With great joy we present to you the Optima Mater/Best of Mothers Motto Medallion!
On his ascension in AD 55, the first password the Roman Emperor Nero gave his guard was Optima Mater, or “Best of Mothers,” perhaps an acknowledgment that he owed his position, at age 17, to Agrippina’s tireless efforts.
The ancient Romans celebrated a spring festival by the name of Hilaria, in honor of the mother goddess Cybele, around 250 B.C.
The ancient Greeks also had a lot of respect for the mother figure, and honored her accordingly as the life-giver, centuries before Mother’s Day was celebrated in the West.
Rhea was worshipped as the ‘Mother of Gods’ and ancient Greeks used to celebrate their annual spring festival to honor Rhea, the goddess of nature and fertility.
The visual representation of the head of the nymph Arethusa surrounded by four swimming dolphins is inspired by an actual dekadrachm coin that was minted in the ancient Greek city of Syracuse, Sicily around 400 B.C. It is regarded as among the most famous and beautiful ancient Greek coins. Coin collectors and scholars see the coinage of Syracuse as one of the great artistic products of antiquity.
The Optima Mater Motto Medallion is a great gift for birthdays, Mother’s Day, or any other day of the year!
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