Apollo as a Precedent to the Coinage of Sol Invictus

Summary The purpose of this paper is to produce an approach to Sol through Numismatics. I intend to point out the possible correspondences existing between the god Sol, referred to as Sol Invictus in historiography,1 and Apollo. While the solar facet of Phoebus Apollo is well known, to what extent he exerted an influence over Sol Invictus has yet to be elucidated. Comparing types and chronologies plus describing correspondences between the two gods in an homogeneous process may actually constitute a different approach. Three aspects will be taken into consideration: iconography exchange, the chronological relationship and the propagandistic function of coin legends. The aim is to incorporate the knowledge thus gained into a critical analysis of Sol in the 3rd century.