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M E D A L„ 
borfes. His Ira it has a trident behind. 3. A pollo is 
frequently feen on the reverfes of the Syrian, princes, and 
is known by the harp, the branch of laurel, or the tripod; 
fonietimes he has a bow and arrows. When the buft only 
occurs, he has a fair young face, and is covered with 
laurel ; and, in the charafter of the Sun, his head is fur- 
rounded with rays. 4. Mars, often feen on Greek civic 
medals, is diftingui'habie by his armour, and fometimes 
by a trophy on his (boulders. The bull is known by the 
helmet and ferocious countenance. 5. Mercury appears 
with the caducius, or wand twined with ferpents, and the 
m'arfvpivm, or purfe, which he holds in h'is hand. He is 
delineated as a youth, with a fmali cap in his hand, and 
wings behind his ears and at his feet. The buft is known 
by the cap, which refembles a fmall hat, and the wings. 
6. A2sculapius is remarkable on account of his buftiy 
beard, and his leaning on a club with a ferpent twifted 
round it. He is fometimes feen with his wife Hygeia, or 
Health, and their little fon Te/efphorus, or Convalefcence, 
between them. 7. The attributes of Bacchus are the 
tiger, the fatyrs around him, the thyrfus , or rod twifted 
with ivy or vine, and the crown compofed of one ofthofe 
plants. His baft is known by the latter fymbol, and by 
the diadem and horn. 8. The club, lion’s (kin, and (inewy 
ftrength, reveal Hercules; with fometimes the addition 
of a cup, denoting that wine infpires courage, and the 
poplar-tree, fymbolic of vigour. He often appears as 
breaking the neck of the Nermsan lion, by crufhing it in 
his arms. His buft is common on the obverfe coins of 
Alexander the Great, and other princes, and thofe of Si¬ 
cilian cities: it is that of a youth without a beard, with 
the lion’s (kin wrapped around it; and on the coins of 
Alexander has been erroneoudy taken for the portrait of 
that prince. He is fometimes drawn with a beard, and 
called Hercules ; without it he is denominated the young 
Hercules. See Plate I. fig. 6. and the explanation, p. 806. 
9. Serapis, one of the fantaftic gods of Egypt, is known 
by his buthy beard and the meafure upon his head. Apis 
appears as a bull, with a flower of the lotos, or water-lily 
of the Nile. Macrobius fays it was a fymbol of creation; 
and Jamblichus fays that Ofiris was fuppofed to have his 
throne in it. 10. Harpocrates, the god of (ilence, is 
known by'the familiar token of putting his finger to his 
mouth. He has fometimes the jiftrum in his left hand, 
which is a fymbol common td molt of the Egyptian deities. 
11. Canopus is very common on the coins of Egypt, in 
the lingular (liape of a human head placed upon a kind 
of pitcher. “ This deified pitcher (fays Mr. Pinkerton) 
feems to refer to an anecdote of ancient (uperftition, which, 
I believe, is recorded by Plutarch. It feems fome Perfian 
and Egyptian priefts had a conteft which of their deities 
bad the fuperiority. The Egyptian faid, that a (ingle 
vafe, facred to Serapis, would extinguifli the whole power 
of the Perfian deity of fire. The experiment was tried ; 
and the wily Egyptian, boring holes in the vafe and 
(topping them with wax, afterwards filled the vafe with 
water; which, gufhing through the holes as the wax 
melted, extinguiftied the Perfian deity. Hence tile vafe 
was deified.” 13. The Holy Senate and Holy People, appear 
frequently on the Greek imperial coins, fometimes repre- 
fented as old men with beards, at others as youths. 
The goddeffes reprefented on medals are—1. Juno, de¬ 
lineated as a beautiful young woman, fometimes with a 
diadem, fometimes without any badge, which is reckoned a 
fufficient diftinttion, as the other goddeffes all wear badges. 
Sometimes (he appears as the goddefs of marriage ; and is 
then veiled to the middle, and fometimes to the toes. She 
is known by the peacock, a bird facred to her from the 
fable of Argus. 2. Minerva is very common on the coins 
of Alexander the Great; and her buft has been miftaken 
by the celebrated painter Le Brun for the hero himfelf. 
She is very eafily diftinguilhed by the helmet. Her fymbols 
are, her armour; the fpear in her right hand, and the 
aegis, with a Medufa’s head, in her left; an owl com¬ 
monly (landing by her. 3. Diana is known by the 
Vol. XIV. No, 1017. 
crefeent on her brow, and fometimes by the bow and 
quiver at her fide, and often by her hounds. The Ephe- 
fian Diana, common upon Greek imperial coins, .appears 
with a number of breads, being fuppofed the fame with 
univerfal nature; (lie is fupported by a couple of deer* 
and bears on her head a pannier of fruit. 4.. Venus is 
declared by the apple in her hand, the prize of beauty. 
Sometimes (he may be known by her total want of drefs, 
without any other fymbol. Pier buft is diftinguifhable 
by her fupreme beauty, and is often adorned with pearls 
around the neck. We may heFe mention that Cupid fome¬ 
times appears on the Syrian coins, in half-length as the 
painters call it, and is known by his infancy and wings. 
5. Cybele has the turreted crown and lion; or is feen 
in a chariot drawn by lions. 6. Ceres has the torches in 
her hands, with which (he is fabled to have gone in fearch 
of her daughter Proferpine. She has fometimes two fer¬ 
pents by her, and is occafionally drawn in a chariot by 
them. Her buft is readily known by the wheaten garland, 
and is moft common on coins of Sicily, an ifland cele¬ 
brated for its fertility. Her daughter, Proferpine, is alfo 
common, with the word KOPH, or “ the girl.” 7. Isis, 
an Egyptian goddefs, has the filtrum in her hand, and a 
bud, or flower, on her head, fymbolic of the eternal bloom 
of the inhabitants of heaven. The flower is faid to be 
that of the fouthernwood ; but moft probably it is a fpe- 
cies of amaranth. 8. Astarte, a Sidonian goddefs, ap¬ 
pears on a globe, fupported by a chariot ot two wheels, 
and drawn by two horfes. 
Mr. Pinkerton then enumerates other deities that are 
lefs frequent on Greek coins; fuch are—Saturn with his 
fcythe, or his buft with a hook on thofe of Heraelea ; 
Vulcan’s head, with his tongs; Adranus, a Sicilian god, 
with his dog; Anubis of Egypt, with his dog’s head ; 
Atis, in the Phrygian bonnet; Caltor and Pollux, with 
a ftar on the head of each; Dis, having an old face with 
diflievelled hair and beard, and a hook ; Flora, crowned 
with flowers, on coins of Marfeilles; Nemefis, with a 
wheel; and Pan, with fmall horns and brute’s ears. Some 
fymbols are figurative of perfons or circumftances : fuch 
are—vafes, with fprigs of plants iffuing out of them, fym¬ 
bolic of folemn games; the fmall chelt, or hamper, with 
a ferpent leaping out of it, exhibiting the myllic rites of 
Bacchus, coins with their image being called ciftophori . 
The anchor, on Seleucian medals, afcertaining their hav¬ 
ing been (truck at Antioch, where an anchor was found 
in digging the foundation of the city, though at a confi- 
derable diftance from the fea. Apollo fitting upon a lin¬ 
gular feat, refembling a hamper inverted, perhaps a tripod 
with a covering of net-work, on different coins of the 
princes of Syria; the bee, a mark of Aiifteus, fon of 
Apollo and Gyrene, much worthipped in the illes of the 
Adriatic, and Asgean feas; the poppy, of Ceres and of 
Proferpine; corn, of Ceres; a dove, of Venus; and a 
torch, of Diana, Ceres, and Proferpine. The mudrus, or 
conic (lone, was a token of the Sun, of Belus, and of 
Venus. 
The moft remarkable fymbols of countries and cities 
on Greek coins are—'the flowers of the pomegranate for 
Rhodes; the owl for Athens; Pegafus for Corinth ; a 
wolf’s head for Argos; a bull’s head for Bceotia; the 
minotaur’s head, and the labyrinth, for Crete ; a horfe’s 
head for Pharfalia; a lion for Marfeilles; a tortoife for 
Peioponnefus ; the fphinx for Scio; the three legs joined 
as in the arms of the Ifle of Man, for Sicily ; and a horfe ( 
for Theffaly. The badge of Byzantium was the crefeent, 
which appeared early on the coins of Byzantium, with 
the legend BYZANTINH 2DT. the Preferver of Byzan¬ 
tium. The occafion was this: When Philip of Macedon 
befieged Byzantium, and was proceeding to dorm it in a 
cloudy night, the moon (hone out, and difeovered his ap¬ 
proach, fo that the inhabitants obferved and repulfed him. 
The Turks, upon entering Conftantinople, found this 
ancient badge in many places; and, fufpecling fome ma¬ 
gical power in it, affumed the fymbol and its power to 
10 C thernfelves. 
