| Note |
An identification as Asclepius, implied by D’s positioning of the coin between Asclepius and Athena on DS pl. 63, would depend on the identification of serpent apparently twisted round the vexillum (which does not seem very convincing). But it is odd for Asclepius to hold a vexillum, and the object at the back of the throne suggests perhaps it may be another figure. Vogt, p. 86 compared it with the rare tetradrachms of Trajan’s year 15 = 4585 with Sarapis seated before a fountain on which a vexillum can also be seen (with a curved line like the ‘serpent’ here). As he pointed out, there are later representations of Sarapis with a fountain and a vexillum.The figure is definitely male, with naked torso; and, although he is not obviously bearded, Sarapis seems the most likely identification. In his discussion of the similar coins of Trajan, Vogt identified him as Sarapis the giver of fresh water.
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