COELESYRIA, Heliopolis. Gallienus. AD 253-268. Æ (26mm, 15.33 g, 6h). Certamina Sacra Capitolia Oecumenica Iselastica Heliopolitana Games Issue. 8th emission, AD 256/7. Good Fine.

Electronic Auction 603
Lot: 515.

Roman Provincial, Bronze

Estimate: $ 100

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COELESYRIA, Heliopolis. Gallienus. AD 253-268. Æ (26mm, 15.33 g, 6h). Certamina Sacra Capitolia Oecumenica Iselastica Heliopolitana Games Issue. 8th emission, AD 256/7. Laureate and cuirassed bust right, seen from the front / Three agonistic prize crowns; center containing two palm fronds, outer containing single palm frond. Sawaya 738 (D107/R272); RPC X Online 63810. Green patina with earthen highlights, roughness. Good Fine.

From the Heather Howard Collection.

Many cities throughout the eastern portion of the Roman Empire periodically held smaller versions of the four Iselastic Games of Greece (so called because victors in the ceremonies were granted iselasticum, the right to reenter their native cities in triumph following the games) – the Pythian, Olympian, Isthmian, and Nemean. Like the Greek originals, these smaller versions included a number of athletic contests, as well as music and poetry competitions. Often such events were associated with important civic cults of each city. At Heliopolis (modern Baalbek), the site of a massive temple complex dedicated to Jupiter-Zeus-Baal-Hadad, Venus-Aphrodite-Astarte, and Bacchus-Dionysus, these games were known as the Certamina Sacra Capitolia Oecumenica Iselastica Heliopolitana (the “Sacred Capitoline Ecumenical Iselastic Games of Heliopolis”). Here, celebrations were held in honor of Jupiter-Zeus-Baal-Hadad, not only associating this god with his counterpart at Rome, but also the city with the Empire as a whole.

Closing Date and Time: 4 February 2026 at 12:51:20 ET.

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