XXVII. Legio II Italica. Columns 1468-1476

[1468] Leg. II Italica. Raised by Marcus Aurelius (Dio LIV 24) around 165 AD with men conscripted from Italy (see above col. 1300f.). At first, the legion carried only the official surname "Pia" (still used in 170 AD, CIL III 1980); however, shortly after her creation, the surname "Italica" was added, which later became the [legion's] main name. According to the coins of Gallienus (Cohen V2 388 no. 472-476), the legion's emblem was the she-wolf [Lupa] nursing the twins Romulus and Remus [The stork of III Italica (Cohen V2 388 no. 477) and Capricorn of I Adiutrix or IIXX Primigenia (Cohen V2 388 no. 471) were also attributed to the legion, which was the result of misreading II Italica tile stamps]. The [twins] image is likely to represent the zodiac sign of [the Gemini] twins, which belongs to the month ruled by Apollo (May 29th to June 18th). The reason why this sign was given to the legion is hard to see, since it cannot be linked to the nativity of one of the Divi fratres (Marcus April 26th, Verus December 15th). The dies natalis of the legionary eagle is also very unlikely in this case (see below for Leg. VI Ferrata). In any case, the wolf cannot be the [legion's] main emblem, even if it appears among the five emblems of the old pre-Marian legions. We do not know were the legion was garrisoned during her first years. However, like her sister-legion III Concordia, she was undoubtedly used from the very beginning in a way that best served her creator's intentions: to keep the Danubian people's powerful incursions at bay, and especially to protect Italy, until the western troops, which were kept busy in the East, were again available for border protection along the Rhine and Danube [Rivers].