Asklepios cult in ancient Cilician coinage

viABSTRACTAsklepios Cult in Ancient Cilician CoinageVarious gods and goddesses were the primary subjects ofancient coins. The healing God Asklepios and the members of hisfamily and his attributes were among the frequent coin subjects inancient Cilicia.As a coin type most of the time, Asklepios/Hygieiarepresentations for many cities didn?t have a particular importanceunless they had some kind of an epidemic in their cities. However,there were some cities with an Asklepieion or an Asklepios templewhere the cult of the Healing God was particularly important. Togetherwith others, ancient numismatic materials prove that Aigeai andIrenopolis in Cilicia were two cities that owned significant cult places.Some of the coins that we study in this paper shed light to someimportant aspects of the Asklepios cult in Cilicia that were eitherobscure or unknown before. We believe that this paper will add to ourknowledge on the worship of the Healing God and his cult in ancientCilicia.Key Words: Aigeai, Asklepieion, Asklepios, Coin, Irenopolis.vi