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Ancient Coin of the Day: we've bit a bit Rome-heavy of late, so let's head to Greece today with this striking electrum hemidrachm from Thebes, perhaps ca. 350-340 BC. #ACOTD #Thebes
Image: ANS 1959.73.1
Image: ANS 1959.73.1
As Boeotia had no gold-mines, the use of the metal in the production of coins would be limited and, as such, when it appears it is worthy of comment. The design of the coin speaks of two mythological figures connected with the city.
The Obverse is dominated by a lovely portait of Dionysus, sporting a beard and ivy wreath. Dionysus was said to have been born in Thebes, and then famously returned to that City where its king, Pentheus, refused to acknowledge Dionysus' god-head, which resulted in his death...
...being torn apart by the frenzied Maenads, the female worshippers of Dionsyus, including Pentheus' own relatives: his mother, Agave, and aunt, Autonoe.
Image: Kimbell Art Museum (AP 2000.02) - Red-Figure Kylix, attributed to Douris, ca. 480 BC
Image: Kimbell Art Museum (AP 2000.02) - Red-Figure Kylix, attributed to Douris, ca. 480 BC
The Reverse of the coin shows another well-known scene, the drakonopnigon: the infant Heracles strangling the serpents sent by Hera. The scene and the mintmark, ΘΕ, are set in an incuse square. The drakonopnigon had featured on Theban silver staters in the latter half of the...
...Fifth Century BC. Heracles was also born in Thebes, giving the city rightful claim to use him in their numismatic iconography.
Image: ANS 1941.153.480
Image: ANS 1941.153.480
For more on these coins, see:
GARTLAND, S.D. “The Electrum Coinage of Thebes.” The Numismatic Chronicle (1966-), vol. 173, 2013, pp. 23–32.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/43859723
#ACOTD #Thebes
GARTLAND, S.D. “The Electrum Coinage of Thebes.” The Numismatic Chronicle (1966-), vol. 173, 2013, pp. 23–32.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/43859723
#ACOTD #Thebes
