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Rome - The Republic

Moneyer: C. Memmius C.f.
Held Office: 56 BC
Denomination: AR Denarius
Mint: Rome
Obverse: Laureate head of Quirinus right; "QVRINVS" behind, "C•MEMMI•C•F" before. Border of dots.
Reverse: Ceres seated right, holding torch and corn-ears, serpent before; "MEMMIVS•AED•CERIALIA•PREIMVS•FECIT" around. Border of dots.
Reference: RRC 427/2. RCVM 388; RSC Memmia 9
Weight: 3.7 gms
Diameter: 18.2 mm
Comment: The reverse alludes to the first celebration of the Ludi Cereales in or before 211 BC.

Quirinus

Quirinus was most likely a Sabine god of war. The Sabines had a settlement near the eventual site of Rome, and erected an altar to Quirinus on the Collis Quirinalis Quirinal Hill, one of the Seven hills of Rome. When the Romans settled in the area, the cult of Quirinus became part of their early belief system. This occurred before the later influences from the classical Greek culture.

In Plutarch's the Life of Romulus, he writes that shortly after Rome's founder had disappeared under what some considered suspicious circumstances, a Roman noble named Proculus Julius reported that Romulus had come to him in a vision. He claimed that the king had instructed him to tell his countrymen that he, Romulus was Quirinus. By the end of the first century BC, Quirinus would be considered to be the deified legendary king.

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R05596