L'iconografia delle città libere

The present research exams the iconographical language used by cities representing themselves. The image of Goddess Tyche, as city protectress and city personification has been used for a long time by cities, in Hellenistic and roman times, representing their status. The iconographical model of Tyche has been investigated in its relationship with the various degrees of independence of the cities in the greek-oriental word, in Hellenistic and Roman period, showing there was a political ideology behind. The analysis of a coin from Seleucia on the Calycadnus, Cilicia (Turkey), shows the use of juridical concepts, with particular attention to the problems of integration and romanization of the greek cities. The situation changed after the Constitutio Antoniniana emanated by Emperor Caracalla. The image of Tyche also served as foundation myth for the cities, in micro-asiatic area or in roman area, as we can see on friezes in the Museo Nazionale Romano (Rome), from the Basilica Aemilia and Colombarius Esquilinus. The idea of a woman as city protectress is based on the iconographical model of Tyche, and many divinities shared with the goddess this protective role as Genius, Cybele, Dea Roma and the Amazons. The same female element is archeologically found in ritual burials under city boundaries , in particular under city walls and city gates. The burials and the ritual killings had an apothropaical function and connected the female element with the city foundation. This is reading key to understand the burial of the Vestals incestae, and the place of their burial near the city wall. The research exams the different uses of the image of Tyche, showing the iconographical importance of the goddess as representation of the cities in Roman Empire and in Rome itself.