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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Only a Poor Old Man, post: 4761722, member: 111037&quot;]New coin after a while (well just over a month really, but that&#039;s a personal best!) and this time is from a region I never explored before. I am talking about Magna Graecia (Greater Greece - Μεγαλη Ελλαδα), which is the name the Romans gave to the Greek colonies of Sicily and Southern Italy. Not many people know this, but the Greeks settled in those areas long before the Romans did, and as far as settlements go, they couldn&#039;t have been more successful. And of course, they are responsible for some of the most impressive and simply jaw-dropping pieces of art when it comes to coinage.</p><p><br /></p><p>I can&#039;t really claim that my new coin is one of those magnificent specimens, but in my opinion it is a good enough example which demonstrates that the die-cutters of those times and places were pretty talented individuals. It is a silver nomos (like a didrachm really) from the city of Metapontion (Metapontum as was later known in Roman times) in the Lucania region. That is bang on the middle of the gulf of Tarentum, so we are talking about a pretty central location in Greek Italy. In keeping with tradition, my photos do not do the coin justice (too bright and some detail is lost).</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1161245[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Metapontion was an Achaeian colony from the Peloponnese. It was never as famous as its neighbour Tarentum or the cities of Sicily, but it was still an important centre of agriculture and commerce that flourished during the 5th and 4th centuries BC and it was also known as a centre of Pythagorean philosophy. One would say it was a very lucky city as it remained peaceful for the biggest part of its history. It didn&#039;t get involved in any of the local wars or disputes, and during the Peloponnesian war even though it was technically allied to Athens, practically the only effect of that was keeping a small Athenian garrison in the city. Metapontion did assist the Epeirot king Pyrrhus when he came over to Italy, but little is known about its role. It definitely sided with Hannibal though during the second Punic war, but again it somehow escaped any serious harm from the Romans. This didn&#039;t save the city from the gradual and almost total decline that all the Greek cities in Italy suffered during the Roman rule. Only a small amount of ruins of the city remain to this day. What they have left us though, is some of the finest coins of antiquity. They are easily recognised as most of them feature a grain-ear of barley on the reverse, a sign and symbol of the fertile lands of the region. My coin with Demeter (Δημητρα - the goddess of the harvest) on the obverse is typical of its period. It is worth noting that she was usually depicted in a high artistic standard as a gorgeous young woman. </p><p><br /></p><p>Show me your Magna Greacia coins, or anything to do with agriculture or Demeter, or any other non-standard nymph/goddess.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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