Ancients => Dionysos & Dionysos => Grapes in yo Thrace!!

Loving your avatar Hadji ....er Steve!

Weather here in Norfolk, Virginia, 44 degrees and rainy...yech!

Yesterday was awesome though! Walked around old towne Fredericksburg VA in the sunny, crisp, 57 degree, fall weather with leaves falling around us, and the trees in brilliant reds, oranges, deep browns, and it was absolutely stupendous.

Around here we say, don't like the weather...wait a day.

 

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You rock, Race (thanks)

 

Raised. Born a lot farther north. Haven't seen wild snow since I was a little one but hopefully that will be rectified this holiday season.

Heat exhaustion will get to you within an hour down here

We do have our "cold" days down here (in my area lowest it's gets is around 40 F) but they usually start mid-December and end around mid-late January. Colder the farther north you go in the state, to the point where places in the panhandle area might see the occasional snowfall.

 

I've visited Canada a few times and I really like it. Have always liked the cold and snow, I even thought about moving there when I get older. But who knows if that will ever happen.

 

When we first moved down here, most people talked about how cold it gets. Mid to upper 30s F at the worse. I said, "Man, that's not cold". But having lived here in Central Florida for 10 years, I can tell you the winters "seem" really cold when it drops into the 30s. I go to my son's in the DC area at Christmas every year, and I don't think it's much colder when it reaches the 20s up there as compared to the weather here. Perhaps my blood has thinned.

 

A cold front came through the Texas Gulf coast. We are 45 F tonight and planning on 77 F tomorrow. Brrr.
The grapes on my coin were turned to wine. The reverse character, Marsyas walking left and shouldering wine-skin did not fare well when he had a bit too much to drink, challenged Apollo to a contest of music, lost his hide and his life. Google the story for more details. I bought this one because you can see the statue on the column.

 

I have one of those:

L CENSORINUS ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS MARCIA
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: Laureate head of Apollo right
REVERSE: L CENSOR, the satyr, Marsyas, standing left with wineskin over shoulder; behind him, column surmounted by draped figure (Minerva?)
Rome 82 BC
3.66g, 17mm
Cr363/1d, Marcia 24

 

Nice coins Steve and everyone. It's a balmy 32 F here in Michigan. This coin has nothing to do with grapes or dionysos, but I needed to show something.

Doug H.

 

My best example of the L. Censorinus. The obverse die is really very nicely done.

 

It looks greek in nature. Must have had a celator who graduated top in his class.

 

I have no way to prove it obviously, but I'm inclined to think it's a prototype created by a master engraver, while the bulk of the issue was produced by very competent but uninspired apprentices. I suppose I could use my time machine to answer questions like this, but my non-fluency in Latin isn't really up to the task. Anyway, my time-share on the time machine is really very limited; I selfishly prefer to use it to nab a few coins here and there, rather than gather mundane stuff like actual knowledge.

 

Gosh, this may be the first time I'm actually looking at the obverse of a coin of this issue rather than the reverse. Stunning! This has been on my want list for a long while, but for the reverse type.

 

Good Heavens. You would let that stop you? Easily solved. When you get back to ancient Rome, lock yourself in a room and watch TV for a couple weeks. By then you will have learned enough Latin to get by. For someone with a time machine, you are not that thorough a thinker.

 

Take a smart phone with audio translation app

 

Well late to the party again, Steve awesome newp and host of other coins you posted.
Our weather here has been rain,rain, sideways rain, rain. last couple days been freezing and sounds like more rains on the way.

I also have a Greece coin from Thrace.

Greece,
Thasos, Thrace 148 BC.
Ar, Tet.
Obv. Dionysos right.
Rev. Herakles naked, with a big club.
30mm x 16.5g.

 

@dlhill132 I love your logic.

 

Awesome coins all!

 

There is an interesting write-up on Dionysos in this link, or you can pick up a bronze protome.

PS - I had to google the last word.
Protome (Greek προτομή) is an adornment on utensils or works of art in the form of a frontal view of an animal head or bust of a human.


http://www.timelineauctions.com/lot/dionysus-protome/56004/

 

thanks, rrd

 

I didn't see this thread until just now. There are so many new threads each day (which is a good thing). I guess I just have to visit CT more often. Here is my Dionysos Tet and a statue of Dyonysos from the Louvre: