now it sounds like Phillip ll of Macedonia, but that's not Roman. ..Or.. there's a ancient coin with my mug on it^^
They should give us an option to "love" and not merely "like" a post! Oh isn't he the most adorable child? Spanky! I know, I know. You're still waiting! Lolll
He's waiting, too??!?? Llllllooolll..Oh please, I'm crying over here! @TIF - I went and retrieved a medal given to my grandfather (who was a physician). On the medal was the caduceus and not the rod of Asklepios!! So, apparently, even the medical profession doesn't (didn't) know what symbol to use for their profession. Glad I know now! Thanks again.
Your clues strongly lead me to suspect the Thessalonian myth of Kaineus/Caeneus. In the myth Poseidon abducts a girl named Caenis and she falls in love with him. He grants her any wish she wants and she asks to receive a mans body so Poseidon grants her a male body with impenetrable skin. Poseidon and Caenis Caenis then changes his name to Caeneus and later gets into a fight with a centaur. The centaur is enraged because he is unable to harm Caeneus due to his impenetrable skin and so the centaurs gang up on Caeneus and crush him into the earth under a mountain of tree trunks and stones. Caeneus being crushed by centaurs I have not yet been able to find a coin depicting this myth though. Does anyone know if one exists? @LaCointessa , am I close or way off the mark?
@Curtisimo-- that's a great story and one I wasn't familiar with, so thanks . However, while you were writing it, LaCointessa revealed that her coin is Roman
@Curtisimo - I agree with @TIF that the story is intriguing. I never heard that myth but I sure like it a lot, except the part when s/he gets crushed and killed. Why would they do that? Do we have any idea over what Caeneus and the centaur were fighting?
The centaur was mocking Caeneus for not being a great warrior since he used to be a woman so Caeneus gave him a good knock on the head to show otherwise. Centaurs were known throughout Greek mythology for being unreasonable and violent when drunk. I thought the myth fit well with your dame/handsome man, not a guy/feminine emotions clues.
Here is (are) my first ancient coin(s) It was a whole box of Judaean coins. My goal was to purchase each of the coins in this box individually. I’ve accomplished my initial goal multiple times. There’s no end in sight! I can’t stop!
Glad you asked. That is one of my favorite coins. It has a Roman level to the right of Apollo. I have posted about it several times here (just search for plumb bob) or you can read more here - http://rrdenarius.blogspot.com/2017/01/ Several Roman Republican moneyers used symbols, letters or numbers to keep track of dies. The symbol is a pendulum level. It looks like a big A frame with a plumb bob hung from the top. The second coin has a thunderbolt to the left of Mars. You will see that symbol often on the coins of Zeus (the Greek god) or Jupiter (the Roman equivalent).
Yes, the part about being spirited away and falling in love with a powerful one that makes her dreams come true. That goes with the clues. So, Caeneus should have included in her wish that the one she fell in love with always remain with her and protect her. That might have covered her bases. Then Poseidon could have said to Caeneus: "Let's get out of here! Look at yourself! You have what you wanted so don't pay attention to that drunk centaur. He's unreasonable and violent."
I love the idea of your biblical coins and did not realize they were ancients. I thought they were newly minted. I would be more comfortable collecting something along those lines and, if you don't mind, I would like to look more closely at what is available in that genre and if you can steer me to good places to look at and acquire these coins, I would be very appreciative. Thank you.
Huh. I guess I never had a caduceus but a rod of Asklepios this whole time! This was on the wall of my grandfather's office for about 50 years.
This sounds familiar - Probably why healers use the snake on a pole. "They left Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Suph, to skirt the land of Edom. On the way the people lost patience. They spoke against G-d and against Moses, 'Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread nor water here; we are sick of this unsatisfying food.' At this G-d sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel. The people came and said to Moses, 'We have sinned by speaking against G-d and against you. Intercede for us with G-d and save us from these serpents.' Moses interceded for the people, and G-d answered him, 'Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it he shall live.' So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze serpent and lived." -Numbers 21:4-9 - The Jerusalem Bible, Reader's Edition
Hi again! I wondered if you will continue to put together this same collection of coins. Is there something particularly special about this collection? Is there a theme that connections the individual coins? (apart from being ancient and from Judea?)
Collecting Biblical coins is great fun and if you exercise caution, you can avoid the unscrupulous dealers who will inevitably try to sell you counterfeit coins, altered coins, or inferior coins at high prices. There are some excellent and honest dealers who will guarantee the authenticity of their coins for life. I'll be glad to send you a list of some of my favorites.