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<p>[QUOTE="Jochen1, post: 3343471, member: 103829"]Dear Friends of ancient mythology!</p><p><br /></p><p>As motto on top of my book "Münzen und antike Mythologie" I have chosen the following words of Gottfried Benn ('Roman des Phänotyps'):</p><p><br /></p><p>"<i>But millenia are living in our souls,</i></p><p><i><i>Lost, silents, dust: Kain, Zenobia,</i></i></p><p><i><i>The Atreids sway their Thyrsos rods from afar."</i></i></p><p><br /></p><p>And as first coin in my book I have chosen Apollo Smintheus. This has sentimental reasons: I recall very well how we have begun to read Homer's Ilias in the school.</p><p>The first coin I want to present is a coin of Commodus. It is an AE28 from Alexandreia. The legends are in Latin because this city was a Roman colony.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>1st Coin: </b></p><p>Commodus, AD 180-192</p><p>AE 28, 7.81g, 27.74mm, 45°</p><p>obv. AVT CAI(sic!) M AV COM - MODO AVG BA</p><p>Laureate head r</p><p>rev. COL AVG - TROAD</p><p>Statue of Apollo Smintheus, in himation, quiver over r. shoulder, stg. facing on small cippus, holding bow in l. hand and and sacrificing from patera in r. hand over flaming tripod.</p><p>Ref.: not in Bellinger (cf. A193); not in Aulock, Copenhagen, Righetti, BMC, Lindgren, RPC IV online.</p><p>Rare, VF/EF, brown-green patina</p><p>[ATTACH=full]885424[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The second coin is from Maximinus:</p><p><br /></p><p><b>2nd Coin:</b></p><p>Maximinus, AD 235-238</p><p>AE 24, 8.81g, 23.67mm, 225°</p><p>obv. IMP MAXI - MINVS PIVS AV</p><p>Bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r.</p><p>rev. COL AVG - TRO</p><p>Apollo Smintheus, quiver over l. shoulder stg. r., holding his bow in raised l.</p><p>hand and sacrificing with r. hand out of patera over tripod; behind him a</p><p>cypress.</p><p>ref. Bellinger A358 (type 3)</p><p>Rare, VF, green-brown patina, slightly overall roughness (as often)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]885425[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Note:</b></p><p>The cypress behind the statue of Apollo Smintheus is a known iconographical indication that the sanctuary of Smintheus has been stood in a cypress grove.</p><p><br /></p><p>Interestingly the worshipping of Apollo Smintheus extends only to Asia Minor and not the Greek mainland. Especially Alexandreia/Troas was the center of this cult. This is as generally known one of the strongest arguments for the thesis that the origin of the Apollo cult was Asia minor. Here we have the mythological explanation:</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Mythology:</b></p><p>After the fall of Troy the Greeks start to spread to the East. They settled on the Aegaen islands and the western coast of Asia Minor. The worshipping of Apollo in this region have had a curious origin. When the old Teukri under their king Teucer came from Crete to the coast of Asia Minor, the oracle have said them to stay there where they could see their enemies creeping out of the ground. When they came to Hamaxitos, a city in this region, the mice creeping out of the ground gnaw at their shields in the night. So they saw the oracle of the god fulfilled, settled down and built up a statue of Apollo and at his feet laying a mouse, which in the Aeolian dialect was called <i>Smintha</i>. (Ovid Met. II, 5685)</p><p><br /></p><p>There are known two different versions of Apollo Smintheus depictions:</p><p>(1) A cult statue where he stands frontal sometimes holding a mouse in his hand. This version is characteristic of Alexandreia/Troas.</p><p>(2) A cult statue where Apollo is standing l. and has sometimes a mouse under his foot. In Chryse there was a statue made by Scopas, showing exactly this position, known only by descriptions, e.g. Strabo. This statue too could be seen on coins.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Smintheus:</b></p><p>The meaning of the epitheton '<i>Smintheus</i>' is interpreted in different ways:</p><p><br /></p><p>(1) The origin of the name is the city of Sminthe in Troas, where Apollo was worshipped already in pre-hellenic times. So Apollo Smintheus means "Apollo from Sminthe".</p><p>(2) In the Aeolian dialect '<i>smintha</i>' means 'mouse'. So Apollo Smintheus means "Apollo the mice-god". The mouse in ancient times was a symbol of prophetic power because it was thought mice were inspired by the exhailing coming out of the gound. That would match the prophetic power of Apollo.</p><p>(3) "Apollo the mice-killer". The Greek already had recognized the mice as vermin and</p><p>worshipped Apollo as protector against mice.</p><p><br /></p><p>I for myself tend to #2. The last I think is too rationalistic. I remember the explanation of my venerated Greek teacher that the <i>sm</i>-sound of <i>Smintheus</i> has a flattering connotation and must have pleased the god.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Apollo Smintheus at Homer:</b></p><p>The first mention of Apollo Smintheus is found in Homer's Ilias I, 39. The beginning of the Ilias describes how Apollo strikes the Greeks with a plague because Agamemnon has raped Chrysis, the daughter of Apollo's priest Chryses, and so has humiliated his priest.</p><p><br /></p><p>The old man, afraid, obeyed his words, walked off in silence,</p><p>along the shore by the tumbling, crashing surf.</p><p>Some distance off, he prayed to Lord Apollo,</p><p>Leto's fair-haired child:</p><p>"<i>God with the silver bow,</i></p><p><i>protector of Chryse, sacred Cilla, 40</i></p><p><i>mighty lord of Tenedos, Sminthean Apollo, </i></p><p><i>hear my prayer: If I've ever pleased you </i></p><p><i>with a holy shrine, or burned bones for you— [40]</i></p><p><i>bulls and goats well wrapped in fat—</i></p><p><i>grant me my prayer. Force the Danaans</i></p><p><i>to pay full price for my tears with your arrows</i>."</p><p>So Chryses prayed. Phoebus Apollo heard him.</p><p>He came down from Olympus top enraged,</p><p>carrying on his shoulders bow and covered quiver,</p><p>his arrows rattling in anger against his arm. 50</p><p>So the god swooped down, descending like the night.</p><p>He sat some distance from the ships, shot off an arrow—</p><p>the silver bow reverberating ominously.</p><p>First, the god massacred mules and swift dogs, [50]</p><p>then loosed sharp arrows in among the troops themselves.</p><p>Thick fires burned the corpses ceaselessly.</p><p>(Translation by Ian Johnston, <a href="http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad1.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad1.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad1.htm</a> )</p><p><br /></p><p>To say the Greeks have recognized the mice already as transmitters of plagues, as I have read too, I would refuse because it is the rat flea, which is transferring plague, and so the bad guy is the rat and not the mouse.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have added a pic of the ruins of Alexandreia after a coloured copper engraving of Heinrich Hugo Cöntgen (1727-1792) made after an engraving of Giovanni Battista Borra (1712-1788) from my collection.:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]885427[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Sources:</b></p><p>(1) Homer, Ilias</p><p>(2) Ovid, Metamorphosen</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Literature:</b></p><p>(1) Der Kleine Pauly</p><p>(2) My article about Apollo Smintheus and the herdsman Orodes</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Online Sources:</b></p><p>(1) <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/www.varchive.org7schorr/bronze.htn" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/www.varchive.org7schorr/bronze.htn">www.varchive.org7schorr/bronze.htn</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Best regards[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Jochen1, post: 3343471, member: 103829"]Dear Friends of ancient mythology! As motto on top of my book "Münzen und antike Mythologie" I have chosen the following words of Gottfried Benn ('Roman des Phänotyps'): "[I]But millenia are living in our souls, [I]Lost, silents, dust: Kain, Zenobia, The Atreids sway their Thyrsos rods from afar."[/I][/I] And as first coin in my book I have chosen Apollo Smintheus. This has sentimental reasons: I recall very well how we have begun to read Homer's Ilias in the school. The first coin I want to present is a coin of Commodus. It is an AE28 from Alexandreia. The legends are in Latin because this city was a Roman colony. [B]1st Coin: [/B] Commodus, AD 180-192 AE 28, 7.81g, 27.74mm, 45° obv. AVT CAI(sic!) M AV COM - MODO AVG BA Laureate head r rev. COL AVG - TROAD Statue of Apollo Smintheus, in himation, quiver over r. shoulder, stg. facing on small cippus, holding bow in l. hand and and sacrificing from patera in r. hand over flaming tripod. Ref.: not in Bellinger (cf. A193); not in Aulock, Copenhagen, Righetti, BMC, Lindgren, RPC IV online. Rare, VF/EF, brown-green patina [ATTACH=full]885424[/ATTACH] The second coin is from Maximinus: [B]2nd Coin:[/B] Maximinus, AD 235-238 AE 24, 8.81g, 23.67mm, 225° obv. IMP MAXI - MINVS PIVS AV Bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r. rev. COL AVG - TRO Apollo Smintheus, quiver over l. shoulder stg. r., holding his bow in raised l. hand and sacrificing with r. hand out of patera over tripod; behind him a cypress. ref. Bellinger A358 (type 3) Rare, VF, green-brown patina, slightly overall roughness (as often) [ATTACH=full]885425[/ATTACH] [B]Note:[/B] The cypress behind the statue of Apollo Smintheus is a known iconographical indication that the sanctuary of Smintheus has been stood in a cypress grove. Interestingly the worshipping of Apollo Smintheus extends only to Asia Minor and not the Greek mainland. Especially Alexandreia/Troas was the center of this cult. This is as generally known one of the strongest arguments for the thesis that the origin of the Apollo cult was Asia minor. Here we have the mythological explanation: [B]Mythology:[/B] After the fall of Troy the Greeks start to spread to the East. They settled on the Aegaen islands and the western coast of Asia Minor. The worshipping of Apollo in this region have had a curious origin. When the old Teukri under their king Teucer came from Crete to the coast of Asia Minor, the oracle have said them to stay there where they could see their enemies creeping out of the ground. When they came to Hamaxitos, a city in this region, the mice creeping out of the ground gnaw at their shields in the night. So they saw the oracle of the god fulfilled, settled down and built up a statue of Apollo and at his feet laying a mouse, which in the Aeolian dialect was called [I]Smintha[/I]. (Ovid Met. II, 5685) There are known two different versions of Apollo Smintheus depictions: (1) A cult statue where he stands frontal sometimes holding a mouse in his hand. This version is characteristic of Alexandreia/Troas. (2) A cult statue where Apollo is standing l. and has sometimes a mouse under his foot. In Chryse there was a statue made by Scopas, showing exactly this position, known only by descriptions, e.g. Strabo. This statue too could be seen on coins. [B]Smintheus:[/B] The meaning of the epitheton '[I]Smintheus[/I]' is interpreted in different ways: (1) The origin of the name is the city of Sminthe in Troas, where Apollo was worshipped already in pre-hellenic times. So Apollo Smintheus means "Apollo from Sminthe". (2) In the Aeolian dialect '[I]smintha[/I]' means 'mouse'. So Apollo Smintheus means "Apollo the mice-god". The mouse in ancient times was a symbol of prophetic power because it was thought mice were inspired by the exhailing coming out of the gound. That would match the prophetic power of Apollo. (3) "Apollo the mice-killer". The Greek already had recognized the mice as vermin and worshipped Apollo as protector against mice. I for myself tend to #2. The last I think is too rationalistic. I remember the explanation of my venerated Greek teacher that the [I]sm[/I]-sound of [I]Smintheus[/I] has a flattering connotation and must have pleased the god. [B]Apollo Smintheus at Homer:[/B] The first mention of Apollo Smintheus is found in Homer's Ilias I, 39. The beginning of the Ilias describes how Apollo strikes the Greeks with a plague because Agamemnon has raped Chrysis, the daughter of Apollo's priest Chryses, and so has humiliated his priest. The old man, afraid, obeyed his words, walked off in silence, along the shore by the tumbling, crashing surf. Some distance off, he prayed to Lord Apollo, Leto's fair-haired child: "[I]God with the silver bow, protector of Chryse, sacred Cilla, 40 mighty lord of Tenedos, Sminthean Apollo, hear my prayer: If I've ever pleased you with a holy shrine, or burned bones for you— [40] bulls and goats well wrapped in fat— grant me my prayer. Force the Danaans to pay full price for my tears with your arrows[/I]." So Chryses prayed. Phoebus Apollo heard him. He came down from Olympus top enraged, carrying on his shoulders bow and covered quiver, his arrows rattling in anger against his arm. 50 So the god swooped down, descending like the night. He sat some distance from the ships, shot off an arrow— the silver bow reverberating ominously. First, the god massacred mules and swift dogs, [50] then loosed sharp arrows in among the troops themselves. Thick fires burned the corpses ceaselessly. (Translation by Ian Johnston, [url]http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad1.htm[/url] ) To say the Greeks have recognized the mice already as transmitters of plagues, as I have read too, I would refuse because it is the rat flea, which is transferring plague, and so the bad guy is the rat and not the mouse. I have added a pic of the ruins of Alexandreia after a coloured copper engraving of Heinrich Hugo Cöntgen (1727-1792) made after an engraving of Giovanni Battista Borra (1712-1788) from my collection.: [ATTACH=full]885427[/ATTACH] [B]Sources:[/B] (1) Homer, Ilias (2) Ovid, Metamorphosen [B] Literature:[/B] (1) Der Kleine Pauly (2) My article about Apollo Smintheus and the herdsman Orodes [B]Online Sources:[/B] (1) [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/www.varchive.org7schorr/bronze.htn']www.varchive.org7schorr/bronze.htn[/URL] Best regards[/QUOTE]
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