Serapis a Syncretic God

Triton XVIII, Lot: 909. Estimate $3000. Sold for $5000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ Drachm (35mm, 31.42 g, 11h). Dated RY 5 (AD 141/2). [AV]T K T AIΛ A∆P ANTωNIN[OC CЄB ЄVC], laureate head right / Radiate and draped bust of Serapis-Pantheos right, wearing calathus and horn of Ammon; dolphin-entwined trident to right, L-Є (date) across field. Köln 1412 var. (Pius’ bust draped and cuirassed); Dattari 2867 (same dies); K&G 35.163 var. (same); Emmett 1676.5; Curtis, “The Coinage of Roman Egypt: A Survey” (reprinted from The Numismatist, January-August 1956), Pl. I, 1 (this coin–reverse illustrated). Good VF, attractive brown patina. Rare and exceptional.

From the RAJ Collection. Purchased privaely from CNG (CICF, 2009). Ex Classical Numismatic Group 78 (14 May 2008), lot 1509; Col. James W. Curtis Collection.

Serapis was a syncretic god, a combination formed from Hellenistic Greek and Egyptian religious concepts. 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, Serapis became the chief tutelary god and the subject of a royally-sponsored cult, whose emphasis on an afterlife made the worship of Serapis one of the more popular mystery cults. His immense popularity soon promoted his creation as Serapis-Pantheos, a hybrid deity incorporating other divine elements. In Alexandria, a large temple complex called the Serapeum was constructed that remained highly patronized well into the fourth century AD. Shortly after the imperial decree of AD 391, officially ordering pagan temples closed, the Serapeum was besieged, plundered and destroyed.