EGYPT. Alexandria. Hadrian, 117-138. Diobol (Bronze, 24 mm, 8.55 g, 1 h), RY 18 = 133/4. [AYT KA]IC TPAIAN AΔPIAN[OC CЄΒ] Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Hadrian to right.
Rev. L - IH Draped bust of Harpokrates of Herakleopolis to right, wearing skhent crown and uraeus; to left, club surmounted by eagle. Dattari (Savio) 7657. Emmett 1133.18. K&G 32.611 var (differing bust type). RPC III 5931 var. (differing bust type). Very rare. Good fine.
From the Rhakotis Collection, formed in the 1960s and 1970s (with collector’s ticket).
This coin shows the particularly complex syncretism of the child-god Harpokrates, son of Isis and Osiris, and Herakles, which was based on the earlier conflation of Harpokrates with the Herakleopolite child-god Somtous, who in turn was identified as Herishef, the great ram-headed god of the Herakleopolite nome. Herishef, finally, was worshiped as Herakles by the Greeks, which allowed for the link between the Greek hero and the Egyptian child-god. The Herakleopolite Harpokrates can easily be identified through his attributes: he holds the club of Herakles and raises his hand to his mouth in the manner of Harpokrates, symbolizing the child hieroglyph.
