River Gods on Greek Coins, Part 1

River gods are represented on Greek coins in several ways. The most interesting and popular type is the man-faced bull. The term “man-headed bull” is sometimes used, but since he is nearly always shown with horns and large bull’s ears, the face being his only aspect with the features of a man, “man-faced” is the more correct term.

Who is this man-faced bull? Most people assume that he represents a local river god in most of the cities which struck coins with his image, e.g. Gelas in Gela or Amenanos in Katane. However, there is at least one scholar who maintains that:

“…the man-headed bull on coins of Gela and elsewhere represents always Achelous and not a local river-god.” (Jenkins, The Coinage of Gela, 1970, page 165, note 1, citing an unpublished work by Hans Peter Isler)

ACHELOUS

Achelous was the original river god, named for the river Achelous, the longest in Greece. It is about 150 miles in length, forming the boundary between Epirus and Thessaly in the North, continuing as the boundary between Akarnania and Aitolia, before emptying into the Ionian Sea. The Greeks perhaps derived the legend of Achelous from Egypt and some describe him as a second Nilus. However, a bull was not the only form he took.

“…the Greek Achelous…was not essentially a bull-deity…the bull form [relates] to the combat between Herakles and the river-god, being the form momentarily adopted by Achelous in the various metamorphoses which he underwent.” (Jenkins, op. cit., page 165)

This “combat” between Herakles and Achelous was for possession of the maiden Deianeira. It is an early myth, dramatized by Euripides in his play Trachiniae, or The Women of Trachis, first performed c 450 BC. In her opening speech Deianeira describes the “various metamorphoses” of Achelous:

“…I had as a wooer a river…Achelous, who came in three shapes…at some times manifest as a bull, at others as a darting, coiling serpent, and again at others with a man’s trunk and a bull’s head; and from his shaggy beard there poured streams of water from his springs.” (Lines 9-14, translated by Hugh Lloyd-Jones, 1994)

It is perhaps curious that these manifestations are as bull, snake, and BULL-headed MAN. They don’t include the man-faced bull seen on coins. Herakles emerged victorious from the fight and Deianeira became his wife.

Another object seen frequently on both Greek and Roman coins arose from the same myth. During the violent struggle, Herakles tore a horn from the head of Achelous, which was eventually transformed into the original cornucopia or “horn-of-plenty”.

ACHELOUS ON COINS

The only known coin depicting the battle of Herakles and Achelous was struck in the early 5th century BC in Phaselis, Lycia (BMC Lycia, Pamphylia, and Pisidia, plate XVI, 5). A family connection may account for this coin: the founder of Phaselis was the brother of the founder of Gela, where the man-faced bull is a prevalent 5th century type.

Probably the earliest coin showing Achelous is this incuse issue:


1. Rhegion, Bruttium, AR stater, c 510 BC.

By 460 BC the river god was appearing on coins throughout the Greek world, with a concentration in Italy and Sicily. The most constant occurrence of the type is in Neapolis, Campania, where a man-faced bull is the reverse type on didrachms from c 460 BC to c 240 BC:


2. Neapolis, Campania, AR didrachm, c 275-250 BC
Goldberg auction 91, June 7, 2016, lot 1703.

Here are coins depicting MFBs from three representative cities in Italy and Sicily:


3. Laos, Lucania, AR stater, c 490-470 BC. Complete figures of Achelous are on BOTH the obverse and reverse of this rare issue. See this thread for additional information on the type:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/man-faced-bull-times-two.275086/


4. Gela, Sicily, AR tetradrachm, c 450-440 BC. An example of the forepart of the MFB, the prevalent reverse type of Gela tetradrachms from c 480-405 BC.


5. Katane, Sicily, AR tetradrachm, c 461-450 BC. The obverse is described as “River god Amenanos”, but there is no definitive evidence of this and it might have represented Achelous.

Part 2 will discuss river gods represented as other than MFBs.
Note: Coins 1 and 2 are not in my collection; coins 3, 4, and 5 are.

 

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You might be interested in my forthcoming work on this subject:

https://www.academia.edu/12178427/N...and_Identity_Oxford_Archaeopress_forthcoming_

We argue that man-faced bulls are all sinews of Acheloios (epithets of Acheloios), therefore maintaining the local river god and the original god of all water (Acheloios Gelas, Acheloios Amenanos, Acheloios Sebethos, etc.). Contrary to popular believe, the mythology of Acheloios as a god of water significantly pre-dates the naming of the Greek river. In fact, Acheloios as a man-faced bull is represented in Akarnania and Greece proper only after Asia Minor, Sicily, and Italy (this is true for all art, not just coinage).

The earliest example of Acheloios on coinage is actually from Miletos in Ionia, on a unique electrum stater. Cyprus is next then Rhegium.

And those are some nice coins in your collection!

 

Also, Jenkins didn't really commit but leaned more toward local river gods, he was just citing Isler. Isler eventually published his work: H.P. Isler, Acheloos: Eine Monographie (Bern, 1970), which was expanded upon in the 80s when he published an LIMC entry for Acheloos.

 

Here's the coin from Ionia as it is featured in Potamikon. A winged man-faced bull but still Acheloios, in my opinion:



Here also is a related passage from the Derveni Papyrus, which I think you'll like!:


Translation, for the non-Greek readers (which includes me)


Hope I'm not muddying up your thread too much.

 

My goodness, a very quick and informative scholarly review! Thank you very much for the comments and clarifications, Nicholas. I now recognize you as one of the authors of the upcoming works on bronze and silver coinage of the mfb. I have contributed input to your pages and meant to include links to them. I apologize for that and here they are:
https://manfacedbulls.wordpress.com/
https://manfacedbullsar.wordpress.com/

 

Well hello, John! FYI, you'll have to buy the book, since I thank you in the preface for your helpful comments (quick screen-shot preview):

 

Thank you, Nicholas. I will buy the book, not because of the mention of my name, but because of my interest in the subject. I'm afraid my contributions were very minimal and don't really justify such recognition. By the way, you blew my cover!

When and where will the book be available?

 

I'll get the proofs this month so I am assuming by the end of summer I'll have the printed manuscript. I'll have about 25 hardcover special editions to sell (the publisher's stock is all cardstock paperback, since they sell mostly to academic libraries who order bulk binding). If you're in the US you can buy it from me, but if in Europe I'll hook you up with my co-author to save on shipping.

 

And sorry for blowing your cover!

 

When you've been staring at man-faced bulls for hours straight wondering if it's worthwhile or if you're just plain nuts, something as simple as a posting from an enthusiastic reader helps keep the fire burning. For that, you've gained the blessings of Acheloios!

 

I was glad to contribute in a small way, Nick. I'll accept Acheloios' blessings and be thankful I don't have to do battle with him!

 

I was not aware of this one. I knew there was a 1/3 stater. Is this yours? Are there others?

 

Doug, I think there are only two known specimens of the Rhegion coin. One in the BnF collection (the one pictured), one lost (formerly in Naples, I think).

What 1/3 stater from Rhegion are you referring to?

 

Doug: As I stated in the note at the bottom of the OP:
"Coins 1 and 2 are not in my collection; coins 3, 4, and 5 are."
Thanks for the clarification, Nicholas. I didn't know, but had a hunch, that this was an extremely rare piece, since it appears to have been broken, perhaps as found, and the pieces glued together.

 

Achelous ... yup, pretty cool





=> awesome thread ... great OP-examples, ancientnut

 

My dream coin: (just so happens to have Alpheios, the River God on the Obv)

SICILY, Syracuse. Gelon. Tyrant, 485-478. AR Tetradrachm (23mm, 16.99 g, 12h). Head of the river god Alpheios facing, with a moustache, long beard, small horns (their tips off the flan) and non-human ears / ΣVRA, Two large grains of barley; all within a deep incuse square. C. Arnold-Biucchi, and A.-P. C. Weiss, “The River God Alpheios on the First Tetradrachm Issue of Gelon at Syracuse,” QT XXXVI (2007), pp. 59-74, pl. I, 1-1a (this coin). Reverse marginally triple struck, otherwise, extremely fine. Unique. A spectacular and important archaic coin of great beauty and power, one of the most important discoveries in the coinage of 5th century Sicily ever made. Toned and with an astoundingly virtuoso facing head of Alpheios, very probably the finest facing head ever to appear on Greek coinage.

Sold for 700,000 CNG 2009 (not including buyer's fee((but does it even matter at this price point?))

I have a few Neapolii Didrachms. I'll see If I can find the photos.

-Michael

 

I never noticed the horns on him. I would argue it is Acheloios Alpheios, especially given the early date.

Incidentally, the man-faced bull appears in Syracuse in sculptural form before Greek settlement of the area, though this is his only appearance on their coinage.

 

Great thread. Thanks to all who have contributed to it.

 

Wonderful posts and thread!!!!...I wish I had a 'man faced bull' to offer

 

I have enjoyed reading this thread, thanks!