Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXIII 24-25 Mar 2022
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Septimius Severus Medallic Æ 45mm of Saitta, Lydia. AD 193-211. Andronicus, son of Iollas Kratistos Stephanephoros, first Archon. AVT•KAl•Λ•CЄΠ• CЄOVHPOC•ΠЄPTI, laureate and cuirassed bust to right, breastplate decorated with gorgoneion / ЄΠΙ AΝΔΡΟΝЄΙΚΟΥ•Δ•ΙΟΛΛΑ•Κ•CTЄΦΑ, Mên standing to right, wearing Phrygian cap with crescent on shoulders, holding long sceptre and pine-cone, and facing Cybele enthroned to left, holding patera and resting elbow upon tympanum, lion walking to left at her feet; CΑΙΤΤΗΝΩΝ ΑΡΧ•Α• in two lines in exergue. Imhoof-Blumer, 'Antike griechische Münzen' in RSN, vol. 19 (1913), p. 56, no. 161 corr. (rev. legend); M. Amandry, 'Le monnayage émis à Saittai de Lydie sous Septime Sévère' in SAGVNTVM, Papeles del Laboratorio de Arqueología, vol. 49 (2017), p. 174, III.1; E. Lane, Corpus Monumentorum Religionis Dei Menis II, The Coins and Gems (Leiden, 1975) p. 38, Saitta 10, pl. xv corr. (rev. legend) = Winterthur 3889 = GRPC Lydia 84 (same dies); ANS 1973.191.14 (same dies). 52.84g, 45mm, 6h.
Good Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare; the finest of just four known examples.
There was a long tradition of syncretism in the Roman Empire, with many instances of the assimilation of local deities into Roman cult religion, from the Egyptian goddess Isis to the Celtic goddess Sulis in Britain. These deities were often amalgamated with Roman divinities, as was the case with Sulis who became for the Romano-British Sulis-Minerva. It has been argued that the Romans' acceptance of the existing cultures of the people they conquered enabled them to effectively establish and maintain control, particularly in regions that were otherwise vastly different from the centre of the empire, creating a sense of integration and unity across their territories. Indeed, some foreign cults spread under the Roman aegis and became popular in their own right even at Rome. The cult of the god Mithras, the origins of which can be traced from a Persian deity, being an obvious example; archaeological remains of temples to Mithras have been found as far apart as Britain and Judaea.
The god Mên and the goddess Cybele, like Mithras, were adopted from eastern cult religions and appear to have become particularly popular in 2nd Century AD. There is often notable crossover in the depictions of these eastern deities, especially the male gods. As is the case on this medallion, representations of Mên from the Roman world most often show him wearing a Phrygian cap and a belted tunic, attributes that are also associated with Mithras and another Phrygian deity, Attis. In 'The Metamorphoses' Ovid notes that Attis was transformed into a pine tree (10.86), which may explain why Mên is holding a pine-cone here. Furthermore, the similarities between Mên and Attis appear to be reinforced by the representation of the goddess Cybele alongside Mên on the reverse of the medallion, since she played a prominent role in the origin myth of Attis, which involves his eventually becoming her consort.
While Mên, Attis and Mithras remained distinct deities within Greco-Roman cult practices with separate rites associated with them, it seems that there are many parallels in their iconographies in both monumental and numismatic forms, which is perhaps a reflection of the Roman view of these gods as part of a homogenous eastern cult tradition that was subsumed into their own.
Good Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare; the finest of just four known examples.
There was a long tradition of syncretism in the Roman Empire, with many instances of the assimilation of local deities into Roman cult religion, from the Egyptian goddess Isis to the Celtic goddess Sulis in Britain. These deities were often amalgamated with Roman divinities, as was the case with Sulis who became for the Romano-British Sulis-Minerva. It has been argued that the Romans' acceptance of the existing cultures of the people they conquered enabled them to effectively establish and maintain control, particularly in regions that were otherwise vastly different from the centre of the empire, creating a sense of integration and unity across their territories. Indeed, some foreign cults spread under the Roman aegis and became popular in their own right even at Rome. The cult of the god Mithras, the origins of which can be traced from a Persian deity, being an obvious example; archaeological remains of temples to Mithras have been found as far apart as Britain and Judaea.
The god Mên and the goddess Cybele, like Mithras, were adopted from eastern cult religions and appear to have become particularly popular in 2nd Century AD. There is often notable crossover in the depictions of these eastern deities, especially the male gods. As is the case on this medallion, representations of Mên from the Roman world most often show him wearing a Phrygian cap and a belted tunic, attributes that are also associated with Mithras and another Phrygian deity, Attis. In 'The Metamorphoses' Ovid notes that Attis was transformed into a pine tree (10.86), which may explain why Mên is holding a pine-cone here. Furthermore, the similarities between Mên and Attis appear to be reinforced by the representation of the goddess Cybele alongside Mên on the reverse of the medallion, since she played a prominent role in the origin myth of Attis, which involves his eventually becoming her consort.
While Mên, Attis and Mithras remained distinct deities within Greco-Roman cult practices with separate rites associated with them, it seems that there are many parallels in their iconographies in both monumental and numismatic forms, which is perhaps a reflection of the Roman view of these gods as part of a homogenous eastern cult tradition that was subsumed into their own.