Roman Empire, Titus Denarius RIC 131

Titus AR Denarius Rome Mint, 80 AD
O: IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r.
R: TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII P P; Tripod, with fillets streaming out l. and r., on which are ravens r. and l., and in the center, dolphin over wreath: ('exuviae' of Apollo, for 'pulvinar' of Apollo and Diana (?)).
- RIC 131 (R), BMC 82, RSC 323a

Reka Devnia hoard, recording only 3 specimens with ravens and the dolphin and 24 specimens of the regular type with only the dolphin. The dolphin, ravens, laurel and tripod are all symbols of Apollo. His most famous attribute is the tripod, the symbol of his prophetic powers. It was in the guise of a dolphin that Apollo brought priests from Crete to Delphi, explaining Apollo's cult title "Delphinios" and the name of the town. He dedicated a bronze tripod to the sanctuary and bestowed divine powers on one of the priestesses, and she became known as the "Pythia." It was she who inhaled the hallucinating vapors from the fissure in the temple floor, while she sat on a tripod chewing laurel leaves. After she mumbled her answer, a male priest would translate it for the supplicant.