1842.] On the Gem and Coins described in Nos. 7 and 8. 139 



character of the human figures on the reverse of the coin,) have we not 

 discovered a singular clue to the religious opinions of those in whose 

 time they were executed, and what is more valuable, have we not ob- 

 tained collateral evidence as to the era of the recently known Telephus 

 Euergetes ? 



The erudite commentaries of Bayer, upon each of the gems above 

 alluded to, run to too great a length, and touch upon too many details to 

 render it necessary for my present enquiry that I should extract the 

 whole of them. As my object is to shew the solar character of the 

 emblem of Abraxas, and its identity with the figures on the coin and 

 gem before us, I will extract his description of, and his notes upon, the 

 gem, No. 438 of the Ebermayer collection, (Gem. Thes. p. 215), in 

 which the solar attributes are described almost as we find them in Mr. 

 Tregear's gem. 



" Monstrum capite galli, trunco corporis humano, pedibus in serpen- 

 tes duos desinentibus qui se reflectunt, scutum habeus una manu, sig- 

 natum Uteris IAQ, altera flagellum, virtutem habere creditum est 

 contra inimicos, gestantemque reddere victorem ; ad venena valere et 

 sanguinem stringere ; uti apud Commillum Leonardem, legimus, 



Gallum lepov riXiov opviOa esse, et mentiore solis ortum, testatus 

 Pausanius, lib. v., et Plutarchus, de Pythise oraculis. 



Scutum et flagellum significat, Abraxam suos credulos defensurum 

 esse, et scuto protecturum et adversantes flagello castigaturum ; et 

 ideo ille pectus thorace tectum. 



Pedes Anguinos, Macarius refert ad ortum indicandum ; quia nempe 

 Mithras sicut et Erictithonius, vel in lapide, vel in terra, de solo aestu 

 libidinis sunt generati. Gigantes etiam serpentipedes fingebantur a 

 veteribus, at diis insultantium miserabilem insolentiam deriderent. 

 Conf. Macrobius. lib. i. Saturn apud Chhietium in Abraxa Proteo, p. 38." 



With the exception of the letters IAQ, we have in our gem the 

 correspondent emblems with those occurring in the one above described, 

 and I have extracted Bayer's annotations on these ordinary attributes, 

 because given at length with the gem No. 439 : our gem has, however, 

 one extraordinary additional symbol, imperfectly given in the lithograph, 

 but perfect in the impression of the gem now before me, taken from a 

 letter of Mr. Tregear's ; viz. the stag's horns on the head of the cock. 

 Our gem is in fact a facsimile, so far as figure is concerned of No. 443, 



