AION: A Cosmic Allegory on a Coin from Tyre?

GABRIELA BIJOVSKY
Israel Antiquities Authority
gabriela@israntique.org.il

Abstract
The decipherment of a Greek inscription on the reverse of an unpublished Roman provin-
cial coin from Tyre sheds light on the identification of a serpent coiled around an oval
object on a well-known coin type. The inscription, reading ÁÉÚÍ, the allegory of eternal
time, suggests this motif reflects cosmic Orphic principles.

INTRODUCTION
Of all the Roman provincial coinages of the southern Levant, the coins of Tyre
have always been considered among the most original in their iconography and
quality of execution. The identification of the coin type discussed below, one of
many enigmatic issues of Tyre, has not heretofore been explained. An example of
the type is shown in Pl. 16:1.
Coins of the type discussed here have on their reverse an oval object with a
serpent coiled around it, its head protruding above and its tail below. This motif is
flanked by mintmarks of Tyre — the murex shell and the palm tree — whose posi-
tion can change from left to right and vice versa. The whole composition is
encircled by the inscriptions TVRIORVM or COL TVRO METRO (after the restora-
tion of the colony.) This coin type, which is exclusive to the mint of Tyre, was
struck from the reign of Elagabalus (218–222 CE) and becomes rarer towards the
end of the mint during the days of Gallienus (253–268 CE; Rouvier 1904:81, No.
2390 [Elagabalus]; 82, No. 2402 [Aquilea Severa]; 83, No. 2410 [Julia Maesa];
95, No. 2476 [Trebonianus Gallus]; 106, Nos. 2555–2556 [Gallienus]).
A significant number of questions arise about the type. What is the meaning of
the object depicted? What is its name and what does it represent? Is it related to a
specific religion or cult? Was it associated with a local myth, and if so, is that myth
attested in literary sources?

IDENTIFICATION OF THE TYPE

There is no consensus among scholars regarding the nature and definition of the
object under discussion. Most of the numismatists describe it as an ‘oval baetyl’ or
‘sacred oval stone.’1 As will be discussed further below, Cook preferred the term

1 Babelon 1893:328, No. 2240 and Rouvier 1904:81, No. 2390: ‘bétile de forme
ovoïde.’ BMC Phoen.:278, No. 413: ‘single ovoid baetyl.’

INR 2 (2007): 143–156 143

144 GABRIELA BIJOVSKY

‘egg’ or ‘cosmic egg’ (Cook 1940b:982). Hill offered a number of suggestions for
identification (BMC Phoen.:cxli, n. 3). He first drew a connection between the
serpent on this coin type and the one entwined around the sacred olive tree,
flanked by the ambrosial rocks in another well-known coin type of Tyre (Bijovsky
2005:829–834). His suggestion, however, is associative only, and it is far from
convincing. Secondly, Hill referred to Pietschmann’s comparison of the ambrosial
rocks to the Delphic omphalos, the latter often represented encircled by a serpent.
An autonomous coin from Pergamon in Mysia, dated to the second century BCE,
shows that also when the omphalos is entwined by a serpent it appears in its usual
form, dome-shaped and not egg-shaped (Pl. 16:2).
Finally, Hill proposed associating the ‘baetyl’ on the coin with the á²åñïðåôç¹
á²óôÝñá — an asteroid — found and consecrated by Astarte in Tyre, as told by
Philo of Byblos, citing Sanchunniaton (BMC Phoen.:cxli, n. 3, based on Euseb.
Praep. evang. i:10.31). The problem with this suggestion is that it gives no expla-
nation for the presence of the coiled serpent on the coin. Yet it does lead to a
number of interpretations that provide the motif on the coin of Tyre with cosmic
and philosophical significance.
A new variant of this coin type, published here for the first time, sheds light on
the identification of the object under discussion. Four specimens of this variant
have been so far identified by the author: one of Elagabalus, two (with the same
reverse die) of Gordianus III and one of Trebonianus Gallus (251–253 CE).2
These four coins bear the same motif described above but in a slightly different
style. The whole composition is smaller and the baetyl/egg rests on an exergue
line but the serpent is coiled in exactly the same manner. A murex shell is in the
left field and a palm tree in the right. The encircling inscription reads COL TVRO
METRO (Pls. 16:3–5). A more significant difference, however, between the known
type and the new variant is the Greek inscription appearing in the exergue, partly
visible only on the coins of Gordianus III. The inscription reads ÁÉùÍ, the ancient
allegory of ‘eternal time.’3

2 The coin of Elagabalus belongs to the Franciscan Biblical Institute; my thanks to

Michele Piccirillo for permission to publish the coin. The coins of Gordianus III
belong to the Israel Museum (IM 4039) and the Shahaf Collection. My thanks to Haim
Gitler and Lenny A. Wolfe for their permission to publish the coins. The coin dated to
Trebonianus Gallus belongs to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA 7055; unknown
provenance) and is published here with permission.
3 The inscription was first read by Y. Meshorer, who suggested the reading ÁÃÚÍ
(related to the Agonistic Games). This was the version adopted by the author in her
first discussion of this coin (Bijovsky 1999:60–61). However, it is difficult to explain
the relationship between the motif and the inscription ÁÃÚÍ. Depictions of Agonistic
crowns appear on Tyrian coins but they look completely different (cf. BMC
Phoen.:191, Nos. 271 and 379 and p. 278, Nos. 414–415). The correct reading was
suggested by Leah di Segni, to whom I am deeply indebted.
 AION: A COSMIC ALLEGORY ON A COIN FROM TYRE? 145

A fifth coin (Pl. 16:6), apparently of the same variant, and dated to the reign of
Gordian III, shows an altar in the left field. Unfortunately, the state of preservation
of this coin does not allow verifying whether an inscription appears below. Yet
another coin with the altar was indeed published by Rouvier, who made no
distinction between coin types depicting the baetyl/egg and the serpent (1904:87,
No. 2435: “a gauche un flambeau?”). Rouvier’s description does not mention any
inscription appearing in the exergue.
The reading of the ÁÉùÍ inscription on two of the coins suggests that the
‘baetyl/egg’ and serpent motif should be interpreted in relation to the cosmic
concept of eternal time.4 Striking evidence for this is found in Orphic (and Neo-
Pythagorean) cosmogony, where the egg has a deeper significance, being the ‘cos-
mic egg’, the one from which the world and everything in it originated (Nilsson
1957:140).5 Epiphanius of Salamis (315–403 CE) defined the origin of the
universe as an egg and the spirit as ‘snakewise’ around it (Cook 1940b:982,
after Panarion 1:8.1–5).6 Harrison stated that the first articulate god, Eros
(mostly known as Phanes or Protogonos), source and creator of all, sprang from
the ‘world-egg’ (Harrison 1908:626–627).7 In Orphic cosmogony the egg is
older than the hen as being the symbol of that which gives birth to all things
and contains in itself all things. 8 As such, the egg was an object of reverence,

4 In a passage from Aristotle, the word ÁÉÚÍ is derived from á³åé̀ ùº í (Levi 1944:278, n.
25, after Arist., Caelo, I:279a).
5 For a full discussion of Orphic cosmogony and its diverse versions see Guthrie
1935:79–84 and Boyancé 1935:99–100, both authors include also the relevant texts
from Aristophanes’ The Birds. See particularly the relevant paragraphs citing
Damascius’ version of the beginning of the universe (Diad., dubit. et solutiones de
primis principiis, p. 381. F. 205r; see also Levi 1944:275): “A monstrous figure was
born out of water and earth, a serpent having the heads of a bull and a lion, and a face
of a god between. The name of this figure was Chronos (Time) and Heracles. Out of
Chronos Aether was born; next Chronos fashioned in Aether an egg. The egg split in
two and Phanes, the first-born of the gods sprang forth.”
6 “Originally the whole was like an egg; but the spirit was then coiled snakewise round
the egg, and bound nature tightly all round like a wreath or girdle. At some time it had
a strong impulse to squeeze the whole matter, or nature, of all things harder. It thus
split all existent things into the two hemispheres, and from it the separation of the
atoms resulted. For the light, finer parts of all nature — light, aether, and the finest
parts of the spirit — floated up on top. But the parts which were heaviest and like dregs
have sunk downwards. This means earth — anything dry, in other words — and the
moist substance of the waters. The whole moves itself and by its own momentum with
the revolution of pole and stars, since all things are still driven by the snakelike spirit.”
7 For further information about the egg and Phanes, see Guthrie 1935:92–102.
8 Both Harrison (1908:627–628) and Nilsson (1957:140–141) quoted Plutarch (Quaest.
conv., p. 636 D) and Macrobius (Sat. 7:16, 8): “those who are initiated into the sacra of
Liber Pater, among whom the egg is venerated so much that it is called an image of the
world (mundus) because of its round and nearly spherical shape, shut up in all direc-
146 GABRIELA BIJOVSKY

ceremonially used for purification and as an offering to the dead. This doctrine
was taught to the initiated as part of the Orphic mysteries (Harrison
1908:626–629; Nilsson 1957:139–143).9
Likewise, the serpent was considered sacred in Greco-Roman culture, due to
its many qualities and virtues (Fergusson 1971:1–20). It represented a life-
daemon, a spirit of regeneration (äáßìùí ãÝííçò; Harrison 1962:270–271), whose
powers were related to immortality, chthonic forces and the protection of houses
and temples, as described by Philo of Byblos citing Sanchunniaton.10 Moreover,
Nonnus compared Aion to a serpent when he wrote: “… he (Aion) would put off
the burden of age, like a snake throwing off the rope-like slough of his feeble old
scales, and grow young again bathed in the waves of Law” (Dion. 41:180–184).
Finally, in Orphic theogony, Chronos, the allegorical figure of Time, was repre-
sented in the shape of a monstrous serpent (n. 5, above).

THE SOURCES FOR AION11

In his description about the origin of the Universe, Eusebius (Praep. evang.
1:10.7) describes Aion as a mortal, born from the wind Kolpias and his wife Baaut
(Nyx, the night) and brother of Protogonos (Eros/Phanes). Eusebius further

tions and within itself enclosing life; and as all men agree, the mundus is the principle
of the universe.” Harrison also quoted Achilles Tatius: “… some assert that the
universe is cone-shaped, others egg-shaped, and this opinion is held by those who
perform the mysteries of Orpheus” (Isag.ad Arati, Phenom.:77).
9 Based on Plutarch, both scholars stressed the assumption that there was a taboo on
eating eggs as they were a common offering to the dead. Eggs enclose life therefore
they are the most appropriate to restore life to the dead.
10 “Taatus attributed a certain divine nature to dragons and serpents, an opinion which
was afterwards adopted both by Phoenicians and Egyptians. He teaches that this genus
of animals abounds in force and spirit more than any other reptiles; that there is some-
thing fiery in their nature; and though possessing neither feet nor any external
members for motion common to other animals, they are yet more rapid in their motion
than any others. Not only has it the power of renewing its youth, but in doing so
receives an increase of size and strength, so that after having run through a certain
term of years it is again absorbed within itself. For these reasons this class of animals
were admitted into temples, and used in sacred mysteries. We have told a lot about
them in our memories called the Cult of Thoth, where it was established that the
serpents are immortal and that they get coiled in themselves; but these animals do not
die natural death, but they can only be victim of violence. By the Phoenicians they
were called the good daemon, which was the term also applied by the Egyptians to
Cneph, who added to him the head of a hawk to symbolize the vivacity of that bird.”
(Euseb., Praep. evang. 1:10. 45–48).
11 The meaning of Aion in Gnosticism, which deprived this concept of all mythological
and philosophical contents, is not part of the current discussion. For further references
on this subject see Levi 1944:278 and Alföldi 1977:2.
 AION: A COSMIC ALLEGORY ON A COIN FROM TYRE? 147

explains that Aion discovered the nourishment of the flora and was father of
Genos and Genea who would dwell in Phoenicia. From the race of Aion and
Protogonos, the mortal infants Phos (Light), Pyr (Fire) and Phlox (flame) were
born, who invented fire (Levi 1944:278). Being the son of a Wind, Aion was
invoked as god of the four winds in magical texts and was also associated with the
Seasons (Levi 1944:296).
Mythological figures of similar syncretistic characteristics, related to the
regeneration of nature, are found elsewhere in antiquity. For the Egyptians Osiris
was the god of regeneration of vegetation and nature, in accordance with the flow
of the Nile. Dionysus was similarly regarded by the Greeks as the god of vegeta-
tion and regeneration. Herodotus wrote that “Osiris is named Dionysus by the
Greeks” (Hist. II.144–146). Both Osiris and Dionysus are related to the Under-
world, as gods of resurrection of the dead. Herodotus was acquainted with the
Orphic mysteries and the role of Dionysus there as chthonios (Patrich
2005:106).12
In Mithraism, Chronos, the deity of Time, is responsible for bringing the
succession of the seasons and the ripening of fruit. The god’s original Persian
(Zoroastrian) name was Zervân, the Infinite Time. Levi claimed that this is a
syncretistic combination between Persian and Semitic elements (Levi 1944:297
and n. 70). Alföldi suggested that the Latin allegory named saeculum frugifer
derives from the Greek Aion Plutonius (Áé³ù̀í Ðëïõôþíéïò), meaning “the bringer
of rich crops” and also stressed a connection with the Phoenician Ba‘al (Alföldi
1977:3–4).
Aion apparently played a role in the Eleusinian mysteries, as evidenced by a
dedicatory inscription on the base of a statue dated to the first century BCE at the
Koreion.13 This poorly described statue may have had a serpent as its attribute, as
a snake’s head was found next to its base (Levi 1944:309, n. 120; Alföldi 1977:5;
Le Glay 1981:409).
According to an Egyptian tradition, Aion was identified with Serapis, the god
of the dead, appearing in an image encircled by a serpent (Cumont 1899:79 and n.
8; Pettazzoni 1954a). This assimilation with the Egyptian god might also be
related to a festival in Alexandria that took place on the night of January 5th,
where an image of Aion was carried at the Koreion, in order to celebrate his
birth from Kore. This rite is described by Epiphanius (Panarion, 51:22, 3–11).14

12 See also above, nn. 7 and 8 for the relationship between the egg and Aion in Orphism,
and the role of the egg as offering to the dead.
13 The statue was dedicated by Q. Pompeius together with his two brothers, in order that
the god might assure “the power of Rome and the perpetuity of the Mysteries”
(Pettazzoni 1954a:174).
14 “First at Alexandreia in the Koreion as they call it — a very large temple, the precinct
of Kore. All night long they keep vigil, chanting to their idol with songs and flutes.
148 GABRIELA BIJOVSKY

Alföldi, however, stressed the many differences between the iconography of both
Serapis and Aion, as they are also manifested in their respective cults (Alföldi
1977:56). Based on the same passage in Epiphanius, Pettazzoni focused attention
on another pagan festival, called the Kronia, the birthday feast of Chronos (as
sun), which fell on December 25th, coinciding with the winter solstice. For
Pettazzoni both Aion and Chronos are two different representations of an ancient
conception of endless Time that derive ultimately from a sun-god
(1954a:172–176).15
Following his description of the birth of Aion in Alexandria, Epiphanius writes
about the birth of Dushara in Petra and Elusa.16 Based on this text, Patrich estab-
lished a connection between the allegory of Aion and the god Dionysus, through
his Nabatean assimilation Dushara (Patrich 2005). He further suggested an associ-
ation between Aion/Dushara (Dousares) with the emperor’s cult and Roman
eternity (see below).
The many difficulties, presented above, in understanding Aion were summa-
rized well by Guthrie: “… it is likely that Orphism from an early date owed much
to the Persian worship of Zervân (Aion to the Greeks), in the form of an assimila-
tion to him either of their own Chronos or of Phanes-Dionysus” (Guthrie
1935:228).

THE ICONOGRAPHY OF AION

Representations of Aion in Greek and Roman art are relatively scarce but varied
and they appear in a wide scope of media: sculpture, mosaics, coins and minor
arts, as summarized by Le Glay (1981). The most comprehensive study on the

The nocturnal service over, at cock-crow torch-bearers go down into an underground

chamber and bring up a wooden image, sitting naked on a litter, with the imprint of a
golden cross on its forehead, two similar imprints on its hands, and other two on its
knees, all told, five golden marks impressed upon it. They carry the image itself seven
times round the central part of the temple with flutes, timbrels, and hymns. And after
the procession they bring it down again to its underground quarters. If asked what they
mean by this mystery, they make answer: “This day and hour Kore (that is, the Virgin)
has given birth to Aion.” (English translation by Cook 1940a:912, n. 6 and 913, n. 4
with full references on Aion).
15 Pettazzoni’s ultimate conclusion is that the Mithraic Chronos (see below), is
iconographically connected with an Egyptian tradition represented by the type of Bes
Pantheos (1954b:192).
16 “Again, at Petra (the metropolis of Arabia, that is the Edom mentioned in the Scrip-
tures) in the idol-house there the same thing takes place. They hymn the virgin in the
speech of Arabia, calling her in Arabic Chaamoû, that is ‘Kore’ or ‘Virgin’, and her
offspring Dousares, that is “Only-begotten of the Lord.” In the town of Elousa also the
same thing takes place that night as happens there in Petra and Alexandreia” (English
translation by Cook 1940: vol. 3/1, pp. 914–915).
 AION: A COSMIC ALLEGORY ON A COIN FROM TYRE? 149

iconography of Aion, however, is Levi’s paper (1944) on the Antiochene mosaic

of the House of Aion, dated to the mid-third century CE and therefore, contempo-
raneous to our Tyrian coins. Levi analyzed the literary and artifactual sources, and
showed that Aion expressed a multiplicity of conceptions — in ancient thought
and religion in both East and West. For Levi, Aion meant time in its absolute eter-
nal sense, while Chronos was the empirical time in relation to human life (Levi
1944:274).
The most popular contexts for the adoption of Aion as symbol of the eternal
time in ancient art were related to the renewal of the natural cycle. Aion was
depicted as an old or young draped man, holding the wheel of the seasons of the
year and life, symbolic of the endless renewal of natural phenomena. The wheel
became the main attribute of Aion, also attested in the literary sources.17 In the
Antioch mosaic, an old Aion is shown sitting at a table together with three men, all
personifications of ‘Chronoi’ (×ñüíïé) — Past, Present and Future — as the
names written above their heads indicate (Levi 1944:271, Fig. 3; and 284). A
young Aion also appears as one of the main figures in another mosaic from
Philippopolis (modern Shahba in southern Syria), dated to the time of Philip Sr
(244–249 CE; Will 1953). The whole composition depicts the glorification of the
Earth and the creation of man (Alma mater Tellus; Will 1953:39). Gaea is
surrounded by Aion as well as the following personifications: Georgia (agricul-
ture), the Fruits, the Winds, Triptolemos, Prometheus and other figures.18 Other
examples in ancient art show Aion’s wheel through which personifications of the
four seasons prepare to pass (e.g., a mosaic from a tomb at the necropolis of the
Isola Sacra near Ostia, dated to the Hadrianic-Antonine period; Levi 1944:285,
Fig. 11). In the silver patera from Parabiago (dated to the second or fourth century
CE), a young Aion holding a zodiac wheel is supported by Atlas and flanked by a
serpent entwined around what appears to be an obelisk or baetyl (Pl. 16:7; Levi
1944: Figs. 12–13).
Similar to the mosaic depictions, the conception of Aion as symbolic of natural
renewal is also found on coinage, with slight changes. The allegory of Aion
appears explicitly on a bronze coin type from Alexandria. Issued during
Antoninus Pius’ third and sixth years (138/9 and 142/3 CE), the inscription AÉùÍ
surrounds a phoenix, symbol of human renewal (Pl. 16:8; BMC Alex.:xxxi–xxxii;

17 Aion turning the wheel of life is recorded by Nonnus: “And then circling Time (Áé³þí),
rolling the wheel of the four season year, was whirling along for the sixth year” (Dion.
36:422–423).
18 For a later work of art of the same genre, see the cycle of paintings depicting the
Tabula Mundi, in the winter-bath of Gaza, as recorded by John of Gaza, where Aion is
shown as a young man holding the wheel (Friedländer 1912:141, and 177–178;
Talgam (forthcoming).
150 GABRIELA BIJOVSKY

117, No. 1004; Van den Broek 1972:70–72, 429–430, Pls. VI:8–9). This coin
commemorates the beginning of a new Sothic cycle.19
Representations of Aion on Roman coins and medallions, under its equivalent
versions Saeculum, Aevum and Aeternitas, take the original significance of Aion
one step further. Aion is depicted on Roman coins in its two varieties, young and
old (Alföldi 1977:18). Most interesting is the reverse of an aureus minted by
Hadrian, showing a young Aion standing within the wheel of the Zodiac and hold-
ing a globe on which rests the phoenix (third consulate, 119–138 CE; Pl. 16:9,
CRE 3:278, No. 312). The figure is surrounded by the legend SAEC(VLVM)
AVR(EVM). The combination of Aion with the phoenix clearly symbolizes the
appearance of a new ruler and the beginning of a new era (Van den Broek
1972:105 and 128). The young Aion holding the wheel appears with slight varia-
tions in a series of Roman gold and bronze medallions: with the Seasons passing
through the wheel (Gnecchi 1912: vol. I, Pl. 48:9 [Antoninus Pius]; Pl. 83:3
[Commodus]; Gnecchi 1912: vol. II, Pl. 4:2 [Probus]), and in the same posture but
standing beside a seated emperor on a globe (Gnecchi 1912: vol. II, Pl. 105:7).
Alföldi stressed the connection between Aion and the role of a new ruler as
inaugurator of a new era (known also as ‘the revival of the Golden Age’) (Alföldi
1977). In his opinion, the roots of this phenomenon are to be found in the glorifi-
cation of Ptolemaic kings as divinities on Ptolemaic coinage.20 The Ptolemaic
king assumes the iconographical characterization of Aion Plutonius: “Euergetes,
as a divine being combining the powers of Zeus, Helios and Poseidon, is Aion, the
poikilomorphos god, ruler of the universe, who introduces the rebirth of the
world” (Alföldi 1977:9).

19 The event recorded on this coin was commemorated in the third Alexandrian year of
Antoninus Pius. The Sothic period was considered to be the Egyptian Great Year, and
lasted for 1461 years (Van den Broek 1972:26–27 and further bibliography). Tacitus
stated that the phoenix appears in Egypt at this interval (Tac., Ann., VI, 28). From
Tacitus and other classical sources, it seems that in Greco-Roman Egypt the phoenix
was seen as symbol of the Sothic period, and was identified with the Egyptian sun bird
Benu, worshipped at Heliopolis (Van den Broek 1972:14, 24–26). The phoenix was
also related to the beginning of the solar year, marked by the rising of the waters of the
Nile (van den Broek 1972:71, after Achilles Tatius and Horapollo) and its figure was
used to represent the total renewal of all things after a long period. In this context the
phoenix is directly connected to the concept of Aion.
In addition to the coin with the phoenix, a series of large bronze mythological and
astrological types were minted in the eighth year of this emperor — 144/145 CE —
among them two types depicting the Zodiac wheel with Isis and Serapis (BMC
Alex.:lvi–lvii).
20 Alföldi disagreed with Van den Broek, who suggested that this concept was invented
by the Seleucid kings. Alföldi based his theory on the image of the phoenix as symbol
of the new Sothic period, which took place under Ptolemy III Euergetes (Alföldi
1977:10–11 and Van den Broek 1972:104).
 AION: A COSMIC ALLEGORY ON A COIN FROM TYRE? 151

But various iconographical trends seem to have developed side by side regard-
ing Aion’s image. Along with the anthropomorphic depictions of Aion (including
the allegorical image of the phoenix), a completely different figurative tradition
developed, whose traces seem to originate in oriental cults, especially in Mithra-
ism.21 Zoega was the first to suggest the name Aion for this figure, although the
name Chronos, preferred by Cumont (Saturnus in Latin), is actually the most
accepted (Cumont 1899:76–78; Pettazzoni 1954b:182–183). Levi believed this
was in fact the representation of Aion as Saturnus-Chronos, the personification of
endless Time, and primeval cause of all things, a central figure in the cosmogony
of Mithraism (Levi 1944:291; see also Clauss 2000:165).
A common representation of the Mithraic Chronos, of which numerous monu-
ments are preserved, is a figure with a leonine head, a winged human body
encircled by a serpent that holds two keys (Pl. 16:10, statue from the mithraeum in
Sidon, dated to 389 CE).22 Sometimes the figure stands on a globe (Merkelbach
1984:315, Fig. 65; relief from Rome), and the serpent may well enclose the signs
of the Zodiac engraved on the figure’s torso (Clauss 2000:164, Fig. 22; fragment
of statue from Arles).
A number of sculptures related to the Mithraic mysteries show the type of
Mithraic Chronos as described above, but standing within the Zodiac circle and
springing from the two halves of an egg (Levi 1944:290, Fig. 16 and 293, Fig. 18;
Le Glay 1981:403, Nos. 17–18). The most representative of this group is a relief at
the Modena Museum, dated to the second half of the second century CE. The
relief presents a variety of iconographical elements of quite different provenance.
A serpent is coiled around a young male winged figure, which holds a scepter and
a thunderbolt; a lion mask is set on his abdomen. The figure is encircled by an
elliptical band with the signs of the Zodiac; the heads of the four Winds appear in
the spandrels (Pl. 16:11; Merkelbach 1984:325, Fig. 74).
The Mithraic figure was adapted to represent the Orphic god Phanes/Eros; the
two halves of the egg are a clear allusion to his birth from the primordial cosmic
egg. This image constitutes on one hand, a vivid visual interpretation of the
Orphic principles about the beginning of the universe as cited by Epiphanius,
Plutarch and Macrobius.23 On the other hand, the serpent surrounding the figure is

21 For a concise description of the figure of Time in Mithraism and its sources, especially
those connected to Egypt, see Pettazzoni 1954b:178–192. Still, the most comprehen-
sive source for the study of Mithraic art remains Cumont’s two monumental volumes
(1896 and 1899), which offer full texts, literary sources and Mithraic monuments clas-
sified according to geographical regions.
22 Levi 1944:276, n. 13, after Nonnus (Dion. 7:22–23): But Time the maniform, holding
the key of generation, spread his white shock of hair over the knees of Zeus…”.
23 See above, nn. 6 and 7. Clauss interprets the elliptical band encircling this figure as the
world-egg (Clauss 2000:116–167).
152 GABRIELA BIJOVSKY

not literally mentioned in these sources and must obviously derive from the
Mithraic statues of Aion as Chronos or Saturn-Chronos (Levi 1944:301). In
Guthrie’s opinion these reliefs suggest a syncretism between Orphic and Mithraic
theology. As he noted, “syncretism and the mingling of religious traditions were
the order of the day” (1935:254–255).
There seems to be another reason for this assimilation of traditions in art, based
on the confusion between the birth of the god Mithras from a rock — petra
genetrix — and the birth of Phanes from the cosmic egg (Levi 1944:300, n. 30;
Clauss 2000:62–71). An illustrative example is Levi’s suggestion about the mean-
ing of the obelisk coiled by a serpent that stands besides Aion on the patera from
Parabiago (Pl. 16:7). In his opinion this is an allusion to the birth of Mithras from
the rock. He based this assumption on the fact that conic-shaped steles (Cumont
1896:242, Fig. 76), some surrounded by a serpent, have been discovered in
mithraea and most likely served as objects of worship (Levi 1944:297, n. 71).24
These sculptures are actually fragments of the bases of monuments of monuments
depicting the birth of Mithras: the god is shown growing out of a rock with both
arms raised, such as in the statue from the Mithraeum I in Poetovio (Pl. 16:12).25

CONCLUSIONS
Based on the textual and monumental evidence described above, Alföldi clearly
distinguished two sometimes interwoven categories referring to Aion. The first is
of cultic-religious character (Persian, Egyptian and Syro-Phoenician traditions
later mixed with Orphism and Mithraism). The second is Aion as an allegory of
the power of the emperors responsible for the return to the Golden Age, as a
means of political propaganda (1977:21–22).
To which category does the depiction of Aion on the coins of Tyre belong?
Although unique in its essence, the motif on the coin seems to share and distill
within it many of the concepts discussed above, especially from the first category.
In my view each of the elements in the composition is significant and is harmoni-
ously intertwined with the others. The motifs should be interpreted in pure Orphic
terms: the inscription in the exergue of the coin, reading Aion, gives the title of the
scene. In the center is the cosmic egg, “mundus” or image of the world, as
described by Macrobius (mundi simulacrum [n. 8 above]) surrounded by a
serpent. The egg contains the drink of immortality (n. 9 above), namely Aion, the
cosmic allegory of endless time and eternity.
This equation between the cosmic egg and Aion was first raised by Boyancé,

24 Based on Cumont 1899:159 and 160, n. 1. See for example the piece discovered in
Rusicade/Skikda, Algeria (Clauss 2000:129, Fig. 96).
25 Clauss 2000:67, Fig. 26. See also the relief from Piazza Dante in Rome (Clauss
2000:66, Fig. 25).
 AION: A COSMIC ALLEGORY ON A COIN FROM TYRE? 153

based on several texts, among others Macrobius (n. 8 above and Sat. 1:9, 14) and
Martianus Capella (2:109–110),26 but rejected by Nilsson as “not convincing”
(1957:140–141 and n. 23). However, Nilsson did not know about the existence of
the coin from Tyre, and it is likely that this coin would have swayed Nilsson to
accept Boyancé’s theory.
The serpent, symbol of renewal and immortality, is also the spirit coiled
around the egg, that bounds nature tightly and completes the composition (nn. 8
and 10 above). It is also possible that the serpent appears on the coin representing
the Orphic Chronos (n. 5 above). Another possibility is that the coiled serpent was
simply a motif taken from Mithraic representations of Chronos, or even from
works of art such as the relief from Modena representing the birth of Phanes.
Although a much more complicated composition, the Modena relief presents
striking similarities to this coin from Tyre. The Tyrian design, however, is much
more abstract; depicting the actual moment of the beginning of the universe.
Still, many questions remain open, such as which was the first type to be
minted, the one with the Aion inscription on its exergue, or the one without it?
And why have so few specimens of this coin been discovered so far? Additionally,
there is no certain evidence for the practice of Orphic mysteries in Tyre which
could justify the choice of such an abstract subject as a coin type.
One wonders if the type could be easily understood by ordinary people. It is
true that mithraea were found throughout the empire, and particularly in ports;
e.g., near Aradus, Sidon, Caesarea27 and Alexandria. One piece among a number
of sculptures and reliefs discovered in the mithraeum of Sidon has been repro-
duced in this article (Pl. 16:10; Merkelbach 1984:279–281, Figs. 18–20). This
monument gives evidence for the practice of religious mysteries in Phoenicia. The
coins under discussion may even provide evidence for the practice of Orphism
there.
The cosmic egg coiled by the serpent seems to appear in three coins from Tyre
published by Rouvier (1904:101, No. 2516 [Valerian] and 106, Nos. 2551–2552
[Gallienus]). A draped male figure wearing a calathos (?) stands between a
murex-shell and a palm tree. He holds a scepter and an object which resembles the

26 In this paragraph Macrobius establishes an etymological identification between Janus

and Aion, and states that the universe is the result of the union of two opposite princi-
ples controlled by the sky, identified with the eternal time (Boyancé 1935:102–103).
In Cumont’s view the Roman Janus was assimilated to the god of Time; Cumont even
raised the possibility that representations of Janus influenced those of Mithraic
Chronos (Cumont 1899:84).
Furthermore, Harrison quoted Proclus in his commentary about Plato, when he said
“the ‘being’ of Plato would be the same as the Orphic egg” (Harrison 1908:627, n. 2;
after Procl., In Ti. II, p. 307: åéºç á¹í ôáõ³ôï̀í ôü ôå ÐëÜôùíïò ï¹í êáé̀ ôï̀ ²Ïñöéêï̀í û³üí.)
27 Vault 1 in the barrel-vaulted structure in Area C was converted into a Mithraeum
(Raban, Holum and Blakely 1993:62–63).
154 GABRIELA BIJOVSKY

cosmic egg entwined by a serpent. If this interpretation is correct, it is possible to

assume that it served as an attribute of the male figure, possibly an anthropomor-
phic illustration of Aion himself. Unfortunately, the 1904 photographs do not
enable a more definite identification, and no new exemplars of this type have been
published since, or are known to this author.28

Description of Pl. 16
1. Reverse of a coin of Julia Maesa at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA
49991; photo, Clara Amit).
2. Autonomous coin from Pergamon, Mysia, second century BCE. From
www.coinarchives.com, 21/04/2007.
3–5. New variants of coin in Pl. 16:1:
3. Gordian III (Nahum Shahaf collection; photo, Clara Amit).
4. Gordian III (IM 4039; photo, Clara Amit).
5. Trebonianus Gallus (IAA 7055; photo, Clara Amit).
6. Likely same variant as Pls. 16:3–5, depicting an altar in the left field, Gordian
III (ANS 1944.100.81885).
7. Detail from patera of Parabiago (Civic Archaeological Museum of Milan,
Italy). http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Patera_di_
Parabiago_-_MI_-_Museo_archeologico_-_Zodiaco_-_25-7-2003_-_Foto_
Giovanni_Dall%27Orto_-_25-7-2003.jpg. Photographer Giovanni Dall’Orto
8. Coin of Antoninus Pius, Alexandria (http://www.coinarchives.com/
a/lotviewer.php?LotID=141862&AucID=168&Lot=1866).
9. Aureus of Hadrian, Rome (CRE 3:278, No. 312).
10. A statue of Mithraic Chronos found at the mithraeum in Sidon (Merkelbach
1984:280, Fig. 20).
11. Relief of the birth of Phanes (Estense Gallery and Museum, Modena, Italy).
12. Statue of the birth of Mithras (Mithraeum I, Poetovio, Slovenia).

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28 Rouvier cites another example of this type published by Babelon (1893:347, No.
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