La crosse et la cruche

Abstract

This study strongly denies the current trend to consider that Sylla changed the traditional meaning of the augural stick (lituus) on monetary emissions. In combination with a sacrificial jug – frequently interpreted as pontifical –, the famous imperator would have liked to symbolize not his belonging to the augural college – that he would have joined later –, but the dual legitimacy of his imperium: auspicial legitimacy of the curiate law and of auspices of investiture (the lituus), legitimacy of sacrifices of investiture (the jug). In reality, this jug is never associated, on coins, neither to pontifical instruments nor to a pontiff (except for Caesar and Augustus, both augurs and pontiffs). On the other hand, it is always associated with augural instruments or an augur (except for [pro]magistrates wishing to emphasise their pietas towards an ancestor augur). This jug refers perhaps to little known augural ceremonies. It’s more convincing to change the date of Sylla’s entrance to the augural college, than modify the traditional interpretation of augural symbols on coins.

Keywords

• Roman Republic
• coins
• Sylla
• augurate
• lituus
• jug