Ancient Thunderbolts

Detail from the ceiling of the Room of the Giants in Palazzo del Te, Mantua, Giulio Romano (1499–1546), a student of Rafael, painted between 1532 and 1534. We see Jupiter being handed thunderbolts by his wife Juno, and he’s hurling them down at the giants, his drapery flying back behind him. Giulio Romano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Seneca (writing  62-65 AD) classifies the thunderbolt alongside torches and shooting stars as "fire squeezed out of the air" (ignis aere expressus). He views them as transient, fleeting events caused by physical "defects" or pressures in the atmosphere rather than spontaneous divine whims. 

While Seneca does not discard Jupiter, he redefines him. In Naturales Quaestiones, he argues that Jupiter does not literally "aim and hurl" every single bolt. Instead, Jupiter is the First Cause or the Intelligence behind the laws of nature. The "will of Jupiter" is expressed in the natural systems.

Ne hoc quidem crediderunt, Iouem, qualem in Capitolio & in ceteris aedibus colimus, mittere manu fulmina, sed eumdem quem nos Iouem intelligunt, custodem rectoremque vniuersi, animum ac spiritum, mundani huius operis dominum & artificem, cui nomen omne conuenit. Vis illum fatum vocare? non errabis. Hic est, ex quo suspensa sunt omnia, caussa caussarum. Vis illum prouidentiam dicere? rectè dices. Est enim, cuius consilio huic mundo prouidetur"

"They did not even believe this: that Jupiter, such as we worship him in the Capitol and in other temples, hurls thunderbolts with his hand; but they understand that same Jupiter whom we do: the guardian and ruler of the universe, the mind and spirit, the master and craftsman of this worldly work, to whom every name is suitable. Do you wish to call him Fate? You will not be wrong. He is the one upon whom all things depend, the cause of causes. Do you wish to call him Providence? You will speak correctly. For he is the one by whose counsel this world is provided for"
- Seneca, Naturales Quaestiones, Book II.45.

He classifies a thunderbolt with shooting stars, comets and torches.

"Dicebam modo nihil diuturnum esse quod exarsit aeris vitio. Nunc amplius adicio: morari ac stare nullo modo potest. Nam et fax et fulmen et stella transcurrens et quisquis alius est ignis aere expressus in fuga est nec apparet, nisi dum cadit. Cometes habet suam sedem et ideo non cito expellitur sed emetitur spatium suum, nec extinguitur sed excedit."

"I was just saying that nothing which has blazed up through a defect in the air is long-lasting. Now I add more: it is in no way able to linger or stand still. For both the torch and the thunderbolt and the shooting star, and whatever other fire is squeezed out of the air, is in flight and does not appear except while it is falling. A comet has its own fixed place and for that reason is not quickly driven out but measures out its own space; it is not extinguished, but passes away."
- Seneca, Naturales Quaestiones, Book VII.23.  

This denarius issued in 120 BC is a coin of Marcius Papirius Carbo on which Jupiter illustrates the proper throwing technique:

Roman Republic. M. Carbo (122 BC) Denarius. Rome mint. Silver. Obv: Helmeted head of Roma right; X below chin. Rev: Jupiter in quadriga right, holding scepter and reins, hurling thunderbolt; M·CARBO below horses; ROMA in linear square. Crawford 276/1; Sydenham 423; Papiria 6.

The throwing technique of Zeus/Jupiter, is a masterclass in balance, poise AND tension captured and illustrated at the moment moment before release. The Latin word iactus - is used for throwing a javelin and thunderbolts. Your entire weight should fall on the forward left leg, which is thrust toward your target, while your right leg remains straight to provide a powerful base. The left arm holding a scepter can be used as a sight or a counterweight for balance and power. The right arm is raised and bent at a right angle, with the hand drawn back past the head to maximize the potential energy of the throw.

Here's a winged thunderbolt from the Roman Republic.

Q Cassius Longinus. 55 BC. AR Denarius. Rome mint. Obv: Young male head of Bonus Eventus (or Genius Populi Romani) right; scepter to left / Rev: Eagle with wings spread standing right on winged thunderbolt; lituus to left, capis to right. Crawford 428/3.

In case we had any doubt - the thunderbolt was well used by the Greeks before the Romans. A "Greek" example: a Phrygian thunderbolt from Peltai. Ae (Late 2nd-1st centuries BC). While Rome became the dominant power in Asia Minor after 133 BCE, they allowed many cities like Peltae to continue minting their own "autonomous" bronze coinage. It was not until the later Imperial period (starting with Augustus) that coins from this region typically featured the portrait of a Roman Emperor and became part of what we call Roman Provincial Coinage.

A coin from Seleukeia Pieria in the period of independence between the collapse of the Seleucid Empire and Roman annexation.

Seleukeia Pieria, 105/4-83/2 BCE. AR Tetradrachm (28.5mm, 14.75 g, 1h). Dated CY 13 (97/6 BC). Veiled and turreted bust of Tyche right / Filleted thunderbolt on throne; ΓI (date) below, monogram to lower right; all within wreath.

Here's a more impressive Roman/Greek thunderbolt  from Antoninus Pius from Macedonia (my personal favorite of the coins I am sharing today) RPC 4264 (temporary).  A symbol of Roman Providentia Deorum a belief that the universe was not chaotic, but governed by a rational, benevolent intelligence (the gods) that had a "strategic plan" for the Empire, manifested through the Emperor. For the Macedonians, this imagery builds a powerful cultural bridge between Roman imperial authority, the local cult of Zeus and the heroic tradition of Alexander the Great. Zeus Olympios  was the father Makedonos - effectively a claim that the Macedonians were descendants of Zeus. 

Hesiod says: "And she conceived and bare to Zeus who delights in the thunderbolt two sons, Magnes and Macedon, rejoicing in horses, who dwell round about Pieria and Olympus..." (Hessiod, circa 6th century BC, Catalogues of Women) (See here in Greek)

Here's a little winged thunderbolt on a "throne" from Antoninus pius (Consul for the fourth time / and final: AD 145 until AD161). The thunderbolt is the primary attribute of Jupiter, the king of the Roman gods (aka Zeus to the Greeks). While earlier coins of Antoninus Pius explicitly include the legend PROVIDENTIAE DEORVM with a thunderbolt, this COS IIII version uses the image alone to imply that the gods are watching over the Empire and have sanctioned the emperor's rule. The "throne" is technically a pulvinar or a draped sacred throne. In Roman religion, placing a deity's attribute (like Jupiter's thunderbolt) on a pulvinar symbolized the invisible presence of the god at a sacred banquet.

Roman Imperial, Antoninus Pius (138-161), AR denarius, Rome, Obv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P, laureate head right. Rev: COS IIII, winged thunderbolt over draped throne (pulvinar). Ref: RIC 137.

The thunderbolts across all of these coins and across nearly 300 years serve as a symbol of ruling power aligned with the (rational? stable?) order of the gods.