Featured Glykon - The snake cult of Alexander of Abounoteichos

We wouldn't know if they weren't explicitly marked with the denomination, Δ<. The semis sign, <, means 1/2. The Δ and the < may appear separately in the fields or ligate, as on both of our coins.

 

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The semis is tied to the delta in the lower right corner of its triangle. Here is a close-up of your coin, @Sulla80 :



And on mine:

 

What a fascinating story! An ancient L. Ron Hubbard, no less. Thank you for sharing, Jochen.

 

Wow, @Jochen1 , thanks for the coin and the write-up. I walk away from the write up understanding that a guy went out and just invented a god for his own purposes. Kinda scary. I can understand early societies coalescing around a cult or religious figure that evolves into a god/dess that helps their society. However, it sounds like this guy just made it all up. Control? Their personal "immortality" for creating a religion?

I have none of Glykon (sounds like a medicine of today!) However, you segued to explain that the Snake Mystic of Olympia and the Makedonwn were completely different. Understood, and thanks for distinguishing.

Since I do not have a Glykon, here is a little snake tribute from Alexander III of Makedon to his Mother, Olympia (Even her loving Son that she a crazy-lady)


Alexander III the Great Æ17 / Snake
Attribution: Price 385
Date: 325-310 BC
Obverse: Head of Alexander as Herakles right, in lion skin headdress
Reverse: B A between bow case and club, coiled snake below
Size: 17.75mm
Weight: 5.59 grams
Description: VF
Ex: Marc Breitsprecher

And here is a cool little guy like the snake on my coin:

 

The Glykon serpent as discovered in 1962 together with other religious statues, including Fortuna and Pontos (the protectors of seafarers on the Black Sea), a bust of Isis, an altar of Nemesis, Cybele and a Mithraic altar, among others.



They had been deposited together, possibly as the area was being developed into what would become Constantiana, the new metropolitan centre of old Tomis.

 

This is a great post that deserves to live on in perpetuity!

Well, I finally got a weird snake that might be Glycon. It came in a crummy eBay lot that I pursued because of a countermark (to be posted later, probably).

Such a relief to post a coin and not a postage stamp (see above)!

This was kind of tough to track down, but I am 62% sure of my attribution. The radiate bust and letters in the reverse field connected me to an acsearch auction and the Wildwinds listing that both seemed authoritative - none that I found had an obverse legend that was worth a hoot.

But here is a much better snake head (and obverse die match to mine?): https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=356791

Here's mine:


Elagabalus Æ 26
(c. 218-222 A.D.)
Moesia Inf. Nicopolis ad Istrum
Novius Rufus, consular legate.
[AVT...?] ANT[ΩN...?], radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right / [VΠ NOBIOV POVΦOV] NIKOΠOΛITΩN ΠΡOCI [C]T-P/O/N, coiled nimbate serpent (Glykon?).
AMNG I 1996; Varb. 4063 var.
(12.19 grams / 26 mm)

 

Yesterday's Gorny auction had a huge offering of provincials, and I was lucky enough to win a few, including this Glykon type. It wasn't one I was familiar with, but the serpent clearly shows a fish tail and a head adorned with a wig.


COMMODUS
AE23. 6.41g, 23mm. THRACE, Pautalia, AD 180-192. Varbanov 4565. O: ΑV ΚΑΙ ΜΑΡ ΑVΡ ΚΟΜΟΔΟС, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: OVΛΠΙΑС ΠΑVΤΑΛΙΑС, the serpent Glykon wearing wig and with fish tail coiled right, feeding from altar to right; tree (or grain ear) to left.

 

Great job with the attribution! I'm glad you finally joined the Glykon owner's club!

That's a very nice example and better preserved than any on the RPC site. You should click on the feedback icon in the lower left corner of the listing and upload your example to the site.

 

Thanks for the link, RC. I'll remember to do that when I eventually have the coin in hand.

 

I just happened to see this. With respect, I think the serpent instrument is named after the serpent, not the other way round.
According to Wikipedia : Snakes are elongated, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes.[2].
Serpents are the same as snakes but in mythology the word serpent tends to be used. Mythological serpents often do not conform with real snakes in the actual world.