, then we should understand it to be the Emperor’s return after the enemy has been scattered and a province occupied. Finally, the bronze coins of Trajan with icons of two provinces are rare, especially those in which his image is seen on horseback.

Human figures without clothing are also sometimes seen on coins. For instance, a silver coin of L. Lentulus and C. Marcellus displays the figure of a naked man holding a lightning bolt in his right hand and an eagle in his left, along with an altar and a star, to denote a divine rite performed for Jupiter after the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus was struck by lightning. A semi-naked man placed on an elevated seat, with his right hand extended toward an eagle and accompanied by the chariot of the Sun and Moon, was struck on the bronze coinage of Alexander to represent Jupiter Olympius. Indeed, Jupiter Victor is shown as a semi-naked man sitting in a chair with a spear in his left hand and a winged Victory in his right, a figure we can observe on the bronze coinage of Domitian. On a bronze coin of Nero, a similarly semi-naked man is seen positioned in a chair with a lightning bolt in his right hand and a spear in his left, indicating Jupiter Custos (the Guardian). Although, in the opinion of others, Jupiter Custos is shown on a silver coin of Vespasian by the icon of a naked man holding a spear in his left hand and a burning altar in his right. However, Choul observes a naked man with a spear in his right hand and a lightning bolt in his left on a silver coin of Gordian, and asserts that Jupiter Ultor (the Avenger) is signified in this way—even though Erizzo, observing a naked man throwing a lightning bolt with his right hand and holding a bird in his left, believes Jupiter Fulminans (the Thunderer) is intended.

Furthermore, authors disagree among themselves regarding the depiction of Jupiter Servator (the Savior). On a silver coin of Domitian, Choul points out a naked man holding a lightning bolt in his right hand and raising his left arm, assigning this figure to Jupiter the Savior. The same author presents a silver coin of Antoninus Pius in which a naked man is observed holding a spear in his right hand and a lightning bolt in his left, expressing Jupiter the Savior in this manner as well. But on the bronze and silver coins of Gordian, as well as on the silver coinage of Maximian, a naked man appears with a cloth thrown over his back