Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). Wikipedia. My wife is a jogger for years. I can’t stop admiring her, getting ready for her daily run, good or bad wheater outside. Many times she tried to make me enter her « sect »; no chance at all. My usual answer is: forget it, it goes faster in my car… Did you know that during the time of the Roman Empire, they were also fanatics running in their spare times ? Joggers from Herculaneum My wife’s great-grandmother from Villa Del Casals (3rd century AD) OK I’m not running, but at least I own a few coins with the character or deity running on it. Victoria: Victorinus Maximinus Sol: Victorinus Florianus Just for fun, Pleas show me your runners !
Thasos AR TriHemiObol Satyr running Kulix Amphora 411-350 BCE 0.69g 12mm SNGCop 1030 Ex: @Bing : Auction #1, Lot #1
That mosaic is amazing. Inspired me to check out the place. It's in Sicily. Need to go! Here's the full mosaic. Here's a link to the video showing more:
They must have been hooked on running in Etenne, Pisidia in 1st century BC. Here are two guys running with knives (didn’t their mother tell them not to...), and a woman running after a snake! Pisidia, Etenna. AE 14, ca. 1st century BC. Obverse: Two men running left with curved knives Reverse: Female figure advancing right; coiled snake before her. Reference: GCV 5459, BMC 19, 220; 2, 3. Size: 13.9mm Weight: 2.73g. Conservation: VF Reference : GCV 5459
I remember seeing that mosaic when I was a child. Under plexiglas roofing for protection in the burning sun in 40 C! The local attendant splashed water over the mosaic for us to liven up the colors. Lovely effect on the tesserae, but all the time I was really hoping he'd splash some over me. I've never been so hot. Anyway, here's a satyr having great fun with his workout...
ROMAN REPUBLIC. L. Plaetorius L. f. Cestianus AR Denarius. 3.9g, 17mm. Rome mint, 67 BC. Crawford 396/1b; Sydenham 792a; Plaetoria 2. O: Diademed and draped bust of Juno Moneta right; MONETA downwards behind, [SC below chin]. R: Athlete (victorious boxer) running right, holding palm in right hand and wearing ribbons and cestus on left; L PLAETORI downwards behind, L F Q S C upwards before, torch below. Ex Andrew McCabe Collection; ex Freeman & Sear Mail Bid Sale 12, 28 October 2005
Achaemenid Empire. Time of Dareios I, circa 510-486 BC. AR 1/32nd Siglos(0.11 gm, 5mm). Obv.: Persian hero-king r., in running-kneeling position.Rev.: Oblong incuse. Klein 758
Hilarious write up and great coins! As someone who does enjoy getting the ground moving under my feet from mud runs to marathons and everything in between (even some Spartan races) I'm always on the look out for images of others beating the street with their feet:
A triskeles, running endlessly: Aeneas or one of the Catanaean brothers running from Troy or Mt. Etna: Mars running on the reverse of a coin of Hostilian Caesar:
Can you imagine how pissed Marathon must have been when he ran all the way from Athens to Sparta, only to be told no?
On coin types, most figures like this are described as "advancing" and I think that's usually what it looks like. Only rarely are they clearly running... I think the best example in the thread is @zumbly's Cestianus. Sometimes the Persian sigloi convey an impression of running. Pax (like @Andres2's post above) and Victory might look fairly swift here? Is Gallienus running on the reverse? What about Oado? Of course the animals do it best. And for my most unexpected contribution, a Chinese coin (look underneath the hole on the reverse): Ming: Chong Zhen/Si Zong (1628-1644), H-20.355
PERSIA, Achaemenid Empire. Darios I to Xerxes II. Circa 485-420 BCE AV Daric (14mm, 8.30 g). Lydo-Milesian standard. Sardes mint. Persian king or hero, wearing kidaris and kandys, quiver over shoulder, running right, holding spear in right hand, bow in left / Incuse punch. Carradice Type IIIb, Group A/B (pl. XIII, 27); Meadows, Administration 321; BMC Arabia pl. XXIV, 26 Ex: CNG
