ABSTRACT
Provincial ruler cult in the settled areas of the west begins in Hither Spain. Tacitus reports that an embassy of the hispani asked permission to build a temple to Augustus at Colonia Iulia Urbs Triumphalis Tarraco in AD 15. The precinct itself was dominated by a huge temple which proved to be hexastyle rather than tetrastyle as shown on the coins, definitive confirmation that these show a projected structure, its details drawn from the die-cutter's mental inventory of standard temples in this part of Spain. A series of bronze coins issued at Augusta Emerita show on their reverses a large square monument with a simulated double door and corner pilasters or small columns; the cornice three palms at either side replace the usual altar horns. Inspiration from the centre must surely lie once again behind this phenomenon; just as legal or ritual prescriptions were issued centrally, prototypes of imperial portraits were exported from Rome for empire-wide imitation.
