Egypt, Alexandria. Dattari. Antoninus Pius, 138-161 Drachm circa 141-142 (year 5), Æ 31.5mm., 23.96g. Bare-headed bust l. Rev. Sarapis seated, l., holding sceptre; at his feet, Cerberus; to l., Demeter standing, r., holding torch; to r., Tyche holding rudder and cornucopia; all wearing kalathos, all on galley with oars; in exergue, LE. Dattari-Savio Pl. 148, 2862. RPC 15515.
Attractive light green patina, About Very Fine/Very Fine.
From the Dattari Collection.
Serapis was a Graeco – Egyptian god from Memphis where he was worshipped together with the sacred Egyptian bull Apis. He was later reintroduced and promoted during the reign of Ptolemy I as an effort to combine both aspects of Greek and Egyptian religion. His cult was initially related to the underworld, and it was frequently connected to chtonies deities such as Hades and Demeter; he also combined aspects of Zeus and Asclepios. The god was habitually portrayed in Greek style but with Egyptian ornaments and he often wears a modius on his head. The Serapeum at Alexandria was the most important in the ancient world, here the agalma of the god was portrayed as a Zeus, seated on a throne with the right hand on Cerberus's head and his left holding a sceptre. The Serapeum prevailed as the primary location of his cult until the temple was destroyed in 389 AD by the Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria. This is the only specimen reported in the RPC Online.