My newp arriving today is a tetradrachm of Philip I from Alexandria, year 3 (August 245 - August 246) with reverse showing Serapis seated left with his 'pet' three headed dog Kerberos (Cerberus) at his feet. I have several coins with Cerberus accompanying Hades, Pluto or, now, Serapis but this one has the best facial details I have seen on two of the three heads. It is not the silliest reason I have given for a purchase. I am a bit offended that this seated coin is listed in Emmett as 3508 without mention of the dog but the standing version (3507) lists him. I note that the face on the third head seems more clear on the smaller image. That means there will be at least one reshoot of this one!
Very nice! Part of the reason I bought this coin from Ken was because of Cerberus, and have since been looking for other types from Caracalla. I really like the tet though! (I don't believe Cerberus's head shows up well in mine...) Provincial Rome - Phrygia Caracalla, r. 198-217 A.D.; Hieropolis, AE30, 30 mm x 12.36 grams Obv.: AV K M AVP ANTΩNΕINO/C. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right Rev.: ΙΕ POΠ ΛEITΩN. Nemesis, wearing polos, standing facing, head right, holding rein or halter. To right Serapis, enthroned left with Cerberus at feet.
Very nice! If you ever tire of it, I'd be happy to give it a new home Here's my best Cerberus which I've shown many times, with one excellent dog head, one "sort of looks like a dog head if you squint", and one barely-there head (die polish victim?). EGYPT, Alexandria. Julia Mamaea year 13, CE 233/4 tetradrachm, 24 mm, 14.36 gm Obv: IOVMAMAIACEBMHTECEKCTPA; Draped bust right, wearing stephane Rev: Serapis enthroned left, holding scepter, extending his right hand toward Cerberus seated at his feet; on throneback, Nike standing right, holding wreath and palm frond; L IΓ (date) to left, palm frond to right Ref: Emmett 3226.13 (R4); Köln 2540; Dattari (Savio) 4517; K&G 64.119
Wow, Doug, that is without a doubt the nicest Kerberos that I've seen on a coin. On the vast majority of these that I've seen, it usually looks more like some kind of mutant potted plant. I'm very envious! Mine, distinctly the potted plant variety.
I recently posted that I wrote a site on year 5 coins of Severus Alexander. http://augustuscoins.com/ed/SevAlex/ Some of them have Kerberos (Ceberus), the three-headed dog, although not with the clarity of Doug's prize. This type has Serapis seated. Ceberus (the three-headed dog) is at his feet left. The obverse legend is long: A KAI M AVP CEOVHR AΛEΞANΔPOC EVCEB Imperator Caesar Marcus AURelius SEVERUs ALEXANDERVS Pius L ΠEMΠTOY spells out the year (year 5 = 225/6). Minted for Roman Alexandria at Emmett 3135. 11.08 grams
That's awesome!! => Mentor, congrats on adding that super sweet Alexandrian winner!! Wow, a few of you CT members have very cool Cerberus examples (congrats) Ummm, the closest I come to Cerberus is the monster Scylla, with her torso of dogs and fishes, wielding a rudder as a club ...
The dogs appear to be of different breeds. The lower one or the one in the forefront is Doberman like. The larger dog is more Great Danish.
Does anyone know of any studies on what existed in the way of dog variations in Roman times? A statement in Wikipedia makes the subject sound older than I realized: "By Roman times, most of the breed-types known today were well-defined and their qualities and functions recorded."
There's a great deal of apocrypha about origin of dog breeds. Supposedly Rottweilers were the "ancient cart dogs of Rome" but there's really no proof; rather it was an assumption based on where they were common when Europeans started writing down such observations. Sometimes even a history that was "never in doubt" is disproved by DNA studies, such as were done on Pharaoh and Ibizan Hounds -- turns out they're not 5000 year old breeds after all, but rather are relatively modern recreations of an ancient type, probably only a few hundred years old. What sort of breed is this? The mosaic appears to be one of the basic herding/pursuit landrace types (ie. a type that naturally develops in response to local conditions and demands of work) which today we might call a Border Collie. But is it a border collie? No, not according to the modern breed standard.
I know some breeds were well defined in the Middle Ages based on their use in hunting. Edward of Norwich records many in his hunting manual (which I do not have with me...). I'm afraid I know nothing of Rome.
Unfortunately, this is the look on most of my dogs ... => zero control and random mayhem (fun times!!) ... just like Dad!!
