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The
Marcii claimed descent from the legendary kings Numa Pompilius (second king of Rome 715 - 674
BC) and Ancus Marcius (fourth king of Rome 641 - 617 BC). The gens obtained the office of consul in 357 BC, and subsequently,
one of their families, the Censorini, displayed the heads of both ancestral kings
on coins of the gens Marcia. The obverse shows the jugate heads
of a bearded Numa Pompilius and a beardless Ancus Marcius, probably
indicating their relationship of grandfather and grandson. Ancus
Marcius was renowned for, among other accomplishments, his excellent
statemanship; the founding of the port of Ostia; constructing the first
bridge over the Tiber; and the settlement of the Aventine hill. The coin commemorates the institution of the Ludi Apollinares in 212 BC, previously foretold by a soothsayer, one Marcius. At these games horse races took place with a horseman changing horses at full gallop. The reverse depicts a horseman (desultor) jumping from one horse to another. |
