The last pagan iconography on a Romano-Byzantine coin?

A couple of years ago I bought a mixed lot of unattributed Byzantine coins. They have mostly been neglected and I'm trying once again to take an interest in them.

These two scrappy coins of Justin I are somewhat intriguing. The reverse depicts Tyche of Antioch, sitting on a rock, with the river god Orontes swimming to the right at her feet. Neither coin is in great condition, which is typical, but you can make out the river god on the first coin.



Justin I
CE 518-527
AE Pentanummium, Antioch. Diameter of each is ~13 mm.
Obv: DN IVSTINVS PP AV; pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right
Rev: Tyche of Antioch, turreted, seated left within columned shrine with half submerged figure of river-god Orontes swimming at her feet; retrograde epsilon to left
Ref: SB 111, DOC 57

There is another coin with Tyche reverse issued by Justin I and Justinian I, which would be year 527. It seems a reasonable that the Justin I Tyches were also struck that year.

Why would a pagan god suddenly reappear on coins struck in a place which at that time was heavily Christian? I haven't found an answer but wonder if it was in response to the great earthquake of 526. Estimated at ~7 (surface wave magnitude), it is thought to have killed a quarter of a million people. Aftershocks continued for a year and a half.

Perhaps this horrendous event caused primal fear, inciting the remaining people to beseech older deities for protection? Tyche was long revered in Antioch. She was the goddess of luck and these people must have desperately needed some good fortune after that earthquake.

Do any of you know of any "pagan" gods on Byzantine coins issued later than CE 527?

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Post your Tyches-- Greek, Roman, and Byzantine

 

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A rare Roman Tyche from Asia Minor.


Titus as Caesar
AR Denarius
Ephesus mint, 71 AD
RIC V1444 (R2), BMC p. 98 note, RSC 127, RPC 845 (0 spec.)
Obv: IMPERATOR T CAESAR AVGVSTI F; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: PACI ORB TERR AVG; Turreted and draped female bust, r; below EPHE

I have a second example which mysteriously has no mint mark.

 

I can see the Christian populace of Antioch looking at the figures on this coin as personifications of their city rather than as pagan gods and not inconsistant with Christianity. The US in a time when it was politically correct to call it a Christian nation had lady Liberty on coins not to mention the statues in New York harbor and on top of the Capitol building. We even have a statue of George Washington dressed as a Greek god. These are not idols to be worshiped but symbols of the nation.

Antioch with the swimming figure was a statue which, I assume, still existed in the time of Justin. Copies of it still exist; they may have had the original which has since been lost. There may be a fine line between gods and personifications. The river god was Orontes or the river on which Antioch was located. Placing his image on the coins along with the statue of Tyche representing the city would only be taken as pagan by those who today would object to such things as saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag on the basis that it constituted flag worship.

Wherever it went, Christianity blended with local customs. We got the date of Christmas and the decorating of trees from pre-Christian cultures not to mention a host of more localized traditions. Christian Antioch was proud of their city heritage and their statue. This civic symbol does not strike me as something the Church would have found objectionable. Maybe they did and that is why there are so few such coins.

What was the actual last overtly pagan thing on coins? Certainly Julian II's sacrificial bull was pagan. After that? Victories were signs of winning. Leo's lion was a personal sign not a pagan beast. Constantine had coins with Mars but the line between that god and the personification of virtus was becoming gray long before Christianity came to prominence so a coin would have to bear his name to be certainly pagan.

 

I looked for the last 30 minutes but cannot find it, however just this week I saw a photo of a papal medal that pointed out the presence of a river god on the reverse. I think the medal was 18th century but I don't recall exactly. The poster was surprised to find pagan iconography on a papal medal.

 

Okay, but what prompted the sudden reappearance of Tyche on these Byzantine coins?

 

Those are curious and interesting pieces, TIF. Doug's point is certainly valid, that the pagan iconography could be entirely secular, as it is in the modern examples he cites. But the tension between Christianity and paganism in the ancient world was omnipresent. It would be interesting to research the religious climate in 6th-century Antioch to discover whether there was a resurgence of paganism, as the coin evidence suggests, or whether the mint was simply recapitulating well-known civic symbols.

 

Very nice coins all.
PHOENICIA ARADOS

CILICIA, KORYKOS CITY COINAGE

P. FURIUS CRASSIPES

PHOENICIA TYRE

ANTONIUS PIUS
ALEXANDRIA TROAS CIVIC ISSUE

PHILIP I

 

I can buy the idea that the Christian rulers of the time were cool with Tyches as symbols/personifications of their cities, disassociated with the worship of her as a goddess. Her appearance on Byzantine coins could thus still be celebrating the city rather than invoking the goddess.

On the other hand, how do we explain the Festival of Isis issues? Isis, Anubis, Serapis and other pagan deities of Egyptian or Romano-Egyptian flavour featured on coins of that series struck under all the Constantinians. I don't believe the practice survived Theodosius, but here's one issued by Gratian with everyone's favourite jackal-headed god on the reverse:
http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=74611

 

I'd love to have that Gratian Anubis coin!

 

I now regret having brought it to your attention .

 

Remember this was a physical statue in the city, and the "river god" in the statue was actually Orontes. So like Doug said, it was the physical embodiment of the city. It was a massive issue, (I must own 10-15), so I would agree with Doug it was a celebration that the city was still standing.

 

The Festival of Isis coins are seriously cool. If I had much deeper pockets and a few hundred years longer to live, they're a series I'd enjoy collecting. The restored coins of Trajan are another.

 

Fascinating subject!!

I'd be interested to discover what further research would reveal. I suspect Doug is probably correct although 'non-official' resurgence of interest and pagan cult practice undoubtedly occurred then as now.

I wasn't aware this coin type even existed----I'd LOVE to have it as well!!!

 

Awesome coins Tif, something to look into, the Pagan's have never went away and still here today. i think the patina's on those coins are real.

 

As far as Tyche goes, this coin is on its way to me from a fellow board member, feeding my addiction to Judaean city coins. Claudius of Gadara...

 

those are very cool coin, and high on my byzatine list. they are pretty easy to come by, but not so easy to find good looking ones. TIF, those are solid examples of the type.

whatever was going on with the pagan symbols, it does stick out like a sore thumb in the byzantine coin line up doesn't it?

here is a very pagan depiction of tyche and orontes from atioch a few hundred years before...

 

Nice Tyches, eveyrone! Chrsmat, I like yours quite a bit-- Tyche looks very casual in her pose, legs crossed, hand across her lap... and I've rarely seen a better bronze of Orontes!

Like many of us, I have several of non-Byzantine Tyches.


PHOENICIA, Berytos
1st century BCE
Æ19.5, 5.9 gm
Obv: Turreted head of Tyche right
Rev: Poseidon standing left in quadriga drawn by four hippocamps Ref: SNG Copenhagen 83
I love this little coin and can't believe no one else bid on it in that V-auction!


SYRIA, Seleukeia Pieria
Dated CY 9, 99/98 BCE
AR tetradrachm, 30 mm, 14.81 gm
Obv: veiled and turreted bust of Tyche right
Rev: filleted thunderbolt on draped throne, ΣΕΛΕΥΚΕΩΝ ΤΗΣΙΕΡΑΣ above; Ι (date) and ΚΑΙ ΑΥΤΟΝΟΜΟΥ below; all within wreath
Ref: BMC pl. XXXII, 6 var; SNG Copenhagen -; de Luynes 3460 var. (letter on reverse)
I am confused about the date of issue of this coin. It was listed as year 9, 99/98 but I thought the I meant year 10. Callatay's article (in French and a .pdf) was difficult to follow but it appears that he puts the I + A monogram in year 9, 99/98 BCE and cites six examples found. CNG has one with I + Γ monogram listed as year 9; the I + A coins are listed as year 10.


MESOPOTAMIA, Edessa. Elagabalus
CE 218-222
AE27, 15 gm
Obv: AVT K M A ANTΩNEINOC; radiate cuirassed bust left, holding shield and raising right hand.
Rev: AVP ........ EΔECCA; Tyche seated left on rock, holding corn ears; to left a column surmounted by a statue of Marsyas, river god swimming right at feet
Ref: Mionnet supplement 8, 26. Very rare. Mionnet is the only work which lists this coin with a column on the left.
This one took a long time to attribute but I finally confirmed it in Mionnet's reference.

Tyche is a common figure on coins of Roman Egypt.


EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian
year 2, CE 117/8
billion tetradrachm, 24 mm, 13.5 gm
Obv: AVTKAICTPAINOC AΔPIANOC; laureate bust right
Rev: Tyche standing left with rudder and cornucopia; L-B
Ref: Emmett 901(2), R4


EGYPT, Alexandria. Claudius II Gothicus
year 3, CE 269/70
tetradrachm, 20 mm, 10.2 gm
Obv: AVTKKΛAVΔIOCCEB; laureate head right
Rev: Tyche standing left with rudder and cornucopia; L Γ in left field
Ref: Emmett 3896 (3), R4
My favorite find in a large mixed lot, Stack's Bowers Nov. 2013. Tyche is rendered in a particularly artistic manner.

 

As far as imperial issues go, these coins of Galeria Valeria have the last pagan deity on them.

Galeria Valeria, daughter of Diocletian, wife of Galerius. Augusta, 293(?)-311 CE.
Æ Follis (26 mm, 6.64 gm). Nicomedia mint, 308-310 CE.
Obv: GAL VAL-ERIA AVG, diademed and draped bust right.
Rev: VENERI VI-CTRICI CMH, Venus standing facing, head left, holding apple and drapery; in exergue, SMNA.
RIC VI 57; Sear 14595 .

 

We have to consider Constantine I with Mars which RIC gives about the same date.


This Mars is given as 313 from Ticinum Volume VII #12


Jupiter is dated 317-320 volume VII Cyzicus #8


These also come in Licinius and the boys. I'm not sure which was the last but the most common is probably the Licinius (here II) issues with XIIs value marks.

 

Ummm, Tyche ... is that what we're doing?

I may have forgotten a few, but here are a sweet handful of examples ...