Eutheneia — personification of abundance and plenty — was a particularly pointed choice of type during year 8 of Marcus Aurelius's reign. The Antonine Plague had reached Egypt by this period, carried along trade routes from the eastern campaigns of Lucius Verus, and grain distribution in Alexandria was under genuine stress. The prefect's mint leaned hard on prosperity imagery precisely when prosperity was precarious.
The regnal year L Η places this firmly in 167/168, the epidemic's early peak in the province.
Eutheneia — personification of abundance and plenty — was a particularly pointed choice of type during year 8 of Marcus Aurelius's reign. The Antonine Plague had reached Egypt by this period, carried along trade routes from the eastern campaigns of Lucius Verus, and grain distribution in Alexandria was under genuine stress. The prefect's mint leaned hard on prosperity imagery precisely when prosperity was precarious.
The regnal year L Η places this firmly in 167/168, the epidemic's early peak in the province.