I've wanted a Roman Alexandrian coin depicting the serpent Agathodaemon for quite some time, and finally found one that I both like and decided I could afford. It certainly doesn't compare to @TIF's Agathodaemon riding a horse, but I haven't seen a nice example of that type for sale in a long time! Hadrian, Billon Tetradrachm, Year 3 (118/119 AD), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, drapery on left shoulder, AYT KAIC TPAIANOC-AΔΡΙΑNOC ϹƐΒ (legend clockwise from 5:00) / Rev. Serpent Agathodaemon standing erect right, crowned with pschent/skhent [the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt], tongue protruding, with coils enfolding caduceus to left and stalks of corn to right; L - Γ (Year 3) across fields. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. III 5149 (2015); RPC III Online at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/3/5149; Emmett 803.3; BMC 16 Alexandria 665 (at p. 79) (1892) [ill. as RPC Vol. III 5149, specimen 2]; K&G 32.68 (at p. 118); Dattari (Savio) 1541; Milne 918 [ill. as RPC Vol. III 5149, specimen 13]; Geissen 764 [ill. as RPC Vol. III 5149, specimen 18]. 24 mm., 13.81 g., 12 h. Purchased from http://www.cgb.fr July 2021, ex. Collection of Aymé Cornu (1926-2020) (Engineer. - Head of the mass spectrometry laboratory at the Center for Nuclear Studies in Grenoble, France; see https://data.bnf.fr/fr/12598408/aime_cornu/).* *The serpent Agathodaemon or Agathos Daimon -- translated variously as good spirit, noble spirit, or good genius -- was sacred to Serapis, and was worshipped in every Egyptian town. “On the coins he is always represented erect, and usually wearing the skhent, in the midst of corn and poppies, generally with a caduceus, also rising from the ground.” BMC 16 Alexandria, p. lxxxvi. The Numiswiki definition of Agathodaemon, at https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Agathodaemon, states as follows: “Agathodaemon (Greek: ‘good spirit’) was a god of the vineyards and grainfields and of good luck, health and wisdom. It was customary to drink or pour out a glass of unmixed wine to honor him in every meal. He was the spouse or companion of Tyche Agathe (later Agatha). He was represented in art as a serpent or as a young man bearing a cornucopia and a bowl in one hand, and a poppy and an ear of corn [U.S.: grain] in the other. The agathodaemon was later adapted into a general daemon of good luck, particularly of the abundance of a family 's good food and drink.” It should be noted that there is a wide variety of coin types showing the Agathodaemon, under Hadrian and other emperors (and empresses) from Nero to Gallienus. For example, the serpent Agathodaemon frequently appears on tetradrachms, diobols, and drachms, and is shown both with and without the caduceus and corn stalks -- and, sometimes, when they are present, with the corn stalks to the left and the caduceus to the right instead of the order shown on my example. The Agathodaemon is also sometimes shown with the head of Serapis, and sometimes appears with the Uraeus snake facing it. As we know, it occasionally appears riding a horse, and there is one variety showing it riding a bull. The article entitled “The Agathos Daimon in Greco-Egyptian religion,” by João Pedro Feliciano, at https://www.academia.edu/27115429/The_Agathos_Daimon_in_Greco-Egyptian_religion is quite informative, and it is worth quoting it extensively even though its primary focus is on the Agathodaemon as represented on stelae, reliefs, and statues, rather than on coins: “The Agathos Daimon, or ‘Good Spirit,’ was a multifaceted deity of ancient Mediterranean religion, usually depicted as a serpent, having its origins in the notion of the household god. The Good Spirit was honoured in both Greek and Roman religions, depicted as a serpent on Roman shrines and lararia, and honoured as a harbinger of luck among the Greeks. However, his most developed form flourished in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, where the Agathos Daimon became an exalted deity, far beyond the status of a household god, becoming associated with Shai and Kematef, the Egyptian creator gods, who were similarly depicted as serpents in the extant iconography, as well as taking on solar attributes and becoming conflated with Pre and Helios as a result of late Egyptian theological innovations. . . . . [T]he Agathos Daimon (Greek: agathos daimôn; also agathodaimôn), the ‘good spirit,’ [was] a typically serpentine deity who originated as a genius loci in traditional Greek religion, and was also invoked during banquets. A variant of this deity was Zeus Meilichios (invoked in Orphic Hymn 73, to Zeus as the Daimon), an old serpentine aspect of Zeus associated with fortune. Roman religion had a cognate genius figure as well, evidenced by the traditional snakes found on Roman domestic shrines and lararia. The origins of the guardian serpent archetype may be traced to the fact that snakes could protect a house from vermin, such as rodents, and consequently became associated with guardian spirits early on; this notion of the beneficent ‘house snake’ is found in several different cultures.. . . . [Lengthy discussion of development of surrounding mythology omitted.] A rich number of statues and bas-reliefs of Agathodaimon have survived, through which we can obtain a fairly accurate picture of his attributes. In the available corpus of material, Agathodaimon is primarily depicted as a serpent (bearded in most instances), or as a snake with a human head, that of Serapis with whom he was associated (as a result of either of their common solar aspects, or the fact that Serapis was a form of Zeus, and thus as Meilichios, was an aspect or variant of Agathos Daimon). His serpentine form is occasionally depicted as that of a cobra, but most of the time it is a viper-like animal.[Note: the cobra is usually associated with the Uraeus, not the Agathoddaemon.] . . . Other iconographic evidence reveals a connection between Agathodaimon and Hermes. On Roman[-Egyptian] coins, the god was often depicted with a caduceus, the traditional symbol of the Greek Hermes and the entrance portico to the catacombs of Kom esh-Shuqafa in Alexandria is flanked by 2 Agathodaimones, each wrapped around a caduceus. Just above them, and seemingly crowning them are round solar-like disks, in the midst of which is carved a Medusa face, presumably to guard the tombs against intruders. Agathodaimon was furthermore linked with Asclepius (Asclepius’ serpentine rod, like the caduceus is a point of convergence, as well as Serapis’ association with Asclepius and healing)..” However, the rod enfolded in the Agathodaemon as shown on my new tetradrachm, despite its absence of wings, appears clearly to be a caduceus (Greek kerykaion) -- i.e., two snakes wrapped around a staff -- rather than the single snake associated with the rod or staff of Asclepius. *** Finally, if anyone's interested in a standard Agathodaemon like mine, but in somewhat nicer condition, I saw a couple of them in the $400-$500 range (more than twice as much as mine cost!). But if you're interested, send me a private message and I'll send you the links. (Mine is a tetradrachm; the two others I saw are both diobols, which appear to be more expensive than the tetradrachhm type of Agathodaemon for some reason.) Please post your Agathodaemon serpents, of any type.
A great-looking example, congrats. Nero (54 - 68 A.D.) Egypt, Alexandria Billon Tetradrachm O: NEΡΩ KΛAY KAIS SEBA GEP AVTO, laureate head right. R: NEO AGAQ DAIM, Agathodaemon serpent, coiled with head up, holding poppies and grain ears, L ς (date) to left. Year 6. 23mm 13.11g Milne 203; Emmett 106.6 (R4) ; RPC 5260 The Agathodaemon was a good spirit/demon that was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians. He had the shape of a serpent with a human head. The Greek inscription on the reverse of this coin shows that this is the "neo" or "new" agathodaemon serpent, or, in other words, the new good spirit (of rule by Nero).
A great example as well. I particularly like the poppies. I don't think Hadrian used those on any of his Agathodaemons.
Knew I had others. Hadrian (117 - 138 A.D.) Egypt, Alexandria Billon Tetradrachm O: AYT KAI-TPAI AΔPIA CEB, Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right, seen from behind. R: L Δ_EK_ATOY Agathodaemon erect right at left, wearing skhent and enfolding caduceus, facing Uraeus erect left at right, wearing disk and horns, enfolding sistrum, their tails knotted together and holding a club erect. Alexandria Mint, 125/126 (Year 10) 10.6g 19.5mm Emmett 804 Dattari 1552; BMC 668; Milne 1164; Curtis 351; Demetrio 1247 Rare The Caluceus refers to Hermanubis, the Sistrum is a symbol for Isis and the Club refers to Harpocrates. Antoninus Pius (138 - 161 A.D.) AE diobol EGYPT, Alexandria O:Laureate bust r., drapery on l. shoulder. R: Agathodaemon erect, crowned with skhent; in field, L-IE. issued 151-2 (year 15) 7.45g 23mm RPC Online 15718 (this coin), Dattari-Savio Pl. 162, 3066 (this coin). From the Dattari collection. From the Orfew collection, ex Naville 34 lot 281, 17.09.2017. Giovanni Dattari assembled what was undoubtedly the best ever collection of Imperial-era Alexandrian coins in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; see Lucia Carbone, “Giovanni Dattari and His Fabled Collection of Alexandrian Coins,” ANS Journal (Issue 2, 2018), pp. 6-27.
Here's my Nerva example: Nerva, A.D. 96-98 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 (rare)
Fantastic find, @DonnaML ! I have always enjoyed those coins, and thanks for your writeup. On my hit list I think I understand why you wanted this coin... I wonder... Is this you in this Play???
Great write-up and very nice tetradrachm @DonnaML! Well done. I got one recently, not as nice as yours or the others posted in this thread; mine is just a very common Diobol and way lower than the $400-500 range On the reverse the letter L was also a symbol for "year" and ΕΝ∆ΕΚΑΤΟΥ = 11 Æ24 Diobol, Alexandria, Egypt, year 11 = 126 - 127 AD 23 x 24 mm, 8.051 g RPC III, 5677; Emmett 803.5 var; Geissen 950-951; Vogt (1924) 50; Ob.: ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ ΤΡΑΙ ΑΔΡΙΑ ΣΕΒ, Laureate bust of Hadrian to right, drapery on l. shoulder Rev.: L ENΔ EKATOY (Year 11) Erect Serpent Agathodaimon crowned with shkent, holding caduceus (kerykeion) with his tail and stalk of corn 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.
I think your serpent is very nice! Fortunately, I didn't have to pay $400 or anything close either. I very much wanted an Agathodaemon, but I kind of doubt that I would have paid that much even if that had been the only choice available.
Nice coin Donna Antoninus Pius Ae Diobol Alexandria 144-145 AD obv Head right laureate. Rv Agathodaemon standing right In field L H (Year 8) RPC IV on line 14856/20 This coin illustrated. 10.16 grms 22 mm Photo by W. Hansen I remember wanting this coin because representations of Egyptian cult images on this coinage are a somewhat fewer than one might expect. I saw this coin on a CNG E Auction and decided I had to have it. The problem was that I actually should have read the description more closely. I thought I was after a drachm. Ooops When I got the coin I decided that I still liked it and have kept it ever since.
Fantastic coin and great write-up Donna! Here is a Domitian Agathodaemon. Domitian Æ Diobole, 9.35g Alexandria mint, 95-96 AD Obv: ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΔΟΜΙΤ ϹƐΒ ΓƐΡΜ; Head of Domitian, laureate, r. Rev: LΙΕ; Agathadaemon serpent erect, r., with corn-ears and caduceus RPC 2734 (1 spec.). Emmett 300.11. Dattari-Savio 562. Acquired from CGB.fr, October 2020.
nice coin! I almost bought one of those once for $100 but it was in quite poor conditition not nearly as nice as yours ended up going for an alexandrian hadrian tet with nilus on the back instead.
