Dear Friends of ancient Mythology! Today I have time enough to add a new article about Egyptian mythology. The coin: Egypt, Alexandria, Hadrian, AD 117-138 AE33, drachm, 22.10g Alexandria, AD 133/134 (year 18) Obv.: AVT KAIC TPAIANOC - AΔPIANOC CEB Bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r. Rev.: Agathodaimon, bearded, erected r., and Uraeus-Snake, erected l., confronted; Agathodaimon wearing shkent (double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt) and holding kerykeion with his tail; Uraeus-Snake wearing crown of Isis (sundisk between horns) and holding sistrum. across field L IH (year 18) Ref.: Dattari 7901 Very rare, VF Agathodaimon: Agathodaimon, lat. Agathodaemon, was in Greek mythology the 'good spirit' of grain fileds and vineyards. Usually the Greeks drank a cup of pure wine in his honour at the end of each meal (according to Aristophanes, Equites, 106). He was also regarded as the protecting spirit of the state and of individuals. He was often accompanied by 'Ayaq Tim (good fortune)', and in this aspect may be compared with the Roman Bonus Eventus (Pliny, Nat Hist. xxxvi. 23), and Genius. He is represented in works of art in the form of a serpent, or of a young man with a cornucopiae and a bowl in one hand, and a poppy and ears of grain in the other. Agathodaimon should not be confused with the many snakes of the Thracian snake-cults or the snake-god Glykon of the false prophet Alexander of Abounoteichos. Uraeus: According to the story of Re, the first Uraeus was created by the goddess Isis who formed it from the dust of the earth and the spittle of the sun-god. The Uraeus was the instrument with which Isis gained the throne of Egypt for her husband Osiris. The Uraeus was a symbol for various things from early times including: the sun, Lower Egypt, the king and a number of deities. As the sacred creature of the Delta city of Bto, the reptile was known by the same name. She soon became an emblem of all of Lower Egypt. The Uraeus was often depicted with the vulture Nekhebet who served the same function for Upper Egypt. Together they symbolized the unification of the two lands. The creatures also appear together in the pharaoh's nebty or "Two Ladies" name. The cobra was also called the "fiery eye" of Re and two Uraei were sometimes depicted on either side of the solar disk. A gilded wooded cobra called netjer-ankh ("living god") was found in the tomb of Tutankhamon. It is representative of the cobra's associations with the afterlife. In funerary works, the cobra is often depicted spitting fire. Two cobras doing just that were said to guard the gates of every "hour" of the underworld. During the Late Period, Uraei were also shown towing the barque of the sun in funerary papyri. In all of these examples, the cobra's protective nature is clearly demonstrated. The cobra was also representative of various deities such as Neith, Ma'at and Re. About the meaning of this coin: The coins of Alexandria differ strongly from the coins for the other part of Egypt, the so-called Nome coins, even though they all were struck in Alexandria. Whereas the Nome coins show the many different gods and snake-deities of Egypt, the coins of Alexandria are always 'Greek'. So the Greek god were assimilated with Egyptian gods and the Egyptian gods were subject of syncretism. The names of these new gods were always Greek, e.g. Hermanubis, Harpokrates or Sarapis, never Egyptian. It should be mentioned that the assimilation regularly is founded on only one aspect of the two deities, e.g. for Anubis and Hermes only the fact that they accompany the deads. Their other, very different features were neglected. The snake on the right side of the coin has been called Uraeus by all catalogers of Alexandrian coins and that name is not incorrect. The snake with its expanded hood doubtless resembles a n erected cobra. It is not, however, to be confused with the early known royal cobra, Edjo (also known as Buto). Edjo was a symbol associated with the pharaohs of Lower Egypt. When shown together with Nehkbet, the vulture-headed god of Upper Egypt, the symbol was called Uraeus by the Greek and was symbol of the dominion over all of Egypt. What's the meaning of the cobra on this coin? In Roman times Isis, through the process of syncretism, had become an universal goddess and was merged with the Syrian Astarte, Hathoe and Bastet, the cat goddess. Nut and Sothis too were merged with her and the new goddess emerged with the name Isis-othis. At the same time, Renenutet, sometimes called Thermuthis, the Egyptian goddess of fertility and harvest was personified as a cobra too. She was the mother of Nepri, the personification of wheat, who in turn was equated with Osiris, the wheat god. The parallelism between Thermuthis and her son Nepri, and Isis and her son Horus, led to their ultimate union in the form of a cobra, who was worshipped under the name Isermuthis. Bewildering as all this might sound, it is important to realize that Isermuthis, in her cobra form with the attribtes of disk, horns and sistrum, is still Isis but with her specific role as fertility goddess of agriculture being singled out and empasized. At the time this coin was struck in Egypt the great triad of the Graeco-Egyptian gods was represented by Sarapis, Harpokrates and Isis. Could the snake on the right side of the coin be Sarapis? Usually it is designated as Agathodaimon. It is a very ancient chthonic deity and in early times largely worshipped in the old Greek cities as a household god. But in Alexandria, almost from the date of the city's foundation, it had been elevated to the role of protector and provider for the entire city and later for all the country since it wears the shkent, the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. It was also a fertility god and a healing spirit, particularly when associated with Asklepios. The snake entwined staff, the kerykeion (Lat. caduceus), held in the coils of the Agathodaimon had in the Roman era become a symbol of plenty, particularly in dealings with grain. Very early in the Ptolomaic era, the Agathodaimon had to share its role as patron god of Alexandria with a new god - the great Sarapis. According to Tacitus (Hist. IV 83-84) Sarapis was most likely introduced into Egypt by Ptolemy I Soter. This god was the result of a kind of syncretism between the spirit of all the deified Apis bulls with Osiris, the grain god. So Serapis too was a god of fertility and grain and is depicted always with a kalathos on his head. Hence Serapis and Osiris were interchangeable. The oneness of these two deities is illustrated by a coin of Antoninus Pius, showing Agathodaimon with the head of Sarapis (BMC 1103) So this coin again shows symbolic the overwhelming importance of Egypt for the grain supply of Rome. Wether this symbolic and rather indirect message has been understood by the people we naturally don't know. But on the other side it is likely that the individual in ancient times knew far more of the gods he or she lived by than the average citizen today. So this specimen is a beautiful example for the melting of Greek and Egyptian religion on a Roman coin! Source: L.E. Beauchaine, Graeco-Egyptian religion and Roman Policy on a Coin of Alexandria, Journal of the Society for Ancient Numismatics (SAN), vol.xviii, pp.4-7 Backgound: The Greek word Ouraios (Uraeus) seems to go back to an Egyptian word iaret, meaning 'who is erecting'. The Uraeus was the snake on the forehead worn by the king on a diadem and from the Middle Empire on at his crown, showing a rearing cobra with billowing neck. An Egyptologist wants to attribute the snake worn as emblem at the head to a curl worn by ancient Libyan tribes on their forehead. Others regard the snake as symbol animal of the pre-historic empire of Buto, whose goddess Uto seated in the shape of an Uraeus on the vertex of the king. The Uraeus generally is the symbol of royalism and divinity and therefore it is worn too by the king gods Horus and Seth. Spitting glow which averts all evil the Uraeus is called the fiery eye of the sun-god Re. By equating with the sun-eye Hathor could be invoked as Uraeus-Snake, so e.g. in inscriptions on coffins. Tefnut in her special function as Fire Goddess (called Upes).carries an Uraeus on her head. I have added a beautiful pic of an Uraeus wearing the double crown, shkent (Wikipedia). Best regards
Here's my Agathadaemon tetradrachm of Nerva... Type: Billon Tetradrachm, 25mm, 12.7 grams, mint of Alexandria year 96-97 A.D. Obverse: Bust of Nerva facing right, KAIS SEB AVT NEPOVAS Reverse: Agathodaemon serpent coiled with head right, holding caduceus and grain ear within coils, wearing the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt. In exergue, LA. Reference: Milne 542, Dattari 638 This coin is listed as "rare"
Great coin and story telling, @Jochen1 ! @TIF , with her specialty in Egyptian (yeah, WAY cool), should be able to blast away with some cool Uraeus's's's's's's's I have some Uraeus. Yeah, this is very real. Looks exactly like the Plate pic in my SNG Cop North Africa plate reference book. I had a hard time accepting that nose! Carthage Zeugitania AR ½ Shekel 17mm 3.8g 2nd Punic War 218-202 BC Sicily mint 216-211 BC Tanit l Horse r sun as double uraeus SNG COP 359 Egypt Scarab RAMESSES II cartouche 19th Dyn 1292-1189 BCE winged uraeus cobra 4.1g 19mm Gustave Mustaki coll acquired fr Egypt in 1948 This is the Mysterius Uraeus hidden behind the green patina... Carthage 201-175 BC Æ 15 Shekels 45 mm 7.5 mm thick. 102g WreathTanit Horse uraeus above. MAA 104 SNG Cop 400 RARE
