Aion Art

COIN OF PERGAMON, MYSIA

Age unknown (most likely c. 300 B.C. - 30 B.C.)

Material: AE

Weight: 3.77g

Diameter: 17mm

Obverse: Laureate head of Asklepios right

Reverse: Serpent entwined staff of Asklepios

Mysia was a region in the northwest of Asia Minor (now modern Turkey)located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara which connects the Black Sea to the Aegean. The city of Pergamon was one of the most important cities in the region.

The first historical reference to Pergamon comes in the writings of the Greek general, adventurer, and friend of Socrates, Xenophon, who captured the city in 399 BC from the Persians. It was immediately recaptured by the Persians, against whom the city unsuccessfully revolted in 362 B.C. - an act for which it was severely punished.

It started to grow after the the conquests of Alexander the Great when Lysimachus, King of Thrace (a coins of Lysimahus also features in this gallery), took possession of the city in 301 B.C.

Lysimachus, entrusted the city to the command of his lieutenant Philetaerus, which proved to be a poor decision as Philetaerus revolted in 282 B.C., joining Lysimachus’ enemy Seleucus in his war against Philetaerus. After the Kingdom of Thrace collapsed with Lysimachus’ death in battle against Seleucus in 281 B.C., Pergamon became the capital of the new kingdom of Pergamon under the rule of Philetaerus. Although nominally under Seleucid control, Philetaerus seems to have been effectively independent, and, despite being a eunuch, he went on to found the successful Attalid dynasty through his nephew.

Under the Attalid’s the city would support Rome against Macedon and the Seleucids in Romes various military interventions and eventual conquest of the Greek world between 241-158 B.C., and in consequence Pergamon became a client kingdom of Rome ruling over much of Asia Minor until the Kingdom was ‘gifted’ to Rome in 133 B.C. when it’s king died without an heir. Under Rome the city was briefly the capital of the province of Asia, and even after the capital was moved it continued to prosper until the barbarian invasions of the late 3rd Century A.D.

A major healing temple dedicated to Asclepius was situated at Pergamon.Asclepius was a son of the god Apollo and a mortal woman. He was raised by the centaur Chiron were he learned the art of medicine. He became so proficient that he learned to bring people back from the dead. This perversion of the natural order angered Zeus to the extent that he killed Asclepius with a thunderbolt, sparking a dispute between Zeus and Apollo. In some version of the myth Zeus later resurrected Asclepius and made him a god. The rod of Asclepius, a snake-entwined staff, remains a symbol of medicine today.

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theancientwayoflife:

~ Lakonian Black-Figure Kylix.
Artist/Maker: Attributed to the Hunt Painter (Greek (Lakonian), active 565 - 530 B.C.)
Culture: Greek (Laconian)
Place of origin: Sparta, Lakonia, Greece
Date: ca. 530 B.C.
Medium: Terracotta

met-egyptian-art:

Bes Amulet via Egyptian Art

Medium: Faience

Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/548299

COIN OF CYZICUS, MYSIA

Age unknown (most likely c. 300 B.C. - 100 B.C.)

Material: AE

Weight: 4.77g

Diameter: 18mm

Obverse: Head of Persephone right

Reverse: Tripod, with tunny fish below

Cyzicus was a city located in Mysia, a region in the northwest of Asia Minor (now modern Turkey), located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara which connects the Black Sea to the Aegean.

The city was heavily involved in the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta between 431 B.C. - 404 B.C. and was the site of several major battles. It was also a commercial powerhouse and it’s gold coinage was a standard currency throughout the Aegan region until it was superseded by Macedonian coins from the time of Philip II.

Cyzicus’ foreign policy in Hellenistic times was closely aligned to that of nearby Pergamon, and likewise it was closely aligned to Rome, becoming an important regional capital under Roman rule.

Persephone (also known as Kore), whose head appears on this coin,  was the queen of the underworld.  A daughter of Zeus and the agricultural goddess Demeter, she is a central figure in Greek mythology whose abduction and marriage to Hades, the god of the underworld, explained the cycle of the seasons. The unfortunate Persephone was said to be obliged to spend the winter months in the underworld with her husband, during which time the earth is in mourning and nothing grows.

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COIN OF PHILIP II

(King of Macedon,father to Alexander III (‘the Great’)

359 B.C. to 336 B.C.

Material: AE

Weight: 6.34g

Diameter: 17-18mm

Obverse: Young male head (sometimes identified as Apollo) wearing tainia, facing right

Reverse: Youth on horseback riding left, spearhead below, inscribed ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ

King Philip II (born 382 B.C.) ruled over the kingdom of Macedonia between 359 B.C. until he his death in 336 B.C. Under his rule Macedonian was transformed from a backward state on the periphery of the Ancient Greek world to a regional power on the cusp of something far greater. While Macedonia’s potential was realized by Philip II’s son, Alexander III, more commonly known as Alexander the Great in recognition of his conquests, there can be no doubt that it was Phillip II who set the stage for Alexander’s achievements, instigating significant social and military reforms while subjugating Greece and much of the neighboring  Illyrian and Thracian tribes.

Philip II’s coins often feature a horse motif such as the one above, often thought to commemorate the victory of his horse at the Olympic games of 356 B.C., incidentally the same year that Alexander was born.

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netlex:

A golden pectoral, 400 BC.  Depicting Scythian life and mythologies.

ancientcoins:

This week a highly unusual coin, a three quarters facing portrait of Postumus, the Roman general-turned rebellious emperor of the western Empire.

In 260 CE Postumus and his armies rebelled against the rule of Gallienus and took over the provinces of the west, including Britain, Spain, Gaul, and Germany. Unlike many third century emperors, Postumus ruled for nearly ten years until he was eventually killed by this own troops.

This aureus was struck in Trier, late in his reign, and displays an untypical facing portrait. The engraving shows considerable skill and produces a convincing likeness. This style would not become common for another two centuries, and the modeling did not match this piece. The rest of Postumus’ coinage shows the more typical profile, suggesting that this issue was special and made by a mint master of considerable skill.

met-greekroman-art:

Silver denarius of Octavian via Greek and Roman Art

Medium: Silver

Rogers Fund, 1908 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/248036

An amphora showing Herakles playing the kithara (a form of lyre). He wears the kin of the Nemean lion which he killed in the first of his twelve labours. The god Athena and Hermes stand either side of him.

Source: From the Otago Museum collection

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