Faustina the Younger and the Representation of Her Children

This paper examines the political role of Faustina the Younger during the reigns of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius by analysing the exceptionally large number of images of children on her coinage. The analysis of the images of Faustina’s children reveals the political importance of Faustina and her children. During the reign of Antoninus Pius, they were regarded as the connecter of the dynasty. On the other hand, during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, children were considered as bearers of happiness and prosperity of future Rome, while Faustina was considered as guarantee of Roman peace through marriage and childbirth. Consequently, the political role of Faustina, revealed through the above examination, was to connect three generations of emperors, and the images of children were used to honour this roll comprehensively