Obolos 17

M. Herennius, 108-107 BC. Denarius (Silver, 19 mm, 3.83 g, 10 h), Rome. PIE(TA)S Diademed head of Pietas to right; below chin, R. Rev. M · HERENNI One of the Catanaean brothers running right, bearing his father on his shoulders; in right field, C. Babelon, (Herennia) 1. Crawford 308/1a. Sydenham 567. Toned. Some peck marks and scratches, otherwise, very fine.

From the stock of an old Swiss dealer assembled mainly in the 1960s-1970s.

The brothers Amphinomus and Anapius from Catania in Sicily are said to have carried their aging parents upon their shoulders during an eruption of Mt. Etna. The familial devotion in doing this at the sacrifice of all their worldly possessions delighted the gods, who caused the fires around them to be parted, thus allowing the family to escape unharmed. Acts of familial piety were revered among the Romans, a people who worshipped their ancestors (the familial lares) and who considered themselves the descendants of Aeneas who likewise carried his family to safety from the devastation of Troy during its sack by the Greeks.