ELAGABALUS Philippolis 218AD Ancient Roman Coin SERAPIS Antiquity God i21500

Description

Item:
i21500
Authentic Ancient Coin of:
Elagabalus - Roman Emperor: 218-222 A.D. -
Bronze 18mm (4.64 grams) Struck in Philippolis in Thrace circa 218-222 A.D.
AVT K M AVP ANT
ΩNINOC, Laureate head right.
ФIΛIППOПOΛEITΩN, Serapis standing left, raising right hand and holding scepter.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
Serapis
(Latin spelling, or
Sarapis
in Greek) was a
syncretic
Hellenistic
-
Egyptian
god in
Antiquity
. His most renowned temple was the
Serapeum
of Alexandria
. Under
Ptolemy Soter
, efforts were made to integrate Egyptian religion with that of their Hellenic rulers. Ptolemy's policy was to find a deity that should win the reverence alike of both groups, despite the curses of the Egyptian priests against the gods of the previous foreign rulers (i.e
Set
who was lauded by the
Hyksos
).
Alexander the Great
had attempted to use
Amun
for this purpose, but he was more prominent in
Upper Egypt
, and not as popular with those in
Lower Egypt
, where the Greeks had stronger influence. The Greeks had little respect for animal-headed figures, and so a Greek-style
anthromorphic
statue was chosen as the
idol
, and proclaimed as the equivalent of the highly popular
Apis
. It was named
Aser-hapi
(i.e.
Osiris-Apis
), which became
Serapis
, and was said to be
Osiris
in full, rather than just his
Ka
(life force).
Elagabalus
(pronounced El-uh-GAB-uh--lus, c. 203 – March 11, 222), also known as
Heliogabalus
or
Marcus
Aurelius Antoninus
, was a
Roman Emperor
of the
Severan dynasty
who reigned from 218 to 222. Born
Varius Avitus Bassianus
, he was
Syrian
on his mother's side, the son of
Julia Soaemias
and
Sextus Varius Marcellus
, and in his early youth he served as a priest of the god
El-Gabal
at his hometown,
Emesa
. Upon becoming emperor he took the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus, and was called Elagabalus only a long time after his death.
In 217, the emperor
Caracalla
was murdered and replaced by his
Praetorian prefect
, Marcus Opellius
Macrinus
. Caracalla's maternal aunt,
Julia Maesa
, successfully instigated a revolt among the
Third Legion
to have her eldest grandson, Elagabalus, declared as emperor in his place. Macrinus was defeated on June 8, 218, at the
Battle of Antioch
, upon which Elagabalus, barely fourteen years old, ascended to the imperial power and began a reign that was marred by infamous controversies, to put it mildly.
Jupiter
, head of the
Roman pantheon
, with a new god,
Deus Sol Invictus
, and forced leading members of Rome's government to participate in religious rites celebrating this deity, which he personally led.
Amidst growing opposition, Elagabalus, only 18 years old, was assassinated and replaced by his cousin
Alexander Severus
on March 11, 222, in a plot formed by his grandmother, Julia Maesa, and members of the
Praetorian Guard
. Elagabalus developed a reputation among his contemporaries for eccentricity, decadence, and zealotry which was likely exaggerated by his successors and political rivals. This propaganda was passed on and, as a result, he was one of the most reviled Roman emperors to early historians. For example,
Edward Gibbon
wrote that Elagabalus "abandoned himself to the grossest pleasures and ungoverned fury." "The name Elagabalus is branded in history above all others" because of his "unspeakably disgusting life," wrote
B.G. Niebuhr
..
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