ROMAN COINS ROMAN EMPIRE ANTONINUS PIUS, 138-161 Medallion, bronze. AE 42.94 g. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS - PP TR P COS III IMP II Laureate head r. Rev. Galley emerging from a two arched bridge over the Tiber, on the prow, serpent erect; on the r., river god Tiber, nude, seated l., holding reed in his l. hand, globe(?) on his extended r. hand; above, three buildings on rocky ground; below, AESCVLAPIVS. Gnecchi, Medaglioni II, 9, 1. H. Küthmann - B. Overbeck e.a., Bauten Roms auf Münzen und Medaillen (1973), 65, 124. Very rare. Dark brown patina. Good very fine The rev. of this medallion tells the legend about the erection of the temple of Aesculapius in Rome: in 229 B.C. a holy serpent was brought to Rome by boat from Epidaurus, the most important sanctuary of Asclepius in Greece. Upon arrival in Rome, the serpent escaped from the ship and swam onto the Insula Tiberina, an island between two arms of the Tiber and linked to the shores by the pons Cestus. The temple of Aesculapius, of which there are no remnants left today (it is located on the actual Piazza of the church San Bartolomeo), was built at the place the serpent went ashore. The island was therefore also known as Insula Aesculapii.
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