Dear Friends of Mythology! 1st coin: Thrace, Serdika, Caracalla, AD 198-217 AE 30, 15.27g, 30.12mm, 0° obv. ANTΩNEINOC - AVT K M [AVP CEV]? Bust, laureate, l., with decorated aegis and sword-belt over l. shoulder (rare bust variant) rev. OVΛΠIAC - CEPΔIKHC Apollon Iatros, nude, stg. frontal, head l., resting with r. hand on snake-staff and l. hand akimbo; at his r. side infant Asklepios stg. frontal, looking up to him and stretching his r. hand to him. ref. a) Ruzicka online 169-177 var. (this coin) b) not in Varbanov (engl.) c) Hristova/Jekov No. 12.18.7.17 (this coin) Very rare, VF+, brown-green patina The small companion usually is called infant Asklepios. But there are doubts. More in this article. 2nd coin: Moesia inferior, Markianopolis, Elagabal, AD 218-222 AE 28, 10.69g, 28.04mm, 210° struck under governor Julius Antonius Seleucus obv. AVT.K.M.AVPHΛIOC - ANTΩNEINOC bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r. rev. VΠ.IOVΛ.ANT.CEΛ - EVKOV MAPKIANOΠO / ΛITΩN Apollon Iatros, nude, unbearded, chlamys over l. shoulder, stg. frontal, head l, resting on snake-staff set in arm-pit ref.: a) AMNG I/1, 832, pl. XVII, 4 (3 ex., Löbbecke, Rollin, probably Wizcay too, by Pick called by Asklepios) b) Varbanov (engl.) 1559 (called Asklepios) c) Hristova/Jekov (2014) No. 6.26.7.3 (this coin, correctly named Apollo Iatros!) d) not in Pfeiffer (2013) rare, F+/about VF, blue-green Patina Obviously his nudity and the lack of the himation is evidence for Apollo! Apollon Iatros, lat. Apollo Medicus, is literally "Apollo the Doctor". Already at Homer Apollon not only was the bringer of evil and plagues but too the healer who could end the plagues. Here we have Apollon Iatros who satisfies a special function by which he is closely related to his son Asklepios, whom he had from Koronis. Origin of the Cult Walter Burkert distinguishes three components in the prehistory of Apollo worship, which he termed "a Dorian-northwest Greek component, a Cretan-Minoan component, and a Syro-Hittite component." As an eastern component in both Greek and Etruscan civilization Apollo came to the Aegean from Anatolia during the Iron Age (i.e. from c. 1100 BCE to c. 800 BCE). Homer pictures him on the side of the Trojans, fighting against the Achaeans during the Trojan War, and he has close affiliations with the Luwian deity Apaliunas, who in turn seems to have traveled west from further east. The Late Bronze Age (from 1700–1200 BCE) Hittite and Hurrian deity Aplu, like the Homeric Apollon, was a god of plagues, and resembles the mouse god Apollo Smintheus. Apollo Iatros himself originally came from Asia Minor too. He was worshipped everywhere in Ionia, especially in Milet, where he was called Apollon Ietros due to the Greek dialect in Ionia. From Milet he was taken by the Milesians to the new founded colonies at the northern coast of the Black Sea. C. 600 BC Olbia was founded, where a large cult complex of Apollo Ietros was located. Together with Apollon Delphinios, Zeus and Athena he belonged to the main deities of the city. A Tempel of Apollon Ietros existed on the Akropolis of Pantikapaion too. Possibly north of the Black Sea, with its large swamps of the opening rivers, Danube, Tyras, Borysthenes or Tanais, the danger of diseases was greater and the help of the gods more required. To Greece Apollon Iatros came not before the late 5th century. He was first mentioned literarily by Aristophanes in his "Birds", 414 BC. The way of Healing In Attica we had beside Asklepios other healers too: Amphiarchos, Amynos and last not least the anonymous Heros Iatros. The latter had sanctuaries in Athens, Marathon, Rhamnos and Eleusis. His cult is not attested before the 4th century. The methods of healing of these Attic healers corresponded to that of human doctors. They must have acquired their knowledge somewhere, like Asklepios, who was teached by Chiron the wise Centaur. This in contrast to Apollon who had his healing powers already since his birth. And so Apollon doesn't use to heal by surgery, bandages, salves, poultices or similar procedures, as we know from doctors, but by his presence only or touching. Therefore his sanctuaries have no special features: An altar, a temple and a retaining wall. Prayers and sacrifices were sufficient enough for divine help. Another relative unknown aspect of his healing power was the assistance in the desire to have children especially male children. A number of names like Apollodoros are evidence of this side of Apollon Iatros. It is interesting that Apollon was not able to remedy his own sufferings as we can see in the myths of Daphne or Koronis. This difference between Apollon and Asklepios rests on two different conceptions of what illness is. In the cosmology to which Apollon belongs disease is part of the larger world of evil that confronts and limits human freedom and happiness. In this sense there is no essential difference between diseases and other troubles that affect humanity and have the potential to destroy individuals or to wipe out entire cities, like an earthquake e.g. In contrast according to Asklepios diseases are entirely different from other evils and can be often treated as a bodily defect. That needs knowledge and experience, This conception is more modern and equals our view. In 5th and 4th century BC the healing priests of Apollo became the objects of polemic and ridicule by the more modern-minded. We should not mock about them. What else is Lourdes today? Or Homoeopathy? Paeon/Paean Paeon is a healing god we know from Homer. He appears only rarely but is famous for his knowledge of herbs and drugs. When Ares was wounded by Diomedes (Il. 5), he rushed to Zeus to show him his 'immortal blood'. Zeus ordered Paeon to heal him. And Paeon applied a salve that brought immediate relief. The same he has done for Hades, a generation before, when he received an arrow in his shoulder by Herakles. He was quasi the private doctor of the gods! It seems as if Paeon was an own, independent god of healing. But outside these Homeric passages Paean is mentioned only once in a fragment (no.3037) by Hesiod who treats Apollon and Paean as two different divinities. Everywere else Paean is used as epithet of Apollon especially if he is defined as healer. So it is possible that at Homer Paean actually means Apollo because in Greek (and Latin too) the epithet could stand for the god himself. The name Paean comes from the late Greek Bronze Age where he is known in Mycenaean Linear B as pa-ia-wo. He disappeared together with other divinities and their cults when the Mycenaean culture collapsed and was handed down only orally by epic singers. Apollon was not known in Mycenaean times and it is sure that he doesn't belong to the Greek pantheon of the Bronze Age. He must have arrived later replacing Paean whose name then became Apollo's epithet. We don't know when, but it must have happened early, probably before Homer. Here Apollo is worshipped as healer but not for gods as Paean but for humans only, f.e. at the wounded hero Glaukos (Il. 7, 528), who calls for Apollo, who abducted him to his temple where he was tended by Leto and Artemis. Already at Homer Paeon was not only the god but a song as well, both apotropaic or triumphal. Such songs were originally addressed to Apollo, and afterwards to other gods: to Dionysos, to Helios, or to Asklepios too. About the 4th century BC, the paean became merely a formula of adulation; its object was either to implore protection against disease and misfortune, or to offer thanks after such protection had been rendered. It was in this way that Apollo had become recognised as the god of music. Apollo's role as the slayer of the Python led to his association with battle and victory; hence it became the Roman custom for a paean to be sung by an army on the march and before entering into battle, when a fleet left the harbour, and also after a victory had been won. (Wikipedia) The small boy beside Apollon Usually the small figure is called the infant Asklepios. That is possible because Asklepios was the son of Apollo. But normally he is depicted adult and wearing a himation. Here the small figure is nude. On other coins he wears a chlamys. Therefore Pat Lawrence thinks of Telesphoros where a similar statue is known. On her coin the boy seems to hold an unknown object which is missed on my coin. My first idea was Paean, but it is an unsolved riddle. Apollon Medicus in Rome In Rome Apollo originally was not indigenous so it is not possible to identify him with a Roman deity. He kept his Greek nature. In Etruria he was known earlier, f.e. in Veii or Cere. He was called Apulu or Aplu by the Etruscans (a hint to their origin in Asia Minor!). His arrival in Rome in 443 BC was due to an advice of the Sibylic Books. To avert a plague a temple of Apollo Medicus was vowed and in 431 errected on the Campus Martius outside the pomerium. In 34 BC Gaius Sosius began to restore the temple. The Civil War interrupted the works especially because Sosius took the party of Marcus Antonius. When the theatre of Marcellus was erected the temple was modified once again. Today we can visit beside the theatre of Marcellus 3 re-erected columns with its architrav. Columns of the temple of Apollo Medicus in Rome When Rome was in great danger by the Carthaginians the Romans vowed games to Apollo Medicus, the ludi Apollinares. Macrobius reports that - when the games took place for the first time - an enemy was attacking the city. When all Romans were hurrying for their weapons a cloud of arrows could be seen hailing down on the enemy and dispelling him. The Romans could return to the games of this hospitable god. So Apollo Medicus changed to Apollo auxiliary in battle. His greatest importance in Rome Apollo achieved when Augustus choosed him as his special god answering Marcus Antonius who as ruler of the east has chosen Dionysos. After the battle of Actium, where the god from his near sanctuary has contributed to his victory over Antonius, Augustus vowed a temple to Apollo which was erected in 28 BC. This temple stood near his house on the Palatine, with a magnificent adjoining library. Both temples were competing with each other. According to Horace, Odes 1, 21 it is possible that the Palatine Apollo has taken the function of the older Apollo Medicus. Of this temple only some fragments could be seen today. At the end: Naturally the Christianism take up the idea of the healer. Christus as Saviour is the healer kat' exochen. First at Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110 AD) he was called explicitly Christus Medicus. In this function he played a big role especially in the ancient culture of sarcophaguses. But that is another subject. I have added a pic of Apollo Medicus from the Etymologiae of Isidor of Sevilla (560-636 AD) (artchive.com): Sources: (1) Homer, Iliad (2) Hesiod (3) Livius (4) Horaz, Odes (5) Ovid, Metamorphoses (6) Dion von Prusa, Oration 36 Literature: (1) Fritz Graf, Apollo (2) Norbert Ehrhardt, Apollon Ietros. Ein verschollener Gott Ioniens?, in "Istanbuler Mitteilungen 39 (1989), S.116-122" (3) Bronwen Lara Wickkiser, Asklepios, medicine, and politics of healing in fifth- century Greece, 2008 (4) Der kleine Pauly Online: (1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Apollo_Sosianus (2) http://janusquirinus.org/essays/Apollo/ApolloCult.html (3) http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=51500.0 (Pat Lawrence, Cult OTD: Apollo Iatros) Excursion: The Hippocratic oath This famous oath begins with the invocation of Apollo Medicus: "I swear by Apollo the healer, by Aesculapius, by Health and all the powers of healing, and call to witness all the gods and goddesses that I may keep this Oath and Promise to the best of my ability and judgment, this oath and this legal agreement." Actually this oath was not known to Hippokrates, c.460-c.370 BC, although in his time the doctors were organized in schools. Probably it is from the time of Claudius. His most important purpose was the protection against hostile persecutions which were common since Hammurapi where a doctor was draconically punished if a healing failed. And the oath compelled the young doctors to take care of the older doctors even in financial sense. t was a kind of old-age pension. Parts of this oath flow into the Declaration of the World Medical Association. Best regards
Another wonderful lesson! I was unaware of these Apollo-as-doctor coins and will now be on the lookout. Jochen... I think you are going to be causing me to spend a lot of money-- not sure I should thank you for that .
