JUDAEA. Neapolis. Philip II, 247-249. Tetrassarion (Bronze, 28 mm, 15.24 g, 6 h). IMP C M IVL PHILIPPO P F AVG Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Philip II to right, seen from behind. Rev. COL NEA-P To left, Marsyas standing right, holding wineskin over his left shoulder and raising his right hand; to right, eagle with spread wings standing facing, head to left, and supporting Mount Gerizim surmounted by temple complex. BMC -. Harl, Neapolis 66. Rosenberger 84. RPC VIII online 2456. Samel -. Shoshana -. Sofaer 196. Very rare and with a beautiful reverse. Repatinated and with an edge fault, otherwise, very fine.



Mount Gerizim, prominently displayed on the coinage of Neapolis after the city had been raised to colonial status under Philip the Arab, had been the sacred mountain of the Samaritans for many centuries. Their ancient sanctuary on the summit had been destroyed by John Hyrcanus in the late 2nd century BCE, while in the Roman period a temple of Zeus rose on the mountain overlooking Neapolis, the monumental complex represented on the city’s coins.

Yet the mountain never lost its central place in Samaritan religion: to this day the small Samaritan community regards Mount Gerizim, rather than Jerusalem, as its holiest site. The annual Passover sacrifice is still celebrated there, preserving a remarkable continuity of worship on the mountain represented on this coin nearly eighteen centuries ago.