Laodicea ad Lycum was an ancient city about 75 miles (120 km) east of Ephesus, situated in the Roman Province of Phrygia Pacatiana on a high plateau at the confluence of the rivers Lycus and Caprus.[1] Map of Phrygia, indicating the location of Laodicea ad Lycum.[2] A water supply is, of course, the lifeblood of any ancient city, and the importance of these two rivers is emphasized on many coins issued by the city over a period of centuries. The rivers were easy to symbolize on coins; their names, Lycus (Λύκος) and Caprus (κάπρος) mean wolf and boar, respectively, in Greek. Although the site had been occupied for millennia -- excavations in the area have revealed architecture, pottery, obsidian and flint stone finds dating back to the 4th millennium BC -- the Hellenistic city was founded by the Seleucid King Antiochus II in the mid 3rd century BC, and named after his wife Laodike. There had been an older city on the same site called Diospolis or Rhoas.[3] It is one of many cities named Laodicea and it should not be confused with Laodicea ad Mare in Syria, which had a prolific mint in ancient times and is perhaps more familiar to coin collectors. Biblical scholars, however, are quite familiar with Laodicea ad Lycum for it is one of the Seven Churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation. The city flourished because it lay on the crossroads of trade routes, and did an extensive trade in textiles. With the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC and the Treaty of Apamea signed in 188 BC, the region passed to the Pergamene Kingdom, and finally, in 133 BC the last Pergamene king ceded the region to Rome in his will. Many ruins of the city remain today. These ruins include theaters, temples, baths, an aqueduct, a stadium and a gymnasium.[4] This coin in my collection features Philip II as Caesar and depicts the two rivers, Caprus and Lycus, symbolized by a boar and a wolf: Philip II as Caesar, AD 244-247. Roman provincial Æ 25 mm, 7.7 g. Phrygia, Laodicea ad Lycum, Sardis Workshop,[5] AD 244-247. Obv: •Μ•ΙΟVΛΙ••ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟϹ•Κ•, bare headed, draped and cuirassed bust of Philip II, right, seen from front. Rev: ΛΑΟΔΙΚЄ|ΩΝ ΝЄ|ΩΚΟΡΩΝ, river Caprus as boar and river Lycus as wolf seated back to back, heads facing each other. Refs: BMC 25.324,260 (same rev. die); RG 6326 (same obv. die); RPC VIII unassigned, ID 20777; SNG Cop 607; SNG Leypold 1678. This symbolism was used early on by the city. This coin, for example, dates from the first century BC and features a boar on the obverse and a wolf on the reverse. Æ 15 mm, 3.79 g, BMC 25.287,52. Naumann Auction 44, lot 456, 7 August 2016. Post your coins of this city, coins depicting personifications/symbols of rivers, or anything you feel is relevant! ~~~ Notes: 1. Much of the information about the ancient city is taken from Archaeology, Current World. "Laodicea." World Archaeology, 18 Sept. 2018, www.world-archaeology.com/features/laodicea/. 2. Bible Map: Laodicea, bibleatlas.org/full/laodicea.htm. 3. Head, Barclay Vincent. Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Phrygia. Printed by Order of the Trustees, 1906, p. lxxiii. 4. Photos and information from "Laodicea on the Lycus."Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Nov. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laodicea_on_the_Lycus. 5. This system of workshops in Asia Minor was developed by Konrad Kraft in Das System der kaiserzeitlichen Münzprägung in Kleinasien (Berlin, 1972). For a discussion of Kraft's work, see Johnston, Ann. "Greek Imperial Statistics : a Commentary." Revue Numismatique , vol. 26, 1984, pp. 240–257 (pp. 248-249 in particular), available at https://www.persee.fr/doc/numi_0484-8942_1984_num_6_26_1866.
Interesting writeup, @Roman Collector Great to know the Romans used animals as symbols of rivers. Nice coins also!
Great coins and info RR, a recent acquisition depicting river Maeander. CARIA. Antiochia ad Maeandrum. Gallienus, 253-268. Hexassarion (?) (Bronze, 30 mm, 13.65 g, 6 h). AY•K•Π•ΓAΛ[ΛIHNOC] Radiate, helmeted, draped and cuirassed bust of Gallienus to left, holding spear and shield. Rev. ANT[IOXЄΩN] Bridge of six arches spanning the Maeander, with gateway to left and river-god Maeander reclining left on bridge, holding reed. BMC 57. SNG von Aulock 2430.
@Roman Collector.....Thoroughly enjoyed the write up thanks!.... Nice looking PII coin I didn't know that animal depictions could symbolize rivers, Cool!.....Great to learn something new... Antoninus Pius, 138 - 161 AD Billon Tetradrachm, Egypt, Alexandria Mint, 23mm, 11.94 grams Obverse: Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Antoninus right. Reverse: Nilus reclining left holding reed and cornucopia from which emerges Nilus, crocodile below. Emmerr 1413.13 // Dattari 2294 // Koln 1594 // K&G 35.426
Very interesting article, @Roman Collector! Also nice coin examples in the article and in response. Here's one wth the river god Orontes on the reverse. I posted separately a thread this evening on Antioch on the Orontes. Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD). AR Tetradrachm (26mm, 15.10 g, 12h). Antioch mint, Seleucis Pieria, Syria. Dated year 29 of the Actian Era and Cos. XII = October-December 3 BC. ΚAIΣAPOΣ ΣΕ-BAΣTOY (‘of Augustus Caesar’), laureate head of Augustus right, bead and reel border / ETOYΣ ΘΚ NIKHΣ ( 'Year 29 of the victory'), Tyche, holding palm frond in right hand, seated right on rocky outcropping; at her feet, half-length figure of river-god Orontes swimming right; in right field two monograms and IB (consular date) to right, border of dots. Cf. Michel and Karin Prieur, A type corpus of the Syro-Phoenician Tetradrachms and their Fractions (London 2000), p. 9 no. 53
Great writeup, RC! I really like that type and need to add it to my want list. The hound on coins of Segesta are thought to be a representation of the river-god Krimisos, who seduced Aigeste, the daughter of the Trojan Hippotes, in canine form. From their union was born Aigestes, the legendary founder of the city. SICILY, Segesta AR Didrachm. 8.16g, 21.9mm. SICILY, Segesta, circa 440/35-420/16 BC. Hurter, Didrachmenprägung 129 (V39/R73); HGC 2, 1135. O: River-god Krimisos in the form of a hound standing left. R: Head of the nymph Segesta right, within linear circle. The one below is a little unusual for not being the personification of a river but a mountain, or more specifically, the Balkan mountain range, in earlier times known as Haemus Mons. In myth, Haemus was a king of Thrace, who in his vanity compared himself and his wife to Zeus and Hera. This angered the gods, and the king and queen were turned into mountains. MACRINUS AE26. 11.97g, 26mm. MOESIA INFERIOR, Nicopolis ad Istrum, AD 217-218. Statius Longinus, legatus consularis. Hristova-Hoeft-Jekov (2018) 8.23.43.1; Varbanov 3428. O: AVT K M OΠEΛ CEV MAKPEINOC AV, laureate head right. R: ΥΠACTAΛONΓINO NIKOΠOΛITΩN ΠOCICT, Mountain-god Haemus reclining left on wooded rock outcropping, head right, resting arm above head and cradling spear; below, bear right; AIMO/C to left.
