Serapis on Roman Coins

---------- The Sign Language of Roman Coins ----------

Serapis, Invented in Egypt

You can click on any coin image to see the full coin.

The head of a bronze statuette of Serapis from the British Museum.

erapis (or Sarapis) seems to have been "invented" during the reign of the first Ptolemy in Egypt, in the late 4th century BC. In fact, the inventor was probably Ptolemy himself. Like Alexander the Great before him, he wanted to unite the two quite separate cultures living in Alexandria; the Hellenistic Greeks and the native Egyptians. The statuette shown on the left is based on an original made by the sculptor Bryaxis for Ptolemy II, around 300 BCE.

A bronze coin of Odessos showing Gordian III facing Serapis.

The main components of Serapis were Apis, a bull-god, and Osiris, god of the underworld. The names of these deities were combined to give the name of the new deity: Osiris-Apis became Serapis. Both of these component deities were Egyptian, so to give Serapis more credibility to the Greeks, he was personified as a Hellenic figure, based on an existing statue, rather than an animal-headed god in the Egyptian style. This combination turned out to have great appeal and was later taken up by the Romans, who built a temple to Serapis in Rome after the example of the Serapeon in Alexandria.

Serapis appeared on many provincial Roman coins, often alone, sometimes in company. In some provincial towns, it was the habit to show confronted heads on their larger bronze coins. Often, the chosen heads were two members of the Imperial family; but when there was no suitable second candidate, some coins, like this bronze pentassarion of Gordian III from Odessos in Thrace, showed the Emperor facing the head of Serapis. Here you can see that Serapis' hairstyle and beard are those of a senior male deity like Zeus. You can also see the ornate kalathos he wears on his head – just like the one in the photo on the top left, but over 500 years after the original on which that statuette was modelled. This was clearly a strong and durable type.

A silver denarius of Caracalla showing Serapis making his typical gesture.

A silver denarius of Caracalla showing Serapis with a wreath of corn.

he Roman cult of Serapis was associated with that of Isis, another deity of Egyptian origin. They shared a temple and sanctuary on the Field of Mars from the time of Augustus. But although the decor and statuary were Egyptian, the cult of Serapis in Rome, Ostia and Alexandria was more Greek than Egyptian in form. The Romans liked to think that the cult had been introduced into Egypt from Greece. Caracalla dedicated a temple to Serapis on the Quirinal hill, and showed him on several coins, of which two denarii are shown here.

On the far left is Serapis in his usual pose: standing with his head to the left, a staff or sceptre in his left hand slanted across the skirts of his heavy robe, and with his right hand raised in a gesture which appears to be a greeting. This was the same gesture used by the Invincible Sun. He wears his usual kalathos, a basket with Greek origins, sometimes referred to as a "bushel measure" for grain.

Next to it is a denarius showing a less common pose of Serapis, holding a wreath made of corn ears. In other respects, he is the same; the robe, staff and kalathos are all present. Being a god of the underworld involved more than just ruling the dead. The whole cycle of life, death and rebirth were implied; so Serapis also had a secondary role as an agricultural deity.

The reverse of an antoninianus of Postumus showing Serapis with the prow of a river boat.

Serapis on the reverse of a coin of Claudius II Gothicus, with the legend CONSER AVG.

ere are two more variations on the normal depiction of Serapis. On the far right, an antoninianus of Postumus from 260-265 CE. Postumus ruled the breakaway Gallic "Roman" empire, and the boat you can see behind Serapis is most likely a Rhine river boat from his own territory. On this coin, the ribbed decoration of his robe is quite clear – it is obviously not just a simple piece of cloth.

Next to it is an antoninianus of Claudius II from 268-269 CE. The pose is standard, but the legend, CONSER AVG, calls on Serapis to protect the emperor. Whether this tough and successful soldier needed any protection must have seemed doubtful, until he died of the plague in 270 CE.

The silvery surface of this coin is merely a thin coat over a base metal core. This is given away by the patches of green and brown patina, and also, hints of the brown core can be seen where the high points have worn a little.

There are several coin types which show the head of Serapis being carried by another deity or personification. This was not meant to be taken literally, but as a symbol that the attributes of Serapis were being absorbed or subsumed or perhaps just displayed by the other.

The reverse of an Alexandrian tetradrachm of Maximianus showing Alexandria carrying the head of Serapis

The reverse of a tetradrachm of Maximianus showing Alexandria carrying the head of Serapis.

The reverse of a follis of Licinius I showing Sol carrying the head of Serapis.

The reverse of a follis of Maximinus II Daia showing Genius carrying the head of Serapis.

Here are three such coins which also appear on my "Heads in Hands" page. On the far left is a potin tetradrachm of Maximianus from Alexandria, 289-290 CE, designed to circulate only within Egypt. It shows a personification of the city holding the familiar head. As Alexandria was the original home of Serapis, this is quite fitting.

In the centre is a follis of Licinius I, 312 CE. In other depictions of Sol, he is almost always near-nude, but here, he is dressed in a long robe, ornate and highly decorated, which probably actually belongs to Serapis. He is holding up Serapis' head, complete with distinctive beard and kalathos. This most likely indicated supremacy and showed that Sol, who in this version was brought to Rome by Aurelian, was incorporating Serapis' characteristics.

On the rightmost coin of the three, a follis of Maximinus II Daia, the head of Serapis is being carried by the genius, or guiding spirit, of the Roman emperors. At this time there were three of them, Licinius, Constantine the Great, and Maximinus II Daia, all controlling different parts of the empire, in an uneasy alliance. Each struck his own typical coins in his own mints, striking coins for the other two as well as for himself. So, the coins of this period showing Sol or Genius carrying heads – like the last two – all came from eastern mints controlled by Maximinus Daia, whichever emperor might be named on them.

The reverse of a bronze coin of Septimius Severus from Markianopolis showing Hades-Serapis and Cerberus

The reverse of a bronze provincial coin of Septimius Severus showing Hades-Serapis and Cerberus.

The reverse of a silver antoninianus of Caracalla showing Pluto-Serapis and Cerberus.

erapis was identified with several other deities by the Romans. Some saw in him the powers of Aesculapius, Osiris or Jupiter; but mostly he was identified with Pluto, the ruler of the underworld. Similarly, in the east he was identified with Hades, the Greek deity who was the equivalent of Pluto. In this way he was seen as representing the beginning and foundation of things.

There are several coins showing Serapis as Pluto or Hades, usually in the same pose. Here are two: a silver antoninianus of Caracalla from 215 CE, and a provincial coin of Septimius Severus from Markianopolis, an eastern province, struck a few years earlier.

Pluto (or Hades) is seated on his throne. The standard references refer to this figure as Pluto, god of wealth and of the underworld, and the figure is enthroned as Pluto or Hades would be. But the robes and kalathos he wears are those of Serapis. He is reaching out to Cerberus, the three-headed dog of the underworld, who sits at his feet with heads facing in different directions.

———————— Useful References ————————

These books provided some, but not all, of the information on this page. Much of the rest came from postings and discussions on the Forum Classical Numismatics Discussion Board.

A Dictionary of Roman Coins by Seth William Stevenson, F.S.A., C Roach Smith, F.S.A., and Frederic W. Madden, M.R.A.S. First published by George Bell and Sons, 1889. Reprinted by B A Seaby Ltd, London in 1964.

Religions of Rome: Volume 1, A History by Mary Beard, John North and Simon Price. Published by Cambridge University Press in 1998.

The Man in the Roman Street by Harold Mattingly, F.B.A. Published by the Numismatic Review, New York City in 1947.

These books are covered in a bit more detail on my page on coin reference books.

The content of this page was last updated on 20 July 2009