Il Grande Ciclo della stella Sothis
I catasterismi e le emissioni in bronzo di Antonino Pio a tema zodiacale battute dalla zecca di Alessandria
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23025228 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Francesca Ceci (0000-0002-4790-8548, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Publication date | 2021-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | In Gremium. Studies in History, Culture and Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1899-2722 |
| Publisher | University of Zielona Góra, Poland (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.34768/ig.vi15.367 |
| OpenAlex | W4398171480 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 1 |
In 139 AD, under the reign of Antoninus Pius, an astronomical event of great importance for Egypt took place: the Great Cycle of the star Sothis, identified with Sirius of the constellation of the Dog, in which the star touched the same point on the horizon reached by the Sun once every 1461 years: this moment began a new era, the Sothiac cycle. This millenary convergence, which marked a moment of great popular celebration, was an omen of prosperity and fortune for all Egypt. The Sothis-Sun alignment was commemorated by the Alexandria mint with a special issue focused on the Zodiac, datable to the year VIII of the reign of Antoninus Pius (144/5 AD) and marked by the programmatic iconographic triumph of the zodiac signs on the reverse of the coins, where the corresponding divinity is associated with the zodiac sign.
Art · Art history · Humanities · STELLA (programming language) · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies
| Highly cited | No |
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