In the late Republican and early Imperial era, Roman literature presents Roma as one of the Roman people's several 'Great Mothers', who included Venus and Cybele. Her 'Amazonian' appearance recalls the fierce, barbaric, bare-breasted Amazons who fought in the Trojan war alongside the Trojans, supposed ancestors of the Romans. A Roman denarius of 114/115 shows Roma with Romulus, Remus and the she-Wolf, the mythological beast who fostered them, and nourished them with her milk the coin image implies that Roma has protected and nourished Rome since its very foundation. Another woman, labelled as Pistis (Greek equivalent to Roman Fides, or 'good faith'), stands before Roma with a crown of leaves raised above her head. It shows an enthroned woman with shield and other war-gear, clearly labelled as Roma. 275 BC issued by Rome's ethnically Greek allies at Locri, on the Italian peninsula. The earliest, more-or-less unequivocal coin identification of Roma is a silver stater of c. Other female members of Romes's official pantheon were also helmeted, including Bellona, and Minerva, the latter being equivalent to Greek Athena, who is believed by some scholars to be Roma's original. In cases where clear coin legends are lacking, identification has been unresolved. In later coin issues, Roma wears varieties of the Attic helmet, the standard pattern for Roman army officers. During the late Second Punic war and the Pyrrhic war, Rome issued coins with a Phrygian helmeted head some are stamped Roma.

Other early Roman coinage shows a warlike ' Amazon' type, possibly Roma but in Mellor's opinion, more likely a genius than dea (goddess). Roma in the Piazza del Campidoglio adapted from a statue of Minerva by the addition of weapons, in the modern era Republican era Identity and iconography Ī helmeted figure on Roman coins of 280–276 and 265–242 BC is sometimes interpreted as Roma but the identification is contestable. Her depiction seated with a shield and spear later influenced that of Britannia, personification of Britain. She survived into the Christian period as a personification of the Roman state. She was depicted on silver cups, arches, and sculptures, including the base of the column of Antoninus Pius. Roma was probably favoured by Rome's high-status Imperial representatives abroad, rather than the Roman populace at large. Her image is rarely found in a commonplace or domestic context. In Rome's eastern provinces, she was often shown with mural crown or cornucopia, or both.

In Roman art and coinage, she is usually depicted in military form, with helmet and weapons. Roma's official cult served to advance the propagandist message of Imperial Rome. In Rome, the Emperor Hadrian built and dedicated a gigantic temple to her as Roma Aeterna ('Eternal Rome'), and to Venus Felix, ('Venus the Bringer of Good Fortune'), emphasising the sacred, universal and eternal nature of the empire. On some coinage of the Roman Imperial era, she is shown as a serene advisor, partner and protector of ruling emperors. Her 'Amazonian' iconography shows her 'manly virtue' ( virtus) as fierce mother of a warrior race, augmenting rather than replacing local goddesses. Images of Roma had elements in common with other goddesses, such as Rome's Minerva, her Greek equivalent Athena and various manifestations of Greek Tyches, who protected Greek city-states among these, Roma stands dominant, over piled weapons that represent her conquests, and promising protection to the obedient. She was portrayed on coins, sculptures, architectural designs, and at official games and festivals. She was created and promoted to represent and propagate certain of Rome's ideas about itself, and to justify its rule. In ancient Roman religion, Roma was a female deity who personified the city of Rome and more broadly, the Roman state. Roma on a denarius, 93-92 BC ( Walters Art Museum)

Roma invicta roma aeterna