Page 181 - DILMUN 24

Was an ٨slepieion founded bhy tle Seleuids

Coin minted in Antiochia in dedication to bring their cult from

Syria at about 13/ B .C (year Athens to Tylos lie the Aslepios

169 of the Seleuid‫ ﻥ‬era OP‫ ) ﺽ‬cult was transferred from Athens

by Antiochos VI. The legend in to the island. The temples of

Gree "BAEI٨E2g ANTIOXOY Diosouroi and Aslepieion are

EIIIDANOY٤g٥IONYO٧' is of not far from each other in Athens.

typical Seleuid dynastic style. Probably this is also the case at

The gods Diosouroi are depicted Tylos. They are most probably

charging with ontoi mounted on located close by the ephisodoros

horses. Young ing Antiochos is strategeion.

shown with rays emanating rfom The Eshmun Diosouroi

his head. This represents the use of -Aslepios connection:

solar imageyr in connection with As we have seen earlier the

a member of the royal Seleuid Phoenician deity Eshmun was

house. Antiochos IV Epiphanes considered in antiquity as brother

(17516 B.C) and other to the gods identified as Diosouroi

Seleuid ings, in the later years and abeiroi. According to
of the dynasty, extensively used Eusebios of Caesarea, the
Phoenician author Sanchuniathon
such solar symbols, which are wrote that Sydy (Sydy was
compatible of eastemr cultural and a deity in Philo of Byblos
religious perception with divine theogeny preserved by usebius
royalty. The use of Diosouroi in Praeparatio Evangelica; he is
on the obverse of the coin imght equated with Roman god Jupiter
be an effotr to fuse the gods and and connected with justice thus
their militayr attributes with the called The Righteous) was the
dynasty. Similarly the dedication father of seven sons identified as
of their temple in favour of ing Diosouroi and abeiroi (abeiroi
Hyspaosines is an effotr to bring are the gods from Lemnos and

their militayr and naval attributes Samothrace into whose mysteries
closer to the Charaenean dynasty. Jason was initiated). He had

It is deinitely an effotr to equate an eighth son with Titanides or

Hyspaosines with the Seleuid Artemides, who was Eshmun

ings. At the same time it can (called the eighth). Damascius

be regarded as an effotr by the also stated that Eshmun was

Athenian general who made the 'interpreted as Asclepius'.