Æ22 - Nero ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ, ΕΦΕΣΙΩΝ

The title ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ — "temple warden" — carried enormous political weight in the Greek East. Ephesus claimed this honor in connection with the imperial cult, a designation that required direct negotiation with Rome and carried significant civic prestige. Under Nero, the city's relationship with the emperor was still functional; his catastrophic reputation came largely posthumously and through a senatorial literary tradition hostile to his memory. Coins asserting neokorate status were civic propaganda aimed as much at rival cities like Smyrna and Pergamon as at Rome itself.