Theos Megas at Odessos and Septimius Severus

[seth77]

@Jochen had a great post back in the day on CT about Theos Megas or 'The Great God Darzalas' with some great coins to use as examples. I won't try to go into detail about the cult of the 'Great God' here, Jochen did a great job with that, just some minor notes that I think are interesting in relation to his post.

The coins:

1. SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS (193-211)
AE27mm 7.75g orichalcum triassaria(?) minted ca. 193-4(?)
[...] CEVHPOC...; laureate and cuirassed bust right, drapery on shoulder, Gorgoneion on chest cuirass
ΟΔΗϹϹ - Є - ΙΤΩΝ; Theos Megas standing facing bareheaded, head l. holding cornucopia and patera over fiery altar
cf AMNG 2260, Varbanov 4357

 

2. SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS (193-211)
AE27mm 10.77g orichalcum tetrassaria(?) posthumous issue, minted ca. 211
ΔIVΩ CЄV-HPΩ ΠЄIΩ, bare head of Septimius Severus right
ΟΔΗϹϹ - Є - ΙΤΩΝ; Theos Megas wearing kalathos standing facing, head l. holding cornucopia and patera over fiery altar
AMNG 2271, Varbanov 4352

 

The first one is probably one of the first issues for Severus at Odessos, likely minted during the civil war with Niger and shows the deity bareheaded, while the posthumous issue shows it with the kalathos, which might suggest that sometime between 193 and 211 the syncretism involving the local Theos Megas (as it was known at Istros) or Darzalas (at Odessos) and Serapis became the regular representation of this local deity. This seems to also coincide with the period when the connections between the Black Sea shore and Alexandria were beginning to grow, with Alexandrine associations and temples for the likes of Serapis and Isis at Tomis and Marcianopolis (and possibly Odessos too).

The evolution from the older form of the Great God to the new Serapis-like representation is not singular to Odessos but the chthonic aspect of the cult becomes very relevant with the posthumous issue, which is singular in the 'provincial' coinage. With this aspect of the Great God, the cult seems to be returning to its roots as not only the God of fertility and plenty but also the God with a definitive relationship to the underworld. The dichotomy between agricultural plenty and death is rather strong in Moesia and Thracia but this association with the apotheosis of Severus is highly irregular as a monetary theme and was likely related to an important local event involving both the Imperial cult and the traditional cult of the Theos Megas-Darzalas-Serapis. The reign of Septimius Severus must have been particularly seminal for the changes that occurred at Odessos -- some as subtle as the adoption of a kalathos-wearing figure resembling Serapis as a new representation for the Great God Darzalas and others more flashy, involving the Imperial cult and the apotheosis of a very particular emperor. The two coins also show a symbolic transition which Severus himself might have envisioned for himself and that his heirs put in practice when he was made divus after death: from military valor with the Gorgoneion on the breastplate to a bareheaded effigy of the emperor becoming a god himself.

 

 

[Roman Collector]

Wow! Thanks for the informative write-up!! I have one of these coins and have always wondered about the identity of the god on its reverse. I somehow missed Jochen's write up about the deity, so thanks for linking to it. This reverse design apparently dates to the reign of Trajan. I don't think the presence or absence of the kalathos on the deity means much of anything. AMNG I-2, no. 2263 uses a lifetime inscription for Severus and features Theos Megas wearing a kalathos.

Here's my example. Mine is from Septimius Severus' lifetime. I think yours is, too, @seth77. I think the obverse inscription of yours begins AV K Λ, not ΔIVΩ, even though it ends with the title "Pius" (ΠЄIΩ). The title Pius was used on coins during Severus' lifetime and Pick notes variants of my coin with the obverse inscription AV K Λ CЄΠ CЄVHPOC Π, the final Π an abbreviated form of the title. Have you been able to find a die match to yours with a clearer obverse inscription that might clear this up?

Septimius Severus, 193-211 CE.
Roman provincial Æ tetrassarion, 26.5 mm, 10.12 g, 1 h.
Moesia Inferior, Odessus, 193-211 CE.
Obv: AV K Λ CЄΠ CЄVHPOC, laureate head right.
Rev: OΔHCCЄITΩN, Theos Megas wearing himation, standing facing, head left, sacrificing with patera over altar to left and holding cornucopiae.
Refs: Moushmov 1596; Mionnet suppl. 2, 902 var. (bust type); Varbanov 4348-9 var. (bust type); AMNG I-2, 2262 var. (bust type); SNG Cop 672 var. (bust type).

Edited May 20, 2023 by Roman Collector

[Al Kowsky]

Pictured below is another coin of Septimius Severus with an interesting cult figure on the reverse 😊. 

            

Thrace, Augusta Traiana. Septimius Severus, AD 193-211. AE 15.51 gm, 27 mm, 6 h. Reverse: Homonoia sacrificing at altar. Homonoia was a minor goddess of concord, unanimity, & oneness of mind, & she was closely identified with the Theban Goddess-Queen Harmonia.

[Roman Collector]

Yours IS a posthumous issue, @seth77! I researched my own question about the obverse inscription on your coin and found a die-match. Your coin has been affected by die-filling, making the obverse inscription unclear. I found a die match!

Edited May 20, 2023 by Roman Collector

[seth77]

20 minutes ago, Roman Collector said:

Wow! Thanks for the informative write-up!! I have one of these coins and have always wondered about the identity of the god on its reverse. I somehow missed Jochen's write up about the deity, so thanks for linking to it. This reverse design apparently dates to the reign of Trajan. I don't think the presence or absence of the kalathos on the deity means much of anything. AMNG I-2, no. 2263 uses a lifetime inscription for Severus and features Theos Megas wearing a kalathos.

Here's my example. Mine is from Septimius Severus' lifetime. I think yours is, too, @seth77. I think the obverse inscription of yours begins AV K Λ, not ΔIVΩ, even though it ends with the title "Pius" (ΠЄIΩ). The title Pius was used on coins during Severus' lifetime and Pick notes variants of my coin with the obverse inscription AV K Λ CЄΠ CЄVHPOC Π, the final Π an abbreviated form of the title. Have you been able to find a die match to yours with a clearer obverse inscription that might clear this up?

Septimius Severus, 193-211 CE.
Roman provincial Æ tetrassarion, 26.5 mm, 10.12 g, 1 h.
Moesia Inferior, Odessus, 193-211 CE.
Obv: AV K Λ CЄΠ CЄVHPOC, laureate head right.
Rev: OΔHCCЄITΩN, Theos Megas wearing himation, standing facing, head left, sacrificing with patera over altar to left and holding cornucopiae.
Refs: Moushmov 1596; Mionnet suppl. 2, 902 var. (bust type); Varbanov 4348-9 var. (bust type); AMNG I-2, 2262 var. (bust type); SNG Cop 672 var. (bust type).

The second coin in my op is definitely a posthumous issue, the effigy is bareheaded and the legend is a transliteration of the Imperial posthumous issues with DIVO SEVERO PIO. Similar here.

Your coin also looks early in the reign of Severus, the Great God on the reverse is not wearing a kalathos.

[seth77]

7 minutes ago, Roman Collector said:

Yours IS a posthumous issue, @seth77! I researched my own question about the obverse inscription on your coin and found a die-match. Your coin has been affected by die-filling, making the obverse inscription unclear. I found a die match!

As far as I have seen, most if not all these are from the same obverse die.

[seth77]

Here is a video of the posthumous Severus, although not better than the pic, it brings some 3d quality to it:

 

 

[Sulla80]

Nice coins from all - and an interesting story of this local merging of Greek-Tracian-Egyptian-Roman gods.

Roman Provincial Coin, Moesia Inferior, Odessus, Gordian III (238-244), AE 9.83g 26.5mm, Pentassarion
Obv: AVT M ANT ΓOPΔIANOC AVΓ, draped busts of Gordian, laureate and cuirassed, and Serapis, wearing calathus and with cornucopia over shoulder, facing one another
Rev: OΔHCCEITΩN, Prize crown, containing two palm fronds and inscribed ΔAPZAΛEIA; E (mark of value) in exergue
Ref: RPC VII.2, 1499; AMNG 2372; Varbanov 4527.

A little hard to read the ΔAPZAΛEIA "Darzalia" - the games/festival in honor of the Great God Darzalas, who was first combined across The Greek Great God and the Thracian Darzalas, and then with Serapis during Roman times.   Here's the text on the "prize crown" from another coin: 

my notes are posted here: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/the-great-god-darzalas-serapis

And it appears that I have just crossed the 500 post mark:

Edited August 14, 2023 by Sulla80