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Banner Artemide 62E
Julia Titi Denarius
Lot # 485
Julia Titi, daughter of Titus (died in 90 AD). AR Denarius, Rome mint. Struck under Titus, 79-81 AD. Obv. IVLIA AVGVSTA TITI AVGVSTI F. Diademed and draped bust right, hair in long plait down back. Rev. VENVS AVG. Venus, drapery hanging loosely below waist, standing right, seen from behind, leaning back on column, cradling long sceptre in left arm and holding crested helmet in outstretched right hand. RIC II-p. 1 (2nd ed.) 56. AR. 3.23 g. 19.50 mm. R. Rare. An attractive example, well centred on a broad flan. Delicate portrait, cabinet tone, with holden hues. VF. Though Julia was an Augusta, she was secondary in importance to Domitia, the wife of her uncle Domitian, who was then the reigning emperor. None the less, the future was brimming with hope for Julia, a woman who has come down to us in the historical tradition as less than scrupulous. She was young enough to hope for an elevation from her position of honor to one of actual authority, especially since she was having a secret affair with her uncle Domitian, who was childless and in a difficult marriage. In 83 Julia’s prospects brightened considerably: Domitian exiled his wife and Julia could pursue her affair with Domitian more completely by living with him in the palace. This did not bode well for Julia’s unfortunate husband, her second cousin Flavius Sabinus, who Domitian soon executed on an invented charge. The incestuous couple shared their lives until 90 or 91, when Julia died of a failed abortion attempt.
(NAC 33, 461 note).