Augustus

Denarius · Silver

Historical Note

A terminal figure (a bust atop a tapering pillar, like a boundary marker) of Octavian placed on Jupiter's thunderbolt is one of the most explicit divine-status claims of the pre-Augustan period. The thunderbolt was Jupiter's weapon and symbol of supreme power. This type dates to the triumviral period (before 27 BC), when Octavian was willing to make more direct claims to divine status than he later preferred.