Coin of Kyzikos under Commodus c. 2th century

Editor: Here we have a coin of Kyzikos under Commodus. Looking at this corroded surface, I am immediately struck by the contrast between the idealized ruler on one side and the animal on the other. What can we say about this contrast? Curator: I see it as a struggle for power. Commodus, whose reign was marked by instability and excess, perhaps used the image of the animal as a parallel to his own reign, or as a symbol of the people he aimed to dominate, reflecting the complex dynamics of Roman imperial power structures. Do you think this tension between the ideal and the real speaks to the failures of imperial control? Editor: That’s a very interesting point. I hadn’t considered the use of animal imagery to speak about the emperor’s failures. Curator: Yes, and the state of decay here is also very important; that is the material reality. Editor: I'll consider that next time I'm looking at art.