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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Pavlos, post: 4556846, member: 96635&quot;]Here a very rare coin of Seleukos IV, minted in Seleukia, where he gets associated with Helios, the first Seleukid Helios cult.</p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/cEvwepR.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><b>Seleukos IV Philopator 187-175 BC. AE Denomination C (unit). Seleukeia on the Tigris mint.</b></p><p><b>Obverse:</b> Radiate head of Helios facing slightly left.</p><p><b>Reverse:</b> BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ(“of King Seleukos”). Nike standing left, holding wreath and palm.</p><p><b>Reference:</b> SC 1336; HGC 9, 595.</p><p>3.68g; 15mm </p><p><br /></p><p>A solar deity first appeared as a full-fledged Seleukid coin type in the reign of Seleukos IV Philopator (187-175 B.C.). The mint at Seleukia on the Tigris issued an important royal bronze coinage in two denominations, displaying a facing bust of Helios on the obverse, radiate, with the anastolé hairstyle above his forehead. The larger denomination featured a Nike reverse; the smaller paired the radiate bust with a tripod. While there is not always a clear association between the obverse and reverse types of Seleukid bronzes, the pairing of the Helios bust with a tripod suggests that once again there may be a fusion of Helios and Apollo. These bronze coins attest to the existence (or introduction) of a solar cult at Seleukia on the Tigris in the reign of Seleukos IV.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Helios bust bronzes of Seleukos IV may have had recent antecedents on seals of Seleukia on the Tigris. Among the clay seal impressions from Seleukia are two that show a male head with a large, staring eye, the anastolé hairstyle rising above his forehead, and six rays emanating from his hair, but no diadem. These Seleukian seal impressions do not come from a dated context, however Vito Messina suggested that they bear the portrait of the prince Seleukos, the future Seleukos IV, in his quality as heir-designate after c. 193. If Messina is correct in his interpretation, the seal impressions not only attest to an official cult of Helios at Seleukia on the Tigris during the latter reign of Antiochis III, but also represent the earliest use of solar imagery in connection with a member of the Seleukid royal house.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/HtRZnMT.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><font size="3">Picture: The cult of Helios in the Seleucid East by Catharine C. Lorber, Panagiotis Iossif</font>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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