Pergamon (AD 198-217) AE 43 - Caracalla

Caracalla, 198-217 AD. AE43 - Medallion (43.91g). M. Caerelius Attalos, magistrate. AVT KPAT K MAPKOC AVP ANTWNEINOC, laureate and cuirassed (with gorgoneion) bust right / ΕΠΙ CΤΡ Μ ΚΑΙΡΕΛ ΑΤΤΑΛΟΥ ΠΕΡΓΑΜΗΝΩΝ ΠΡΩΤΩΝ Γ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ, adventus of the emperor into Pergamum: Caracalla on horseback right, receiving acclamation, soldier walking behind, statue of Asclepius on garlanded column before. VF, dark green patina with red highlights, fields smoothed.

In the fall of 214 AD, Caracalla visited the shrine of Asclepius at Pergamum to seek the god's help in curing his various diseases that he had succumbed to while in Germany (probably physiological more so than psychological). Caracalla must have received some respite from his illnesses as he then ordered the reconstruction of the temple of Asclepius as well as the temples of Roma, the deified Augustus, Zeus Philus and the deified Trajan. Of course, these acts would have endeared Caracalla to the Pergamenes who then struck a special series of medallions commemorating this historic visit.