Depictions of famous poets or scientists on ancient coins are not frequent. The best known are the depictions of Homer on coins of Smyrna, Nikaea, Amastris or Kolophon. But there are coins too with the astronomer Hipparchos, the philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, of the stoic Chrysipp, of the physician Hippokrates and - rare - the poet Anakreon. The coin: Ionia, Teos, quasi-automonous, 2nd-3rd centry AD AE 20, 4.31g, 210 obv. bearded bust of Dionysos, r.; trident before entwined by dolphin rev. EΠ ΓEΓ AΛ - A - K THIΩN The poet Anakreon, wearing himation, std. r., holding with both hands lyra set on his knees. Ref. BMC 59, pl. XXX, 16 (1 ex.) Very rare, VF, olive patina Isegrim: The Λ of AΛAK seems to be a mistake of the die cutter and should actually be ANAK. For the magistrate then is left over only ΓEΓ. But such is not listed in Münsterberg. Because of the misreading in BMC Münsterberg listed an EΠ ΓEΓAΛ?...K with questionmark, whereas BMC reads EΠ ΓEΓAΛ...K? with questionmark too. The lyric poetry was invented by the ancient Greeks and Anakreon was one of the most important lyric poets of the ancient Greeks. He has been born probably 550 BC in the city of Teos in Ionia. When the Persians were menacing Ionia 540 BC the inhabitants emigrated to Abdera, and so did Anakreon. His path of life led him to the court of the tyrant Polykrates of Samos and after his death to the tyrant Hipparchos of Athens. In AD 495 he is said to have been died in Athens when eating a grape as it is reported. Compared to Archilochos, Alkaios or Sappho he is regarded as a somewhat superficial poet because his main subjects were love, wine and serene conviviality and this still high aged which is testified by the selected lines too. His poems - famous for their beauty and grace - were composed in his soft Ionic idiom. My favorite lines are the following: Σφαιρη δηυτε με πορφυρεη βαλλων χρυσοκομης Eρως νηνι πoικιλοσαμβαλω συμπαιζεινπ ροκαλειται. H δ', εστιν γαρ απ' ευκτιτου Λεσβου, την μεν εμην κομην, λευκη γαρ, καταμεμφεται, προς δ' αλλην τινα χασκει. (The purple ball throwing again the gold-curled Eros asks me to play with the coloured- sandaled girl. But she - coming from the nice built Lesbos - spurns my hair - because it's white - and gapes for another one.) Note: In H. Stadtmüller, Eclogae Poetarum Graecorum, Teubner 1883 (an edition for the school), you read instead of αλληντινα (= another girl) αλλοντινα (= another man). So the lines were morally ok, but falsifed! In ancient times Anakreon was celebrated and popular, so that several poets after his death have copied his style. Their Poems are known as Anakreontika. A famous poem of one of his successors is about the 'wounded Eros': Cupid as he lay among Roses, by a Bee was stung. Whereupon in anger flying To his Mother, said thus crying; Help! O help! your Boy's a dying. And why, my pretty Lad, said she? Then blubbering, replied he, A winged Snake has bitten me Which Country people call a Bee. At which she smil'd; then with her hairs And kisses drying up his tears: Alas! said she, my Wag! if this Such a pernicious torment is: Come, tell me then, how great's the smart Of those, thou woundest with thy Dart! (Translated from the Greek by Robert Herrick (1591-1674)) History of Art: A statue of Anakreon was made by Pheidias. This statue probably stood on the east side of the Great Steps of the Parthenos together with a statue of his friend Xanthippos. It is remarkable that it was erected 100 years after the death of the poet, what proves how popular he was. In AD 1835 a statue of Anakreon was found at the Monte Calvo in Rome and 1891 acquired by the Ny Carlsberg Glyptothek in Copenhagen (Anakreon Borghese). This statue is seen as Roman copy of the Greek original. But there are pictures of a seated singer like on the coin too, e.g. on a mosaic from Atun/France. Sources: http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Bios/Anacreon.html Best regards
Another example: IONIA, Teos. Time of Marcus Aurelius. Æ (25mm, 12.84 gm, 7h). Obv: ΤƐΩС, turreted and draped bust of youthful Dionysos as the Tyche, r.; to l., thyrsus. Rev: CTP ACKΛΕΠΙΑΔΟΥ, Anakreon seated, r., playing lyre. BMC__; SNG Cop__; von Aulock__; RPC IV 2780 (temporary): Two examples known: B Löbb and Frank L. Kovacs (ex private coll. Marcel Burstein = Lindgren I, 578A). Extremely rare.
Terrific write-up, Jochen. I've been keeping my eye peeled for a poet's coin, but with no luck. I'd like to mention that the USA National Anthem has a connection to Anacreon - per Wikipedia: "The Anacreontic Song", also known by its incipit "To Anacreon in Heaven", was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London. Composed by John Stafford Smith, the tune was later used by several writers as a setting for their patriotic lyrics. These included two songs by Francis Scott Key, most famously his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry". The combination of Key's poem and Smith's composition became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner", which was adopted as the national anthem of the United States of America in 1931.
What an absolutely wonderful coin and writeup, Jochen! The poems translated well . I've tried for a Homer a time or two but without luck so far.
RPC IV 2780 lists two coins of this Anacreon type. The one from the Marcel Burstein collection is not pictured. I bought numerous coins of his collection, all from a single dealer. RPC identifies the Burstein coin as Kovacs - Lindgren I, 578A. I do not have the Lindgren books. Can a kind soul who does have Lindgren I please compare the photos to see if, in fact, I have the Burstein coin? Thank you in advance.
I Presume you mean the one with his head on the obverse, with his name engraved, like (brace yourself on the price): https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=293676. Seated Homer on the obverse or reverse is fairly common, as on coins of Smyrna and other cities.
@PeteB - lovely coin and a very pleasing photograph. I have not seen that particular colour used as a background previously. Very nice! (yes - that is how we spell colour in Canada! )
Thanks Having read the Illiad and Odyssey many times, I'm very glad to have this coin. It is incredible to think that if Homer was a living individual, he wrote his works roughly 1,000 years before this coin was minted. The scales of antiquity are truly remarkable.
