TC: Caracalla As w/ Aesculapius & Telesphorus 


CARACALLA . 198-217 AD. Bronze As, 24mm (9.60 gm). . 
R: Aesculapius standing, facing; small figure of Telesphorus at his side. 
cf. RIC. 554. 
Caracalla became quite ill in 214 AD, and in the autumn of this year 
he visited the shrine of Aesculapius at Pergamun, seeking a cure. 
This coin is unusual in that it depicts both Aesculapius and his 
companion Telesophorus. Telesophorus was a small boy who accompanied 
Aesculapius, and he became the symbol of success in the practice of 
medicine.