Perseus, the «Macedonian Shield» and kausia

Abstract

The reverse of the denarii minted in Rome in 63 or 62 BC, with one of the moneyers at the time being L. Aemilius Lepidus Paullus, shows the conqueror of Macedonia L. Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, as well as Perseus, the captured last king of the Antigonid dynasty, his children and a trophy. Some of these coins have the trophy depicting a shield of the so-called «Macedonian type» with its typical geometric and astral design. In 2012 a well preserved sample of this denarius from the so-called «Mayflower Collection» was sold at an auction. On that particular coin Perseus is illustrated wearing a kausia, a headdress probably of Macedonian origin, which became widespread in the Hellenistic world. The captive king’s facial features bear resemblance to the portraits of Perseus on the tetradrachms minted during his reign. Both the «Macedonian shield» and the kausia were seen as symbols of Macedonia and other Hellenistic kingdoms, still recognizable a century after Alexander the Great’s homeland had lost its independence

Keywords

• l. aemilius lepidus paullus
• l. aemilius paullus macedonicus
• perseus
• rome
• macedonia
• hellenistic world
• denarius
• «macedonian shield»
• kausia