I received this coin in a lot purchased about a month ago. I posted one poor quality pic showing the 18 coins... there were 4 small Greek coins in the lot and our member Orielensis (I am not sure how to "tag" him in a post) quickly picked out 2 with immediate attributions .. this is one of those coins. He does not post too much but certainly is extremely knowledgeable and I hope that he will post more frequently. OBV: Laureate head of Apollo right REV: MY-PI, decorated amphora; lyre right Aeolis, Myrina approx 200BC BMC 27–31, SNG Copenhagen 225, SNG von Aulock 1666 17.2/15.3 mm, 4.0g According to legend, the city of Myrina was founded by the Amazon queen of the same name, and became the first settlement in the ancient region of Aeolia in northwest Asia Minor. Myrina, a queen of the Amazons, led a military expedition in Libya and won a victory over the people known as the Atlantians (cool!), destroying their city Cerne; but was less successful fighting the Gorgons (cooler!). During a later campaign, she struck a treaty of peace with Horus, ruler of Egypt, conquered several peoples, including the Syrians and the Arabians. She also took possession of Greater Phrygia and several Aegean islands, including Lesbos. The cities of Myrina, possibly another Myrina in Mysia, Mytilene, Cyme, Pitane, and Priene were believed to have been founded by her, and named after herself, her sister Mytilene, and the commanders in her army. Myrina's Amazon army was eventually defeated by Mopsus the Thracian and Sipylus the Scythian; she, as well as many of her fellow Amazons, fell in the final battle. --- Outside of legend, Myrina is known to be one of the founding twelve cities of the Aeolian League. According to the Greek philosopher and historian Xenophon, the Persian King Xerxes handed Myrina and Grynium over to a Greek named Gongylus as a reward for Gongylus' support (treachery?) during the Persian war against Greece in 481 BC. Nothing else is known until the Roman Imperial period. Under Roman rule, Myrina was part of the Roman province of Asia Prima. It twice suffered severe earthquakes; first in the reign of Tiberius, on which occasion it received a remission of duties on account of the loss it had sustained; and a second time in the reign of Trajan. The town was restored each time. Excavations (1880-1882) brought to light about four thousand tombs, dating from the last two centuries BC, in which were found numerous objects representing the divinities of the Greek pantheon; children's toys, reproductions of famous works, etc. most of these may be seen today in the Louvre Museum:
Thank you, @Clavdivs, for the kind words and the great write up on the Aeolian cities – a truly fascinating subject. Also, yours definitely is a nice coin. Mine is in much worse shape: Aeolis, Myrina, ca. 2nd c. BC. Obv: Laureate head of Apollo right. Rev: Amphora amphora; lyre right, ethnikon MY-PI, Ref: SNG Copenhagen 225, SNG von Aulock 1666, BMC 27–31. 16 mm, 3.75g.
Nice find, and thanks for the excellent writeup. I don't have anything from Myrina, but here's one from neighboring Kyme, also featuring an eponymous Amazon queen on the obverse. AEOLIS, Kyme AE21. 8.62g, 20.7mm. AEOLIS, Kyme, circa 250-190 BC. SNG von Aulock 1635; SNG München 498. O: Diademed head of the Amazon Kyme right. R: KVMAI/ΩN, Horse standing right with left foreleg raised over one-handled vase; ΠVΘAΣ in exergue. Ex CNA V (9 Dec 1988, New York) lot 125
