Tetradrachm (Coin) Depicting a Cista with Snake

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

The snakes used in the initiation ceremony of the cult of Dionysos were kept in a cista mystica, or sacred container. The snake represented the god himself in his role as a fertility deity and symbol of reincarnation. This very popular coin type shows the sacred snake wriggling out of a basket encircled by a wreath made of ivy leaves. As part of the rites of Dionysos, the ancient Greeks and Romans chewed ivy leaves, a mild hallucinogen.

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