So this iconography is almost always identified as being Rhea Silvia (Ilia) and Mars and being an allusion to the foundation of Rome. Classic examples are the mosaic from Ostia and or the coins of Antoninus Pius. And yet this same iconography is on gems identified as Ares and Aphrodite…(another example) Do the Rhea Silvia representations derive from an earlier prototype or is this just a error in cataloguing the gems? My knee-jerk reaction is the latter, but one needs to keep an open mind.
Liv Mariah Yarrow 