Who is Standing Above the Lions in Ascalon?

Abstract

An Egyptian deity standing above three lions is depicted in several variants on Ascalonian
Roman provincial coins, from Antoninus Pius onwards. The only parallel to this unique
appearance is on gems. The image, usually identified as Osiris or Isis, should be interpreted as
the Roman-Egyptian Horus-Harpocrates. His syncretic depiction as a young solar-and-fertility
god, as well as a defender of seafarers, fits well a seaside city like Ascalon, which very likely
also erected a statue of him. His cultic ritual, in his aspect as a solar god, could have merged
with Apollo’s, whose temple stood in the city.