Coin of the Month

January 2026: Titles, Games, Cult – A Medallion from Philippopolis

The Coin of this Month is presented by Daniel Fendius

The reverse side of a medallion from the city of Philippopolis depicts a carefully conceived sacrificial scene. Three people stand on the right-hand side around a burning altar. A bull is being led to the altar, its head already bowed in readiness for sacrifice. The dynamic nature of the ceremony is emphasized by a priest standing next to the bull, raising a sacrificial axe behind his head. Behind the bull another person can be seen involved in the cult ritual, holding a staff in his hand, as well as a flute player, who provides a festive atmosphere to the sacrifice. On the other side is a person dressed in military regalia, holding a spear in his left hand and a patera in his right. This is Emperor Elagabalus, who is depicted on the obverse wearing armour and a paludamentum, looking to the left with a wreath on his head, and identified by the legend. Behind him is a person who is supposed to represent his entourage. In the background is an octastyle temple with a shield attached to its pediment depicted. This shield bears the cult image of the god Apollo, who holds a bow in his left hand and what appears to be a patera or a laurel branch in his right hand.

The emperor acts here in his role as high priest – demonstrating pietas – standing before the city altar and participating in the solemn sacrifice, while at the same time his military authority is emphasized by his warlike regalia. This classical sacrificial scene stands out due to its sacred location in Philippopolis. This is because the depiction of the temple in the background follows a pattern familiar in Philippopolis for representations of Apollo Kendrisos, who was worshipped locally there. Comparatively, coins minted under Septimius Severus already depict a temple of Apollo with Corinthian columns and a shield in the pediment. A spear winds its way through the shield (cn type 8916). It should be noted that the number of columns on the coin of Septimius Severus is limited to four, while an octastyle facade can be seen on the medallion of Elagabalus. This can be attributed either to the fact that it was a different temple or to the fact that the temple was deliberately reduced in earlier versions. At least the fact that the shield is reproduced makes the latter possibility seem somewhat more likely. However, it cannot be ruled out that the octastyle appearance was adapted to general representation trends at the beginning of the 3rd century.

What is particularly interesting about this coin is its historical context. Various pieces of evidence convincingly prove that Philippopolis was awarded the honorary title of ‘Neokoros’ under Elagabalus, which is also reflected in the reverse legend ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΕΩϹ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΠΟΛΕΩϹ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΟΥ. The term itself simply means to take care of a temple. During the imperial period, however, this phrase could be used as an honorary title for cities that had a temple for the imperial cult and had rendered notable services to the emperor. Such an award must be understood as a level of communication between the emperor and the respective city. Furthermore, the city was distinguished by the honorary title Metropolis, which was given to important cities, but which is no longer recognizable in this specific medallion.  

In the case of Philippopolis, this elevation can be traced back to an actual visit by Elagabalus on his journey from the East to Italy (cf. Dio 79, 3, 2). Accordingly, the depiction of Elagabalus would also represent the actual imperial visit, in which he performs a sacrifice in front of the temple of Apollo in view of his honorary title. It is revealing that on equivalent coinages of Caracalla and Geta, behind a similar, albeit smaller, sacrificial scene, the statue of Apollo Kendrisos is shown only on a column (cn type 10738; cn type 10914). Although there was already a connection between supporters of the imperial family and Apollo in Philippopolis in coinage under the Severan dynasty, the emperor and the temple were only programmatically depicted under Elagabalus, who conferred the honorary title on the city. The fact that the title opened up new possibilities for coinage in Philippopolis is illustrated by a whole series of coins in which this medallion must be considered. Only the cult temple with shield and spear in the pediment (cn type 10981), the temple with the cult image of Apollo (cn type 11171) or the temple held by Tyche (cn type 10953) were depicted. This is surpassed by a depiction that places the temple in the background, but in front of it, Apollo on the left and Emperor Elagabalus on the right are depicted in equal size in front of a prize urn (cn type 10948). This refers to the relevance of the city as a venue for games named in honour of Apollo Kendrisos, but here specifically in honour of Elagabalus. In legends such as the coin mentioned above, which only depicts the cult temple under the reign of Elagabalus, the mention of the games also highlights this connection.

However, according to the widely accepted opinion of researchers, the close connection between the emperor and the deity goes beyond a mere association. This connection is symbolized by the fact that the deity and the emperor were worshipped in a shared temple in Philippopolis. According to Barbara Burrell, this is by no means the norm in light of the information available about Neokoroi, but it does demonstrate the potential for variation in this phenomenon. This is underlined in Philippopolis by the close pictorial coupling of both cult entities. This programmatic staging must also be seen primarily as Philippopolis' response to the city of Perinthos being awarded the title of neokoros. While Perinthos was the actual capital of the province of Thrace and had already received two Neokoroi under the Severans, which is expressed by a Tyche holding two temples in her hands (cn type 2610), Philippopolis only received this title under Emperor Elagabalus. Philippopolis was the seat of the koinon of inner Thrace. Among other things, koina served primarily to practice the imperial cult at a regional level, with representatives from various cities gathering at the meeting place. Both cities were able to score points in different areas and tried to present themselves and portray themselves as better than the other using a wide variety of means, including coin minting.

Finally, it should be noted that recently, different theories have been put forward regarding the location of the temple in Philippopolis. Locations on the Agora or, for a long time, on the highest mountain in the city, Jendem Tepe, where Corinthian capitals were also found, were considered. This is because in Philippopolis, a city built on several mountains, various temple images on mountains have been minted since the late 2nd century AD (cf. cn type 10389). However, the problem with locating the temple on the highest hill is that it lies outside the city walls, which, as Milena Raycheva points out, is highly unusual for temples associated with the imperial cult. She prefers a location on one of the hills within the city, which are relatively close to the agora, the stadium and the theatre. This would have allowed the temple to be integrated into a processional axis that would have programmatically linked the cult of the deity and the emperor, regional assemblies and festive games in a local context. However, without new finds, it is not possible to determine the exact location of the temple.

Literature:

B. Burrell, Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors, Cincinnati Classical Studies 9, Leiden – Boston 2004; especially: P. 243–245.

I. Topalilov, Philippopolis. The City from the 1st to the beginning of the 7th century, in: R. Ivanov (Ed.), Roman Cities in Bulgaria 1, Sofia 2012, P. 363–437.

M. Raycheva, Бележки върху локализацията на неокорния храм във Филипопол. Notes on Locating the Neocorate Temple in Philippopolis, in: Annual of the Regional Archaeological Museum – Plovdiv 12, 2014, P. 233–246.

M. Raycheva, Emperor Worship and Local Identity in the Coinage of Roman Thrace, in U. Peter, V. F. Stolba (Ed.), Thrace – Local Coinage and Regional Identity, Berlin 2021, P. 419–442.

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