Inancient Roman religion,Annona (Latinannōna “corn, grain; means of subsistence”, fromannus "year") is the divinepersonification of thegrain supply to the city of Rome. She is closely connected to the goddessCeres, with whom she is often depicted inart.
Annona, often as AnnonaAugusti, was a creation ofImperial religious propaganda, manifested iniconography and cult practice. She is presented as atheophany of theemperor's power to care for his people through the provision of grain.[1] Annona thus lackednarrative mythology or atradition of devotion in theRoman Republic, but once established as part ofImperial cult, she was the recipient ofdedications and votive offerings from private individuals motivated by gratitude or the seeking of favor.[2]
In the propaganda ofClaudius, the cult ofCeres Augusta made explicit the divine power that lay in the Imperial provision of theannona, the grain supply to the city.[3] Annona Augusti appears oncoins late in the reign ofNero, when the Cult of Virtues came into prominence in the wake of thePisonian conspiracy. She embodied two of the material benefits ofImperial rule, along with Securitas Augusti, "Augustan Security," and often appeared as part of a pair with Ceres.[4] On Neronian coinage, Ceres, Annona, andAbundantia ("Abundance") were closely associated.[5]
Annona also appears on coins issued underVespasian, where along with other Virtues she represents the restoration of confidence in theprincipate, and on the coinage ofTitus,Domitian,Trajan,Hadrian,Antoninus Pius, andSeptimius Severus.[6] She was a particular favorite in Trajan's propaganda, which sought to portray his reign as a renewal and a prosperous new era for humanity; hence Annona often appears with a symbolic child.[7] In the context of Trajanic politics, Annona represented Rome's grain independence from its traditional supplierEgypt.[8]
Annona is typically depicted with acornucopia (horn of plenty) in her arm, and a ship's prow in the background, alluding to the transport of grain into the harbor of Rome. On coins, she frequently stands between amodius (grain-measure) and the prow of agalley, with ears of grain in one hand and a cornucopia in the other; sometimes she holds arudder or ananchor.[9]
The craterAnnona in the southern hemisphere of the dwarf planetCeres was named after this deity.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Annona".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 74–75.| Deities (Dii Consentes) |  | |
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