A row of Spes images from the "same" coin of Severus Alexander

rigins of Spes

Spes is the Roman equivalent of the Greek Elpis, a minor goddess of Hope (and possibly of Expectation). She has a pleasant image of an adolescent girl walking to the left, holding out a flower, and with her other hand holding up the hem of her skirt. This image originates from Greek statues called korai. These showed young girls of 14 or so, wearing adult dress for the first time, hitching the skirt to keep it from dragging, and holding a flower or a bird to emphasise the fresh hope of spring and new growth.

The coin on the right is an Alexandrian tetradrachm of Carinus from 283-284 CE, a chunky coin made of an alloy which included some lead. This is from quite late on in the timeline of the Roman Empire, but nevertheless shows Elpis rather than Spes.

The image turns up very frequently, at the start of an Augustus's reign or when a Caesar is appointed. Clearly, it symbolised the new hope for the rulers and their people.

A Roman Republican temple of Spes was founded by M. Attilius Calatinus in the Forum Holitorium, a vegetable market near the Tiber. This might seem an odd place to found a temple, but Rome was full of temples, and the Forum Holitorium also contained temples to Pietas, Janus, and Juno Sospita.

pes on Roman Coins

As usual with Roman coins, the details differ remarkably from example to example, and at the same time, key elements stay the same. This gives us an idea of what parts of the image are accepted as the standard symbol of Hope. A slim young woman in a flowing dress – a Greek chiton – is tiptoeing to the left. Her hair is done up with a single long braid. The dress has a fold of material which falls from the elbow of her right arm, in which she is holding out a flower. With the other hand, she lifts the hem of her dress away from the ground. This pulls the material against her leg, which is often clearly outlined. This comes from an artistic tradition in which it was the only way to show that a leg was prensent underneath the material.

The sestertius on the far left, of Claudius from 41-42 CE, shows a stylised rendtition of Spes, and seems to have been the first Spes on a Roman coin. It was probably meant to celebrate the birth of his son Britannicus. Subsequent coin, like the sestertius of Domitian from 73-74 CE next to it, were slightly more realistic.

There were two varieties in the depiction of Spes, depending which leg was shown forward. The left leg forward resulted in the traditional, rather stiff pose, with the chiton pulled firmly against the leg and showing its outline. With the right leg forward, the depiction is much more subtle and graceful, with the drape of the chiton more prominent in the composition, so that it is more fluid and had more movement. You can see both in the frieze at the top of the page, and they are also evident in these two denarii, of Trajan from 107 CE on the near right, and of his successor Hadrian from 137 CE on the far right. The legend on the coin of Hadrian is SPES P. R. – Hope of the People of Rome.

Here are two more minor variations on the theme. On the far left, a denarius of Faustina Junior from 157-161 CE shows a Spes who is facing us and standing still, so that the gesture of lifting her skirt hem seems almost like a modern curtsey. This experimental pose was not repeated on later coins. Next to it is a denarius of Septimius Severus from the eastern mint known as Emesa, from the very start of his reign in 194 CE, with the legend BONA SPES, Good Hope. Many coins from this mint had stiff and stylised renditions on their reverse, like this Spes. She is more like the first Spes on the Claudius sestertius shown above than her contemporaries; she is also a little like the Elpis on the coin at the tp of the page. The engraver has given her a floral headdress, which is not at all usual.

On this antoninianus of Saloninus from 2580260 CE, Spes has company. She is shown on the right, offering her flower of hope to the teenaged prince. The legend, SPES PVBLICA, means "Hope of the People," and this clearly means Saloninus. Unfortunately for him, the young hope Saloninus was put to death by Postumus, who successfully carved out a breakaway empire in Gaul.

There were several variations of Spes legends on these coins. Apart from BONA SPES, SPES P.R. and SPES PVBLICA, already shown, you can also find SPES AVG or AVGG (Hope of the Imperium), SPES PERPETVAE (Everlasting Hope) and a few more.

Here are a few Spes coins from different reigns, showing the similarity of the designs and how the image remained stable over a long period.

From left to right, top to bottom: 1. A silver denarius of Marcus Aurelius, 145 CE. 2. A silver denarius of Caracalla, 199 CE. 3. A silver denarius of Severus Alexander, 232 CE. 4. A billon antoninianus of Valerian I, 253-255 CE. 5. A billon antoninianus of Claudius II Gothicus, 269 CE. 6. A billon antoninianus of Tetricus II, 269-270 CE. 7. A billon antoninianus of Carus, 282 CE.

I rather like the Claudius II coin, on which Spes looks rather gangly and awkward, just like the adolescent she was supposed to be.

You can see on these coins that often, even when the rest of the image is done with some subtlety, the hand is not. Two oversized fingers project outwards, and the fingers gripping the flower are drawn too large. This is to make it clear that the grip is a delicate one; you cannot crush the flower of hope.

pes in other contexts.

Some coins use Spes, or just Spes' attributes, combined with other symbology. A few of these from my other pages are shown here.

Two different images of Concordia, goddess of harmony and concord. On the denarius of Hadrian to the left, Concordia is enthroned and holds out a patera, a small dish used in religious rituals. Underneath the throne is a cornucopia, symbol of plenty. Supporting her under her left elbow is a statuette of Spes. An interesting combination of images!

Next to it is a denarius of Faustina Junior. This Concordia does not have a statuette of Spes. Instead, she holds out a flower! An interesting way to include the symbology of hope into the design.

On the near right is a denarius of Diva Faustina Senior, commemorating the wife of Antoninus Pius. The figure is Aeternitas, or Eternity. She is holding a phoenix, symbolising rebirth; and her pose is similar to that of Spes. You may remember from the top of the page that the Greek korai from which the image of Spes originated could be shown holding a bird. So this coin might symbolise hope for the afterlife of the deified Faustina.

On the far right, a denarius of Commodus showing Annona, goddess of the annual corn supply. On this rather complicated image, Annona is holding in her hand a figurine which has been interpreted as Spes. But it is also possible that this might be Ceres, the grain goddess. Either would form a very suitable part of the coin's symbology.

Finally, a denarius of Julia Mamaea showing Juno Lucina, a goddess associated with motherhood and childbirth. In her left arm she is holding a baby in swaddling clothes – that is, well wrapped up – though actually I think it looks more like a giant clothes-peg. She holds in her right hand Spes' flower of hope for the new child.

I have used a few battered examples of coins like these on a short page about identifying Spes coins