Dear Friends of ancient mythology! Here we have the story of one of Zeus' many infamous deeds, the abduction of Europa. But if we look at Europa she seems to estimate the abduction! The Coin: Phoenicia, Sidon, Elagabal, AD 218-222 AE 27, 11.8g Obv.: IMP C M AV ANT - ONINVS AVG Bust, draped and cuirassed, seen from behind, laureate, r. Rev.: SI - DON. / COL MET in l. and r. field A - P Europa, nude to hips, head r., sitting on bull, leaping r., holding with one hand horn of bull and with the other hand veil, blowing in the wind over her head. Ref.: BMC 235 rare, F/about VF Note: COL MET = Colonia Metropolis A - P = Aurelia Pia Mythology: Europa was the daughter of the Phoenician king Agenor and his wife Telephassa. Her brothers were Kadmos, Phoinix, Kilix, Thasos and Phineus. Zeus fell in love with Europa and gave order to Hermes to drove Agenor's cattle to the coast of Tyros where Europa together with her companions used to promenade. Zeus for himself joined the herd in the shape of a snow-white bull with a big neck fold and small gemlike horns. Europa was overwhelmed by his beauty. When she found him gentle like a lamb she overcame her fear and began to play with him. She put flowers in his mouth and hung girlands over his horns. Finely she climbed on his shoulders and trotted down with him to the sea-coast. Suddenly he swam away and she looked full of amazement back to the remaining coast. With one hand she hold his right horn, with the other a basket with flowers. Near of Gortynas on Crete he went on land, transformed himself to an eagle and raped Europa in a willow bush at a well. Other say this happened under a evergreen sycamore tree. There are coins too which show this scene. She gave birth to three sons: Minos, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon. After that Europa married another husband, Asterion, who raised her Children. Background: As always the facts behind the myth are more complicated as the myth itself. Beside the heroine Europa who is the protagonist of our story there was a nymph, the Okeanid Europa, acoording to her the Greek named the continent. The connection between the Okeanid Europa and the continent was already mysterious to Herodot. In Boiotia Europa was an Earth Goddess, hidden and saved by Zeus in a cave near Teumessos. Here Demeter had the surname Europa. This proved his high age. The Boiotian Europa very early was connected with the other Europa abducted by Zeus and then mother of Minos. Doubtless the myth goes back to Minoic circumstances: sacrifying bulls, bull games with the participation of women, the cult of the heaven's bull, the experience of the sea. The holy sycamore tree with the hieros gamos (the holy marriage) is mentioned by Pliny. The etymology is unclear until now. Mostly the Semitic word for 'evening' (Greek erebos) is seen as origin of the name Europa. Nevertheless a Greek origin is not excluded (Greek euruopa = 'widely sounding or looking'). The Greek at first recognized Europa as the Greek mainland in contrast to the Peleponnesos and the islands. After the Persian wars the term was expanded to whole Greece. Already from the 7th century BC on this name adhered at the Middle Hellas and then was kept as regional and local name in Macedonia and Thessalia until the end of ancient times. There were some cities in Thessalia and Macedonia and a river in Thessalia with this name. So the word Europa was linked from the beginning of time to the peninsula of the Balkans and Pindos. Behind these facts all other explanations have to retreat, even mythological ones! Herodot has differentiated between 3 continents: Europa, Asia and Libyen. Middle and Norther Europe however were unknown to him. Of the course of the river Istros he had only vague ideas. As border between Europa and Asia from Herodot on the river Tanais (the todays river Don) was seen. Whereas Europa once was seen as the biggest continent at the end of ancient times it was realistic seen as the smallest. History of Art: Several ancient depictions of a woman on the back of a bull could be connected to the myth of Europa (Metope of temple Y in Selinunt, about 560 BC; Palermo, MA - metope of the house of treasures of the Sikyons, 1st half of the 6th century BC; Delphi, Mus. - Hydria of the Berlin painter, about 500 BC; Oxford, AM). The same type of picture indeed was used for the abduction of a mainad by the bull of Dionysos, but ivy and grape-vine could be used for determination. In the Middle Ages the abduction of Europa was seen in conjunction with the constellation of Taurus but was seen too as allegory of the triumph of love over chastity. Referring to the 'Ovide moralise' from the beginning of the 14th century AD the transformation of Zeus into the bull resembles the incarnation of Christ, and the abduction of Europa the elevation of the human soul to God. As in ancient times so in the Baroque too, which has often handled this subject, Europa and her companions with the crowned bull were shown at the beach, so by Poussin (drawing, about 1649/50; Stockholm, NM) and before by Veronese (1573; Venice, Palace of the Doges), but most often the bull is shown already in the waves of the sea with Europa who - appaled or calm - hold tight the horns of that bull (Tizian, 1559-62; Boston/Mass., GM). Depictions of Europa are found within the work of Rubens (about 1630, Prado), Rembrandt (1632; Malibu, GM), Claude Lorrain (1647; Amsterdam, RM) and Boucher (1734; London, WC - 1747; Louvre) to name only some of them. Ingres has taken as paradigm fo his picture in the Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge a greek Vase. Sources: (1) Ovid, Metamorphosen II, 27 Literature: (1) Der kleine Pauly (2) Benjamin Hederich, Gründliches mythologisches Lexikon (3) Robert von Ranke-Graves, Griechische Mythologie (4) Aghion/Barbillon/Lissarrague, Lexikon der antiken Götter und Heroen in der Kunst, Reclam I have attached the following: (1) A pic of the famous wall painting 'The abduction of Europa' from the Casa de Nave in Pompeji, about 1st century BC, now in the National Museum. (2) The pic from a cut-out of the famous floor mosaic of Sparta, now in the Archaeological Museum in Sparta (3) The pic of the Greek 2 Euro piece which shows a cut-out of the above mosaic in Sparta. Best regards
Excellent information. I only have one coin with Europa: HADRIAN AE 22 OBVERSE: Laureate head right REVERSE: Europa riding bull right Struck at Sidon, Phoenicia, 117/118 AD 8.9g, 22mm BMC Phoenicia 225
Europa can also be found on every banknote around here - well, on the ones issued since 2013. Her portrait can be seen in a hologram on the right when you tilt a note, and in the watermark. In this case the "model" was a depiction of Europa on a cratère (vase) that is in the Louvre in Paris: In the lower right corner you can see a part of the bull. Don't think that the two look very similar, but I wanted to add the vase to make the ancients folks happy ... Christian
Lovely coin and nice write-up @Jochen1 ! I posted my own bargain-basement coin of Sidon with Europa a couple of weeks ago, but mine was issued by Trajan: On my coin, the reverse legend reads Sidonos Theas (Goddess of Sidon), showing how important Europa was to the people of Sidon (which you could guess from the frequency with which she appears on their coins for over two centuries). Apparently the people of Sidon considered Europa to be equivalent to Astarte, who was very important in Phoenician religion.
Very nice coin, Jochen, and great write-up as usual. Here's one from Iberia. IBERIA, Castulo AE28. 11.75g, 28.2mm. IBERIA, Castulo, early 1st century BC. SNG Cop. 223; SNG BM Spain 1394; Villaronga CNH 339; Burgos 120/906. O: L Q V F Q ISC F, male head left. R: MCF, Europa, cloak billowing over her head, riding bull right. The scene is weak on the obverse of this Cretan bronze, but admittedly, I wanted it for the reverse. CRETE, Knossos AE19. 5.83g, 19.4mm. Knossos-Gortyna alliance issue, struck circa 220 BC. Svoronos 122; SNG Copenhagen 378. O: Europa, holding veil, seated left on bull leaping left; radiating lines in periphery, two dolphins below. R: [Κ-Ν-Ω-ΣΙ-ΩΝ], Labyrinth; star above.
I believe this coin depicts Europa and the bull. I am the only person who thinks this; every other catalog calls the figure Aphrodite or "goddess". Cilicia, Soloi AE25 9.32g, 300-66 BC Obv: Winged gorgon head facing, snake ties below chin, two snakes facing at top of head, within irregular aegis with border, within circle of beads Rev: Aphrodite or Europa riding a bull right; "SOLEWN" below, monogram above; owl before standing right Ref: Lindgren 1597 ex Coloseum Coin Exchange, auction 121, August 2002, lot 201 Why do I believe this coin depicts Europa and not Aphrodite? The identification of the horse rider as Aphrodite was by Imhoof-Blumer. He merely calls her “Goddess” but believes the coin depicts the same goddess as Cypriot coins of King Stasioikos that are identified today as Aphrodite, or Astarte, or sometimes Europa. Imhoof-Blumer was certain this type does not depict Europa. He doesn’t mention traditionally turreted goddesses Cybele and Tyche. Nor does he mention mention Athena, the goddess usually associated with owls. It’s worth noting that the Stasioikos coin Imhoof-Blumer was certain doesn’t depict Europa is described as depicting Europa on the web site for the Bank of Cyprus. @Jochen1 's modern Cypriot coin copied the design of the Stasioikos coin to celebrate Cyprus’ entry into the European union.
How does one tell Europa from Artemis on bull? Augustus AE22 Amphipolis / Artemis Tauropolos This coin continues to resist my photo efforts. I need to stop buying coins and rephotograph the ones like this.
We depend on our experts and scholars to identify such scenes and figures as best they can. Often such identifications from two sources will conflict and we have to decide who has the best case for their ID. I regret it when 'which ID sells better' enters the picture but I must say the market for coins showing Europa will sell better than those showing a goddess not currently in the news. Is this what is happening here? IDK.
