CARACALLA Serdica in Thrace Ancient Roman Coin Apollo Father of Asclepius i48543

Item: i48543

Authentic Ancient Coin of:

Caracalla
–
Roman Emperor
: 198-217 A.D. –
Bronze 29mm (16.11 grams) of
Serdica
in
Thrace

Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
OVΛΠIAC CEPΔIKHC, Nude

Apollo standing left, holding patera over lit altar and branch.

 You are bidding on the exact item pictured,
provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.

Apollo Belvedere
,
ca. 120–140 CE

Apollo  is one of the most important and complex of the
Olympian deities
in
ancient Greek
and
Roman religion
,
Greek
and
Roman mythology
, and
Greco
–Roman
Neopaganism
. The ideal of the
kouros
(a beardless, athletic youth),
Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun, truth and
prophecy, healing, plague, music, poetry, and more. Apollo is the son of

Zeus and Leto
, and has a twin sister, the chaste
huntress Artemis
. Apollo is known in Greek-influenced
Etruscan mythology
as Apulu.

As the patron of Delphi
(Pythian Apollo), Apollo was an
oracular
god—the prophetic deity of the
Delphic Oracle
. Medicine and healing are
associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his
son Asclepius
, yet Apollo was also seen as a god
who could bring ill-health and deadly
plague
. Amongst the god’s custodial charges,
Apollo became associated with dominion over
colonists
, and as the patron defender of herds
and flocks. As the leader of the

Muses (Apollon Musegetes) and director of their choir, Apollo
functioned as the patron god of music and poetry.
Hermes
created the

lyre for him, and the instrument became a common
attribute of Apollo
. Hymns sung to Apollo were
called paeans
.

 

Apollo (left) and
Artemis
.
Brygos
(potter signed), Tondo of an
Attic red-figure cup c. 470 BC,
Musée du Louvre
.

In Hellenistic times, especially during the 3rd century BCE, as Apollo
Helios he became identified among Greeks with
Helios
,
Titan

god of the sun
, and his sister Artemis
similarly equated with
Selene
, Titan
goddess of the moon
In Latin texts, on the
other hand,
Joseph Fontenrose
declared himself unable to
find any conflation of Apollo with
Sol
among the
Augustan poets
of the 1st century, not even in
the conjurations of Aeneas
and
Latinus
in
Aeneid
XII (161–215). Apollo and Helios/Sol
remained separate beings in literary and mythological texts until the 3rd
century CE.

Origins

The Omphalos
in the Museum of
Delphi
.

The cult centers of Apollo in Greece,
Delphi
and
Delos
, date from the 8th century BCE. The Delos
sanctuary was primarily dedicated to
Artemis
, Apollo’s twin sister. At Delphi,
Apollo was venerated as the slayer of
Pytho
. For the Greeks, Apollo was all the Gods
in one and through the centuries he acquired different functions which could
originate from different gods. In
archaic Greece
he was the
prophet
, the oracular god who in older times
was connected with “healing”. In
classical Greece
he was the god of light and of
music, but in popular religion he had a strong function to keep away evil.

From his eastern-origin Apollo brought the art of inspection from “symbols
and omina
” (σημεία και τέρατα : semeia kai
terata), and of the observation of the

omens of the days. The inspiration oracular-cult was probably
introduced from Anatolia
. The
ritualism
belonged to Apollo from the
beginning. The Greeks created the
legalism
, the supervision of the orders of the
gods, and the demand for moderation and harmony. Apollo became the god of
shining youth, the protector of music, spiritual-life, moderation and
perceptible order. The improvement of the old
Anatolian
god, and his elevation to an
intellectual sphere, may be considered an achievement of the
Greek
people.

Healer and
god-protector from evil

The function of Apollo as a “healer” is connected with
Paean
, the physician of the Gods in the
Iliad
, who seems to come from a more
primitive religion. Paeοn is probably connected with the
Mycenean
Pa-ja-wo, but the etymology is the
only evidence. He did not have a separate cult, but he was the personification
of the holy magic-song sung by the magicians that was supposed to cure disease.
Later the Greeks knew the original meaning of the relevant song “paean”. The
magicians were also called “seer-doctors”, and they used an ecstatic prophetic
art which was used exactly by the god Apollo at the oracles.

In the Iliad, Apollo is the healer under the gods, but he is also the
bringer of disease and death with his arrows, similar to the function of the
terrible
Vedic
god of disease
Rudra
.He sends a terrible plague to the
Achaeans
. The god who sends a disease can also
prevent from it, therefore when it stops they make a purifying ceremony and
offer him an “hecatomb” to ward off evil. When the oath of his priest appeases,
they pray and with a song they call their own god, the beautiful Paean.

Some common epithets of Apollo as a healer are “paion” , “epikourios”,
“oulios”, and “loimios” . In classical times, his strong function in popular
religion was to keep away evil, and was therefore called “apotropaios”  and
“alexikakos” , throw away the evil).
In later writers, the word, usually spelled “Paean”, becomes a
mere epithet of Apollo in his capacity as a god of
healing
.

Homer illustrated Paeon the god, and the song both of
apotropaic
thanksgiving or triumph. Such songs
were originally addressed to Apollo, and afterwards to other gods: to
Dionysus
, to Apollo
Helios
, to Apollo’s son
Asclepius
the healer. About the 4th century
BCE, 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.

Oracular cult

 

Columns of the
Temple of Apollo
at Delphi, Greece.

Unusually among the Olympic deities, Apollo had two cult sites that had
widespread influence: Delos
and
Delphi
. In cult practice,
Delian Apollo
and
Pythian Apollo
(the Apollo of Delphi) were so
distinct that they might both have shrines in the same locality.Apollo’s
cult
was already fully established when written
sources commenced, about 650 BCE. Apollo became extremely important to the Greek
world as an oracular deity in the
archaic period
, and the frequency of
theophoric names
such as Apollodorus or
Apollonios and cities named Apollonia testify to his popularity.
Oracular sanctuaries to Apollo were established in other sites. In the 2nd and
3rd century CE, those at
Didyma
and
Clarus
pronounced the so-called “theological
oracles”, in which Apollo confirms that all deities are aspects or servants of
an
all-encompassing, highest deity
. “In the 3rd
century, Apollo fell silent.
Julian the Apostate
(359 – 61) tried to revive
the Delphic oracle, but failed

The history of Sofia
,
Bulgaria
‘s capital and largest city, spans
thousands of years from
Antiquity
to modern times, during which the
city has been a commercial, industrial, cultural and economic centre in its
region and the Balkans
.

Sofia was originally a
Thracian
settlement called Serdica or
Sardica (Greek: Σερδική, Σαρδική), named after the
Celtic
tribe
Serdi
that had populated it.For a short period
during the 4th century BC, the city was possessed by
Philip of Macedon
and his son
Alexander the Great
.

Around BC 29, Sofia was conquered by the
Romans
and renamed Ulpia Serdica. It
became a municipium, or centre of an administrative region, during the
reign of Emperor Trajan
(98-117). The city expanded, as
turrets
, protective walls, public baths,
administrative and cult buildings, a civic
basilica
and a large
amphitheatre
called Bouleutherion, were built.
When Emperor
Diocletian
divided the province of
Dacia
into Dacia Ripensis (on the banks of the
Danube
) and Dacia Mediterranea, Serdica became
the capital of Dacia Mediterranea. The city subsequently expanded for a century
and a half, which caused
Constantine the Great
to call it “my Rome”. In
343 A.D. , the
Council of Sardica
was held in the city, in a
church located where the current 6th century
Church of Saint Sofia
was later built.

Serdica was of moderate size, but magnificent as an urban concept of planning
and architecture, with abundant amusements and an active social life. It
flourished during the reign of
Byzantine Emperor

Justinian I
, when it was surrounded with great
fortress walls whose remnants can still be seen today.

The city was destroyed by the

Huns in 447 but was rebuilt by
Byzantine Emperor

Justinian
and renamed Triaditsa.
Although also often destroyed by the Slavs, the town remained under Byzantine
dominion until 809.

Antoninus (Called ‘Caracalla’)

Caesar:
195-198 A.D.
Augustus: 198-217 A.D.
( 198-209 A.D. – with Septimius Severus)
( 209-211 A.D. – with Septimius Severus and Geta)
( 211-217 A.D. – Sole Reign)

Caracalla (April
4, 188

–

April 8
,

217.
Caracallus ), born Lucius Septimius Bassianus and later called Marcus
Aurelius Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus, was the
eldest son of

Septimius Severus

and

Roman Emperor
from 211 to 217. He was one of
the most nefarious of Roman emperors. Caracalla’s reign was notable for:

• the

  Constitutio Antoniniana

  , granting

  Roman citizenship

  to freemen throughout the

  Roman Empire

  , according to

  Cassius Dio

  in order to increase taxation;

• debasing the silver content in Roman coinage by 25 percent in
  order to pay the legions; and

• the construction of a large

  thermae

  outside Rome, the remains of which, known as the

  Baths of Caracalla

  , can still be seen today

   

“Caracalla was the common enemy of all mankind,” wrote

Edward Gibbon

. He spent his reign traveling
from province to province so that each could experience his “rapine and
cruelty.”

Caracalla’s real name was Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. He got the
nickname from his habit of wearing a cloak by the same name. Caracalla was the
elder son of Septimius Severus and brother of Geta whom he positively hated.
Hated so much, in fact, that he had him murdered a few years later. In the
mayhem that followed, Caracalla’s men went on a killing spree of anyone
suspected of being a Geta sympathizer. In the massacre, it’s estimated up to
20,000 people lost their lives. Caracalla would go on to rule for another five
years but his bad karma caught up with him and he was assassinated in a plot
perpetrated by Macrinus.

As an emperor Caracalla possessed few redeeming qualities and among the worst
of them would be his ruinous drain on the treasury. Because he knew everyone
hated him he sought the protection of the army. And the surest way of getting
this protection was to buy it outright. He raised the pay of the solider to
about four denarii per day, nearly quadrupling the salary of just a few years
prior. And on top of their regular salary he heaped endless bonuses and other
concessions meant to endear them. This money could only have come by the
oppressive taxation of ordinary citizens as well as the seizures of property of
the wealthy under trumped-up charges. This not only intensified the hatred
against him but also had the effect of corrupting the military who had become
accustomed to this life of luxury and throwing the economy into lasting
disarray.

Rise to power

Caracalla, of mixed

Punic

/Berber

and Syrian

Arab

descent, was born Lucius Septimius Bassianus in

Lugdunum
,

Gaul (now

Lyon,

France
), the
son of the later Emperor Septimius Severus and

Julia
Domna
. At the age of seven, his name was changed to Marcus Aurelius
Septimius Bassianus Antoninus to solidify connection to the family of

Marcus Aurelius

. He was later given the

Caracalla nickname
, which referred to the Gallic hooded tunic he habitually wore
and which he made fashionable.

His father, who had taken the imperial throne in 193, died in
211 while touring the northern marches at

Eboracum
(York),
and Caracalla was proclaimed co-emperor with his brother

Publius Septimius Antoninius Geta

. However since both of them wanted to be
the sole ruler, tensions between the brothers were evident in the few months
they ruled the empire together (they even considered dividing the empire in two,
but were persuaded not to do so by their mother). In December 211, Caracalla had
Geta, the family of his former father-in-law

Gaius Fulvius Plautianus

, his wife

Fulvia Plautilla

(also his paternal second cousin), and her brother
assassinated. He persecuted Geta’s supporters and ordered a

by the Senate against his brother.

Reign

In 213 Caracalla went north to the German frontier to deal
with the

Alamanni

who were causing trouble in the

Agri Decumates

. The emperor managed to win the sympathy of the soldiers with
generous pay rises and popular gestures, like marching on foot among the
ordinary soldiers, eating the same food, and even grinding his own flour with
them.

Caracalla defeated the Alamanni in a battle near the river

Main, but failed to
win a decisive victory over them. After a peace agreement was brokered, the
senate conferred upon him the title “Germanicus Maximus”. In the next year the
emperor traveled to the East.

When the inhabitants of

Alexandria

heard Caracalla’s claims that he had killed Geta in self-defense,
they produced a satire mocking this claim, as well as Caracalla’s other
pretensions. Caracalla responded to this insult savagely in 215 by slaughtering
the deputation of leading citizens who had unsuspectingly assembled before the
city to greet his arrival, and then unleashed his troops for several days of
looting and plunder in Alexandria. According to historian Cassius Dio, over
20,000 people were killed.

During his reign as emperor, Caracalla raised the annual pay
of an average legionary to 675

and lavished many benefits on the army which he both feared and
admired, as instructed by his father Septimius Severus who had told him to
always mind the soldiers and ignore everyone else. His official portraiture
marked a break with the detached images of the philosopher-emperors who preceded
him: his close-cropped haircut is that of a soldier, his pugnacious scowl a
realistic and threatening presence. The rugged soldier-emperor iconic type was
adopted by several of the following emperors who depended on the support of the
legions, like

Trebonianus Gallus

.^[11]

Seeking to secure his own legacy, Caracalla also commissioned
one of Rome’s last major architectural achievements, the

Baths of Caracalla

, the largest public bath ever built in ancient Rome. The
main room of the baths was larger than

St. Peter’s Basilica

, and could easily accommodate over 2,000 Roman citizens
at one time. The bath house opened in 216, complete with private rooms and
outdoor tracks. Internally it was decorated with golden trim and mosaics.

Fall

While travelling from

Edessa

to begin a war with

Parthia
, he
was assassinated while urinating at a roadside near

Harran
on

April 8
,

217 by Julius
Martialis, an officer in the imperial bodyguard.

Herodian

says that Martialis’ brother had been executed a few days earlier by Caracalla
on an unproven charge; Cassius Dio, on the other hand, says that Martialis was
resentful at not being promoted to the rank of centurion. The escort of the
emperor gave him privacy to relieve himself, and Martialis ran forward and
killed Caracalla with a single sword stroke. He immediately fled on horseback,
but was killed by a bodyguard archer.^{[
neededcitation]}

Caracalla was succeeded by the Praetorian Prefect of the
Guard,

Macrinus
,
who almost certainly was part of the conspiracy against the emperor.

His nickname

According to

Aurelius Victor

in his Epitome de Caesaribus, the

cognomen

“Caracalla” refers to a Gallic cloak

that Caracalla adopted as a personal fashion, which spread to his army
and his court.

Cassius Dio

and the

^[14]

agree that his nickname derived from his cloak, but do not mention its country
of origin.

Legendary king of Britain

Geoffrey of Monmouth

‘s legendary

makes Caracalla a king of Britain,
referring to him by his actual name “Bassianus”, rather than the nickname
Caracalla. After Severus’s death, the Romans wanted to make Geta king of
Britain, but the Britons preferred Bassianus because he had a British mother.
The two brothers fought a battle in which Geta was killed, and Bassianus
succeeded to the throne. He ruled until he was betrayed by his

Pictish
allies
and overthrown by

Carausius
,
who, according to Geoffrey, was a Briton, rather than the

Menapian
Gaul
that he actually was.