A Kid In A Hoodie - Or A Powerful God Of Healing?

It looks like an unassuming little coin with Athena on the obverse and a boy in a hooded cloak on the reverse, but with a bit of digging it was to reveal a rather interesting story.

The boy is Telesphorus, the god of convalescence who brings recuperation from illness and injury. He was said to be the son of Asclepius and Epione. He was also known as Akesis, and had five sisters; Akeso, Laso, Hygieia, Panacea, and Aegle. He was depicted as a boy wearing a wide cloak and low hood or Phrygian cap, occasionally holding a scroll or tablet in his hands. Telesphoros had his own temple, the Telesphorion (Telesphorium), in the precinct of Asclepius (Asklepios) at Pergamon in Anatolia. He was also recognised as one of the healing gods at the Asklepian sanctuary of Epidauros.

As Akesis, the ancient Greek healing divinity venerated at Epidaurus Akesis, his female counterpart was his sister the minor goddess Akeso. Searching for Akeso reveals quite a few companies bearing her name, many of them associated with health care.

It is believed he was originally a Celtic deity adopted by the Greeks in Anatolia during the 3rd century BC, brought there by the Galatians, a Celtic people. He became associated with the Greek god of medicine, Asclepius, perhaps in Pergamon, a major center of Asclepius worship, and as the Roman Empire spread it helped bring this association back again to the West.

Discoveries of dedications suggest Telesphorus' primary role was as a healer for children, further emphasized by his hooded appearance, which aligns him with the Genii Cucullati, protective deities often depicted in hooded cloaks.

Tripolis Lydia, pseudo-autonomous issue, 2nd to 3rd Century AD.
Obverse: Bust of Athena left, wearing crested Corinthian helmet and aegis. Reverse: Telesphorus standing facing in hooded cloak, arms crossed in front. Reverse legend: TPIΠOΛEITΩN. Bronze. Diameter: 16 mm. Weight: 2.52 gr.
Reference: GRPC Lydia 24; SNG von Aulock 3315; BMC 23.

Note in ACSearch: BMC and GRPC date this rare coin to the period of the Antonines but it is unpublished in RPC IV, suggesting it may have been reattributed to another time period. It is unlikely the type went unnoticed by the RPC team.