435, Lot: 289. Estimate $100. Sold for $60. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ Drachm (32.5mm, 22.59 g, 12h). Dated RY 5 (AD 141/142). Laureate head right / Radiate and draped bust of Sarapis-Pantheos right, wearing calathus and horn of Ammon; serpent-entwined trident behind; Є/L (date) behind. Köln –; Dattari (Savio) 8728; K&G –; Emmett 1676.5. Fine, dark green patina with a bit of earthen highlights/deposits, smoothed. Rare.

Sarapis was a syncretic god, combining Hellenistic Greek and Egyptian religious beliefs. His name is of Egyptian origin and derives from a synthesis of Ausar (Greek, Osiris), the Egyptian god of the Underworld, and Hapi (Greek, Apis), a manifestation of the god Ptah. Under the Ptolemies, Sarapis became the chief tutelary god and the subject of a royally-sponsored cult, whose emphasis on an afterlife made the worship of Sarapis one of the more popular mystery cults. His immense popularity soon extended his creation as Sarapis-Pantheos, a hybrid deity incorporating other divine elements. In Alexandria, a large temple complex, called the Serapeum was constructed and remained highly patronized well into the fourth century AD. Shortly after the imperial decree of AD 391, officially declaring pagan temples closed, the Serapeum was besieged, plundered, and destroyed.