Ancients => *sigh* => I'm bored => Post your favourite "Myth-Coin"

Coins connected to Myths is one of my favorite things about ancient coins.

I can't pick a favorite so I'll post one that is not so common as many are.

Thetis
A Daughter of Nereus, Thetis and her sisters are called Nereids.


Thessaly, Larrisa Cremaste
Head of Achilles l.
Thetis riding a Hippocamp l. with shield of Achilles, LARI


Although this coin is of Thetis and her son Achilles, which there is plenty of myth written about them and the Trojan War, I will post a little about Thetis and the Argonauts from the Library of Apolloduros, which is a type of summary of the Greek Myths. Maybe kinda dull for some.

"[1.9.25] And as they sailed past the Sirens, Orpheus restrained the Argonauts by chanting a counter-melody. Butes alone swam off to the Sirens, but Aphrodite carried him away and settled him in Lilybaeum.

After the Sirens, the ship encountered Charybdis and Scylla and the Wandering Rocks, above which a great flame and smoke were seen rising. But Thetis with the Nereids steered the ship through them at the summons of Hera."

And in more detail here from Mythagora.com:

"With kind words and a certain amount of urgency, Hera explained that the Quest for the Golden Fleece was within "a hair's breath" of failure. She asked Thetis to enlist the help of her sisters and calm the seas so that Jason and the Argonauts could sail past the dreaded monsters Skylla and Charybdis without incident … Thetis replied that if Hephaistos would not vent his fires into the sea and if the Master of the Winds, Aeolus (Aiolos), would keep his charges in check, the Nereids would lend their protection to Jason and his crew.

The Nereids swam to the Argonauts and a truly amazing spectacle took place. On one side of the sea passage was the steep rock of Skylla and on the other side Charybdis spouted and roared … further on, the Planktae boomed beneath the sea surge. As the Argo drew near the Planktae, the Nereids surrounded the vessel as Thetis grasped the rudder-blade under the ship. In a way reminiscent of dolphins, the Nereids darted upward and circled around the ship while Thetis guided its course.

After passing Skylla and Charybdis, the Argo reached the Tyrrhenian Sea and put ashore on the western coast of Italy. Thetis rose from the sea and spoke to her estranged husband Peleus. It's never clearly stated but perhaps one of the reasons Thetis was willing to help Jason was that Peleus was one of the Argonauts. Regardless, she told Peleus to rouse the Argonauts and proceed with all haste to the Planktae where, at the bidding of Hera, the Nereids would draw the Argo safely through the dangerous straits. Peleus was temporarily bewildered at the sight of Thetis but quickly regained senses … he called to the Argonauts and convinced them that his divine encounter was genuine and that their survival depended upon their immediate departure.

When the Argo was about to smash against the Planktae, the Nereids immediately raised the edge of their garments and darted up on the rocky cliffs above the waves and then jumped from one side to the other. As the ship was raised aloft by the waves, the Nereids caught it and toss it to and fro like young girls throwing a ball for sport. The waves rose like towering crags and then plummeted to the depths of the sea … water poured over the Argo in floods. When Hera saw the ship being bounced and swamped by the waves, she was seized by fear and threw her arms around Athene for comfort. The frenzy continued until the Argo was clear of the Planktae and the Argonauts could catch the wind and sail on."

Here is the whole summary of the Argonauts from the Library, if your really 'bored'. I don't have an Argonauts coin yet. Great thread, Stevex!

http://www.argonauts-book.com/apollodorus-library.html

 

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Very cool ... thanks for postin', brother doucet

 

A bit lazy for a big write up today, but the reverse says it all about the myth of Remus and Romulus fed by the "Lupa" : this is regarded as the origins of the foundation of Rome :


Rome mint c. 269-266 BC
No legend, Diademed head of young Hercules right, with club and lion's skin over shoulder
ROMANO, She wolf right, suckling Romulus and Remus
7.29 gr
Ref : RCV # 24, RSC # 8

Q

 

The coin's reverse shows the Pyre of Sandan in the form of a pyramid, Sandan on a "horned lion" within ...

 

Capricorn is often characterized physically, to have the frontal body of the Goat but the tail fin of a large Fish.


VESPASIAN - Died A.D. 79
AR Denarius - Rome Mint
A.D. 80-81 - under Titus

2.85 grams, 18 mm.
Obv: Vespasian laurel head right DIVVS.AVGVSTVS VESPASIANVS
Rev: S.C. on shield supported by globe and foreparts of two Capricorns back-to-back
Grade: a solid Very Fine coin with perfect obverse centering and clear legends. Reverse is only slightly off center including all details.
Other: Commemorative coin struck by Titus after Vespasian’s death. Sear page 126 #811. From Eye Appealing Coins June 2014.

 

here's my "abe lincoln" indo-greek





the reverse has the caps of the dioscuri, with the stars above them. i assume this is representing the story of them becoming the two brightest stars in the constellation gemini. the stars make the head of the twins.