Baetylus / Baetyl (Sacred Stones of the Ancient World) and Coins

 

The Greek word ''Batylus'' or ''baetyl'', or ''baetylos'' probably originated from the Punic ''betel'' or the Semitic ''bethel'' both meaning the house of God. ''Baetyls'' go by many names. The Phoenicians, Canaanites and other Semite tribes knew them as ''Beth-el'' or ''Baitylos''. While some cultures viewed them as venerated stones, others believed they were ''house of god''.

                                             

Syria, Seleucis and Pieria, Emesa, Uranius Antonius, AD 253-254, Baetyl within hexastyle temple

 

There were many of these stones across the ancient world, and they probably represented the spirit of essence of a deity. In Egypt, and in Greece it is the Omphalos, from the Classical Period (5th and 4th century BC), in Hinduism and from the Harappan Civilization (3300 - 1300 BC), the Shiva Linga, throughout the Levant in Phoenician city of Tyre these sacred stones are worshipped and symbolism is attached to it. A black Sacred Stone (Al-Hajaru al-Aswad), is housed in the eastern cornerstone of the Kaaba at Mecca. The stone was venerated at the Kaaba in pre-Islamic pagan times.

                                             

The Omphalos in the museum of Delphi, Greece

                                             

Shiv Lingas found at Harappa and Kalibangan (3300 BC-1300 BC)

               
                                            

The Black Stone is seen through a portal in the Kabba, Mecca

Wikipedia says that these stones were meteorites, but that seems an over simplification. Some may have been meteorites, some definitely were not. The black and shiny surface of a baetyl may have been because of the offerings of wine, oil, honey or milk for centuries.

The Omphalos at Delphi. Probably the most famous sacred stone was the Omphalos at Delphi. It was named ''Navel''.  The site at Delphi was originally called Pytho and was a centre of worship of the earth goddess Ge or Gaia. A sacred stone existed there around 1400-1100 BCE. Joseph E. Fontenrose, in an early edition of the Oxford Classical Dictionary, notes the existence of a stone block which might have been this original, sited in the adytum of Apollo's temple.

                                           

Ruins of the ancient temple of Apollo at Delphi    

            

In ancient times, many came to this temple to consult the oracle. On the seventh day of the month, a priestess called Pythia would sit on a tripod, inhale fumes from a crack in the earth, and make mysterious pronouncements said to come from the deity. There are records of many famous prophecies. 

                                            

Pythia, the Priestess of Delphi by John Collier. 1891, Art Gallery of Southern Australia

The symbol of Apollo appears on many coins which showed the Delphi Omphalos. There is a Roman copy of the stone in the Delphi museum. Like other copies, it has thick netting carved into its surface. Wikipedia says that this is original, maybe it is not.

Tyre's Ambrosial Rocks. Tyre was an ancient Phoenician city, which still exists on the coast of Lebanon. The original city was on an island just off the coast, but Alexander the Great built up a causeway to join it to the mainland, and so it remains today. The name of the city means ''Rock''. Tyre was said to be founded on a pair of floating rocks, the Ambrosial Rocks, upon which olive trees grew. These rocks wandered around the sea until, with divine guidance they were halted and became the site of the city, as believed in myth. In fact there were two islands joined by king Hiram I in the tenth century BCE. This story is firmly believed in the history of Tyre and they appear on several coins. These stones are also described as ''baetyls''

                                               

Gordian II of Tyre, Phoenicia, 238-244 AD, weight 16.1 gm, Obverse has laureate and cuirassed bust right, wearing paludamentum, Reverse has olive tree between two baetyls.

  

Emesa Sacred Stone. In the town of Emesa in Syria, now called Himis, a sun god was worshipped. He was called Elah-Gabal, Heliogabalus or Elagabalus. The Emperor of Rome, Septimius Severus had married a Syrian princess from Emesa before he became an emperor. Julia was the youngest daughter of the high priest and through this heridity, Aurelius Antonius became Emperor. He decided to place god and place it at the head of the Roman pantheon. The baetyl of Emesa was the stone of the sun -god Elagabalusa and was stuck on coins. There are coins showing the stone in a ceremonial procession, with the Emperor looking at the stone. The stone was brought to Rome by Antonius and returned to Emesa after his death.

                                               

Elagabalus, 218-222 AD, Denarius, silver, weight 3 gm, Obverse has laureate head right, Reverse has Elagabal in exergue, the holy stone ''baetyl'' of Emesa upon which is an eagle, flanked by four parasoles, on triumphal cart drawn by horses right

  

                                           

Syria, Emesa, Antonius Pius, 138-161 AD, weight 10.1 gm, Obverse has head right Reverse has Eagle with closed wings standing on the holy stone (baetyl), head with wreath in beak, stone decorated with a star in the middle at the top and a pellet on the left and right 

Astarte . She was an ancient goddess from the Phoenician region, sometimes called Ashtoreth. She was the goddess of sexuality, love and war. She was equivalent to the Mesopotamian Ishtar. The Greek took her under the name Aphrodite. This ancient deity had a long and complex history. She was worshipped in Sidon. The coins show the Cart of Astarte, a two wheeled carriage containing a round or oval baetyl under a protective baldaquin. This is one of the beat known baetyl coins.

                                              

                                

Julia Paula, Cart of Astarte, Phoenicia, Sidon, weight 10.2 gm, Obverse has a draped bust of Julia Paula right Reverse has Cart of Astarte right with the sacred stone (baetyl).

The stone of Zeus Kasios. In the north west of Syria, by the sea shore near the mouth of river Orontes, is Jebel Aqra, a bald mountain. This mountain is prone to thunderstorms and has been a place of worship. The peak is called  Mount Kasios. They adopted a local thunder deity into their pantheon and called him Zeus Kasios, the Zeus of this mountain. 

                                                 

                                   

Trajan, Seleucis and Pieria, Seleucia Pieria, Zeus Kasios, weight 10.8 gm, Obverse has laureate head right Reverse has Baetyl of Zeus Kasios within tetrastyle temple.

Saturn's Stone. The Romans considered the era of Saturn to have been a golden era, when no one needed to work because the earth's abundance was freely available to all. He was also equated to the Greek god Kronos. There are some coins depicting Saturn and Harpa

                                            

Nonius Sufenas, Rome, 59 BC, Denarius, silver, weight 3.0 gm, Obverse has head of Saturn right, behind Harpa and conical stone (baetyl), Reverse has Roma sitting on pile of arms left, holding scepter in her right hand and sword in left, behind victory standing left, crowning Roma with wreath and holding palm front

Artemis of Perge. The town of Perge had a temple to Artemis which was probably ancient, perhaps dating back to the 5th century BCE. It is usually referred to as a cult or Artemis Pergaia. This object is seen on coins from the 2nd or 1st century BCE and on coins of Marcus Aurelius from the mid second century AD. 

                                           

Perge in Pamphylia, 2nd -1st century BC, bronze, weight 3.4 gm, Obverse has cult statue of Artemis Pergaia in a form of a baetyl in distyle temple with decorated pediment, countermark of a circle containing a seated sphinx, Reverse has Bow and arrow case.

A Baetyl of Ma. The Greeks identified their war goddess Enyo with an Anatolian goddess called Ma, There are coins showing the temple of Enyo with the baetyl on which Nike stands.

                                            

Septimus Severus of Komana, Pontus, 205-206 AD, Obverse has laureate and draped bust right, Reverse has tetrastyle temple with statue of Enyo on pedestal, Greek legend around, year 172 in local era

Other Baetyls. The other forms appearing on coins are:

 A conical baetyl (sometimes with two handles) on coins of Kaunos in Caria which have winged Iris on the obverse

                                             

Caira, Kaunos, 450-430 BC, AR Stater, weight 11.4 gm, Obverse has a winged female figure in kneeling-running stance left, head right holding kerykeion and wreath, Reverse has baetyl with handles at apex, inverted K in Carian to upper left, pelleted fields at sides, all within incuse square

 A conical baetyl of Aphrodite in a courtyard on coins from Byblos in Phoencia

 A baetyl on coins from Lyrbe in Cilicia and coins of Severus Alexander from Bostra in Arabia Petraea

                                           

Bostra, Alexander Severus, weight 13.2 gm, Obverse has laureate draped bust of Alexander to right Reverse has the emperor as founder ploughing right with oxen and cow, altar of Dusares above, three baetyls upon it with a staircase leading up

 Dome shaped baetyl on an altar on a coin from Adraa, Arabia of Marcus Aurelius 

                                               

Biblical, Arabia, Adraa, Marcus Aurelius, 161-180 AD, dated CY 70 (AD 175/76), weight 12.2 gm, Obverse has laureate head right, Reverse has a dome shaped baetyl set on altar with frontal stairway

The Black stone of Paphos in Cyprus, a baetyl of Aphrodite on coins of several Emperors. This stone still exists, in a museum near Kouklia. It is probably a volcanic rock or of meteoric origin

                                             

The sacred Black Stone of Aphrodite was found in the ruins of her temple in Paphos, Cyprus. This stone was worshipped as an aniconic idol of the goddess in her sanctuary at Kouklia since at least 1,300 BC.

Shiva Linga, also known as the Lingam. The origins have been described in the Hindu scripture of Shiva Purana. Shivalinga has been described as beginning-less and end-less cosmic pillar. It is the representation of a formless, tasteless and smell-less universe bearer. It is the oval shape structure resembling the whole universe and its bottom resembles the base of supreme power which holds the entire universe. According to the Skanda Purana, it is described as ''The endless sky is the Linga, the earth is its base. At the end of time the entire universe and all the Gods finally merge in the Linga itself''. It is the first form to arise when creation occurs, and also the last form before dissolution of creation. A number of types of coins in India have the Shivalinga depiction. 

                                               

                        The Shiva Linga 

                                             

One Kasu, Rajas of Sivaganga, 1743-1801, copper, weight 3.3 gm, Obverse has deity with bow and arrow, Reverse has Shiva Linga
 

                                             

Parmars of Vidharbha, Jagadeva, 12th century, pagoda, gold, weight 3.6 gm, Obverse has four punches including blundered Kannada Sri twice, facing right, spear head with lingam symbol and legend Sri Jagdeva, uniface

                                            

  

Indore, Ahalya Bai, Rupee, AH 1179-1210/ 1765-1795 AD, Maheshwar mint, silver, weight 11.3 gm, 1207 AH, in the name of Shah Alam II, obverse has king title, Reverse bilva leaf, lingam, manus maimanat sanah julus.

                                               

One Kasu, Rajas of Sivaganga, 1743-1801, copper, weight 3.4 gm, Obverse has Goddess Saraswati seated on a swan, Reverse has a Lingam

                                           

     

Tripura, Vijay Manikya, Tanka, Saka year 1485, AD 1563, silver, weight 10.4 gm, Obverse has Vishnu seated cross-legged supported by Garuda advancing left with two attendants and four animals, Reverse is inscribed with the legend in Mandla shaped area : Padma/vati/Snayi sri/sri Visvesva/ra Vijaya/ Deva sri Vaka/Devya. The Shivalingam is in a small square in the center on the Reverse.

Baetyl

Shiva Linga

Coins with Baetyl