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Serdica AE30 Serapis of Geta

Geta AE30 of Serdica, Thrace. AVT K P CEPTIMIOC GETAC, laureate head right / OVLPIAC CEPDIKHC, Serapis seated left, kalathos on head, reaching out to pet three-headed dog Cerberus at foot left, & holding scepter.

Lot No.3900. EF, Rare and Unlisted.

$ 975.
In Greek mythology, Cerberus or Kerberos (Greek ÊÝñâåñïò, Kerberos, demon of the pit), was the hound of Hades—a monstrous three-headed dog (sometimes said to have 50 or 100 heads) with a snake for a tail and serpentine mane. He guarded the gate to Hades (the Greek underworld) and ensured that the dead could not leave and the living could not enter. His sister was the Chimera and his brother was Orthrus. He is the offspring of Echidna and Typhon. He was overcome several times: Heracles' final labour was to capture Cerberus, which he did by treating it with the first kindness it had ever received. Orpheus used his musical skills to lull Cerberus to sleep. Hermes put him to sleep with water from the river Lethe. In Roman mythology, The Sybil of Cumae lulled Cerberus to sleep with drugged honeycakes in order to permit Aeneas fuller entry to the underworld. In a Greek tale, Psyche also lulled Cerberus to sleep with drugged honeycakes. From: Wikipedia the free encyclopedia.

Geta was the younger son of Septimius Severus and was Caesar from 198 until 209 AD, then co-augustus with his father and brother Caracalla until Septimius' death in 211 AD. Caracalla was ultimately unwilling to share power, and had Geta and thousands of his followers murdered in 212.