Carnelian scarab set in a gold hoop ring with bust of a woman. Greek. Classical Period, ca. 425-400 BCE. Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Art, Boston, the Bartlett Collection (#23.581). Public Domain.

3/4 silver obol from Delphi with the head of Delphos. Reverse has incuse squre, head of bearded goat, Greek letters at sides. Greek, late Archaic/early Classical, ca. 490 BCE-479 BCE. Minted at Phocis, Delphi. Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Henry Lillie Pierce Fund, #04.804). Public Domain.

Delphi has many origin stories; one names Delphos as its founder. Delphos was either 1) the son of Apollo & Celaeno, or 2) the son of Poseidon & Melantho (or Melanthia, or Melanis) — all names meaning ‘dark woman.’ Hence, on some coins Delphos is a man of African heritage.

3/4 silver obol from Delphi with head of Delphos. Reverse has irregular quadripartite incuse. Greek, late Archaic/early Classical, ca. 490 BCE-479 BCE. Minted at Phokis, Delphi. Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Henry Lillie Pierce Fund, #04.803). Public Domain.

Delphi has many origin stories; one names Delphos as its founder. Delphos was either 1) the son of Apollo & Celaeno, or 2) the son of Poseidon & Melantho (or Melanthia, or Melanis) — all names meaning ‘dark woman.’ Hence, on some coins Delphos is a man of African heritage.

Ring made from a scarab with the carving of an Assyrian king. The ring is made of gold, the scarab is made of green chalcedony. The scarab is Near Eastern, Levantine, Phoenician. The ring is from Cyprus. Archaic Period, 6th-early 5th c. BCE (500s – early 400s BCE). Image courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Henry Lillie Pierce Fund (Accession #98.712). www.mfa.org. Public Domain.

Intaglio with a man’s head in profile. Made of black jasper. From Cyprus. Late Archaic to Classical period, 5th century (400s) BCE. Image courtesy of The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore MD. (Accession number 42.160). CC0 1.0. Public Domain.

Pendant shaped like the head of a man. Iron Age, Cypriot, ca. 800s BCE-700s BCE. Made of chlorite. The earliest image of a ‘black/African’ man’s head in the Met’s Greek & Roman Art dept. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; the Greek & Roman Art dept (Obj. 74.51.5010). Public Domain.

Pendant shaped like the head of a man. Cypriot, Iron Age, (uncertain date, 700s BCE?). Chlorite, with traces of gilding. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Cesnola Collection, purchased by subscription, 1874-6. (Obj. 74.51.3161). Public Domain.

Gold earring with glass pendant of a man’s head. Greek, eastern Mediterranean; Hellenistic period, late 2nd c. BCE-1st c. BCE (late 100s – 50s BCE). Image courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Cesnola Collection, purchased by subscription, 1874-6. (Obj. 74.51.4030). Public Domain.

Hellenistic-style glass head. From Egypt; Ptolemaic or Roman period, ca. 200 BCE-100 CE. Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Egyptian Art dept (Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910, Obj.10.130.2656). Public Domain.

Gold hoop with glass pendant shaped as a youth’s head. Greek, eastern Mediterranean; Hellenistic period, late 2nd c. BCE-1st c. BCE (late 100s -50s BCE). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; The Cesnola Collection, purhcased by subscription, 1874-76. (Obj. 74.51.4032). Public Domain.

A seal made of Egyptian Blue/Frit (quartz sand, lime, copper, and an alkali) shaped like the head of a man. Its flat side has an engraving of an animal combat. Greek, made in Naukratis (a Greek colony in Egypt) during the Archaic period, ca. 599 BCE-570 BCE. Courtesy of the Getty Open Content Program (Obj. 85.AN.370.5.1). Public Domain.

Silver Antoninianus (coin denomination) of Roman Emperor Macrinus wearing a radiate crown. Obverse: IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINUS AVG (Imperator Caesar Marcus Opellius Macrinus Augustus). The coin was minted between 217 CE-218 CE. Image courtesy of the American Numismatic Society. Roman (#1944. 100.51836). Public Domain Mark. No Copyright – United States.

Emperor Macrinus ruled from 217 CE-218 CE. His family was of Equestrian rank, from the Roman Province of Mauretania (modern Algeria). They were Berbers, descended from local tribes. Macrinus was Emperor Caracalla’s praetorian prefect. But after killing Caracalla (possibly in self-defense), Macrinus declared himself Emperor (making his 10-year-old son Diadumenian co-Emperor). In 218 CE, both were killed by troops of Caracalla’s cousin Elagabalus, who became Emperor & ‘condemned’ their memory (damnatio memoriae).

Silver Denarius portraying co-Emperor Diadumenian, son of Emperor Macrinus. Minted in Rome, 217 CE. Obverse: M OPEL ANT DIADVMENIAN CAES (‘Marcus Opellius Antonius Diadumenian Caesar’). Reverse: SPES PVBLICA (‘Hope of the people’). Macrinus was from the Roman Province of Mauretania (modern Algeria); his family was Berber, from local tribes (so: Diadumenian was of Berber descent). His father Macrinus, Emperor Caracalla’s praetorian prefect, declared himself Emperor after assassinating Caracalla in 217 CE (possibly to save his own life), naming the 10-year-old Diadumenian co-Emperor. In 218 BCE, both were killed by troops loyal to Elagabalus (Caracalla’s cousin & successor). Image courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago; Gift of Martin A. Ryerson (Ref.# 1922.4891). CC0. Public Domain

Silver Denarius portraying Emperor Elagabalus (ruled 218 CE-222 CE). Roman, minted in Rome, 222 CE. Obverse: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG (Imperator Antoninus Pius Augustus). Reverse: ABVNDANTIA AVG (August (Goddess) Abundance). Image courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago; Gift of Mrs. William Nelson Pelouze (Ref. # 1923.1286). CC0. Public Domain.

Elagabalus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, ca. 204 CE) was Caracalla’s first cousin, becoming Emperor after defeating Macrinus (Caracalla’s killer) & assuming Caracalla’s imperial name (Antoninus Pius). He was of Syrian-Arab ancestry. In Syria, he was a priest of the sun god Elagabal, ‘God of the Mountain’ (a status inherited from his mother). He introduced Elagabal’s worship to Rome (forcing the Roman elite to participate), hence his cognomen: Elagabalus. He was so unpopular that the Praetorian Guard killed him in 222 CE.

Cultural syncretism: Coin portraying Cleopatra I as the goddess Isis. Issued by Pharaoh Ptolemy VIII Euergetes. Minted in Paphos, Cyprus; late Hellenistic period, ca. 146 BCE-127 BCE. Front: Cleopatra I as Isis; back: eagle standing on a thunder bolt. Cleopatra I’s mother was Laodike III, a princess of Pontus (in modern Turkey), which was ruled by a Mithradatic (Persian) dynasty. The people were of Persian, Anatolian, and Greek descent. Image courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago; Gift of Mrs. William Nelson Pelouze (Ref. # 1923.1226). CC0. Public Domain.