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<p>[QUOTE="Jochen1, post: 3432957, member: 103829"]Dear Friends of ancient mythology!</p><p><br /></p><p>I'm sure many of you have already seen coins from Caesarea (Greek <i>Kaisareia</i>), where the back is called 'Mt. Argaios' or 'Mt. Argaeus'. Here are three of them:</p><p><br /></p><p><b> 1st Coin:</b></p><p>Cappadocia, Caesarea, Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-180</p><p>AR - Didrachm, 6.73g, 20.93mm, 225°</p><p>struck from AD 161 (COS III)</p><p>obv. AVTOKP ANTΩNEINOC CEB</p><p>Bare head with curly head r.</p><p>rev. VΠA - TOC Γ (= COS III)</p><p>Mount Argaios, surrounded by flames(?); in the middle a big round object, on</p><p>top 8-pointed star; on the lower left rock a stag, on the lower r. rock a tree</p><p>ref. Metcalf 130a; Sydenham 327; Sear GIC 1661 var. (drapery on l. shoulder)</p><p>Scarce, VF, slightly toned</p><p>[ATTACH=full]911428[/ATTACH]</p><p><b> Note:</b></p><p>Probably from the hoard found in 1983 in Caesarea (Metcalf)</p><p><br /></p><p><b> 2nd Coin:</b></p><p>Cappadocia, Caesarea, Lucius Verus, AD 161-169</p><p>AR - Didrachm, 6.71g, 21.53mm, 225°</p><p>struck from AD 161 (COS II)</p><p>obv. AVTOKP OVHPOC CEBACTOC</p><p>Bare head r.</p><p>rev. VΠA - TOC B (= COS II)</p><p>Mons Argaios, surrounded by flames(?); in the middle a big round object, on top</p><p>a man stg. frontal, sceptre in raised l. hand (mountain god?)</p><p>ref. Metcalf 716</p><p>scarce, about EF, slighly toned</p><p>[ATTACH=full]911429[/ATTACH]</p><p><b> Note:</b></p><p>Probably from the hoard found in 1983 in Caesarea (Metcalf)</p><p><br /></p><p><b> 3rd Coin:</b></p><p>Cappadocia, Caesarea, Elagabal, AD 218-222</p><p>AE 28, 11.67g, 0°</p><p>struck AD 219 (RY 2)</p><p>obv. AV K M AVPHΛI - ANTΩNINOC</p><p>Bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r.</p><p>rev. MHTPOΠ [KAICAPI] / ET B (RY 2)</p><p>Agalma of Mt. Argaios on altar</p><p>ref. Sydenham 518 var. (has year on altar); coll. Hunter 593, 81</p><p>VF, nice portrait of the young emperor</p><p>pedigree:</p><p>ex CNG Electronic Auction 129, Lot 242, December 2005</p><p>[ATTACH=full]911430[/ATTACH]</p><p><b> Note:</b></p><p>Agalma = cult picture, consecration picture</p><p><br /></p><p>The Argaios (or Latin '<i>Argaeus</i>') is the highest mountain in Asia Minor. It is 3916m high, volcanic and mostly snow covered on top. Today it is called Erciyes Dagi, and at its foot lay Kaisareia (Lat. <i>Caesarea</i>), the old Mazaka or Eusebeia, today's Kayseri. Argaios was already a holy mountain at the time of the Hittites, who called it '<i>harki ' </i>(= the White). Maximus of Tyre, in his commentary on cult images of the gods, 2nd cent. AD, wrote of a mountain that the Cappadocians regarded as a deity (<i>theos</i>), an oath (<i>horkos</i>), and a statue (<i>agalma</i>).</p><p>[ATTACH=full]911431[/ATTACH]</p><p>Erciyes Dagi (from Wikipedia)</p><p><br /></p><p>It is indeed an impressive mountain because of its enormous height and because of its volcanic activities. In the year 253 BC there is said to have been a big eruption which is mentioned on republican coins, but I did not find any specimen. The geographer Strabon, in his description of the surroundings of Caesarea, told of plains littered with fire pits where the flames broke out of the ground at night. Mazaka was the capital of the Cappadocian kings, later the capital of the Roman province Cappadocia.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Iconography:</b></p><p>The images of Argaios on coins are all quite similar. It is always triangular with the tip pointing upwards and composed of parts reminiscent of rocks. In the middle there is usually a circle decorated with dots. The view that it is a flower is probably no longer valid today. Probably it is a cave, possibly for a cult statue. The picture of the Argaios is regularly surrounded by needle-shaped points or cones as on the second coin. These should be flames as symbols of his volcanic eruptions, which is confirmed by similar illustrations on other coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>The relative uniformity of the representation suggests that it is probably the representation of an actually existing cult image, a so-called <i>Agalma</i>, a consecration image that can be placed in the temple. And the stag and the tree on the first coin don't look like real. Rather they are objects with which the <i>Agalma</i> is decorated. This theory is confirmed by the third coin, in which the image of Argaios stands on an altar. But whether the <i>Agalma</i> was decorated by figures, which could be added to the cult picture as needed, is not known.</p><p><br /></p><p>On some types a star is depicted above the summit, as on the first coin; there are moon crescents, the sun god crowned with rays, a mountain god with sceptre or an eagle. Then there is a type on which the Argaios is carried by a man on a quadriga (probably Septimius Severus) or a very rare type on which the Argaios is seen on a carriage pulled by two elephants. Then a Tyche is known, which carries the Argaios on its head as a wall crown, and a personification of the Cappadocia, with the Argaios in the outstretched hand.</p><p><br /></p><p>Interesting (and not yet properly explained) is the following: Although the Argaios, as mentioned above, had a great importance since ancient times, there's no coin from Greek times that mentions it, apart from the relatively short time between 101 BC and 17 AD, in which an alliance with Rome existed. Only in the 1st century AD the Argaios coins appear. A possible explanation would be that the cult was reintroduced by the Romans to bring the Cappadocians closer to the Roman triad Jupiter-Helios-Serapis and to bring them to the recognition of a <i>Summus Deus </i>faith. (Peter Weiß). It is known that an agon took place in his name. Argaios was used as surname of Zeus in Cappadocia (Eckhel).</p><p><br /></p><p><b>History:</b></p><p>Cappadocia was already important at the time of the Hittites (14th century BC) as a central part of their empire. Their capital Hattusa, near today's Boghazköi, was located north of Caesarea. Under Cyrus II it came under Persian influence, but since the distance to the Persian capital was long, Cappadocia remained relatively independent. This was also true for the time of Alexander and for the reign of the Antigonides since 303 B.C. Under the Romans Archelaos was raised to king by Marcus Antonius. 18/19 AD it became under Tiberius the Roman province Cappadocia.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Other mountain gods:</b></p><p>The holy mountain Argaios is only one in a whole series of mountain gods. Another important cult, for example, was Zeus Kasios, which can also be traced back to the Hittites. This was the holy mountain Hazzi, where the gods descended from heaven. According to Ugarite tradition it was the seat of the storm and thunderstorm god Baal. In the Greek Seleucid period these two deities merged and parallel to the important Baal, the former mountain god was made the god Zeus Kasios, who was worshipped in Seleukeia Pierias.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>History of Art:</b></p><p>I have added the pic of a bronze figure, hollow on the inside, showing the mountain massif with three jagged peaks, the two outer ones having a pyramidal shape, and a face on the front in the middle of the mountain. The figure of an eagle, the bird of Zeus, is enthroned on the central summit (From the Archäologisches Museum of the University of Münster, Germany).</p><p>[ATTACH=full]911433[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>And I have added a picture of the Erciyes Dagi of today.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Sources:</b></p><p>(1) Wikipedia</p><p>(2) A nice article from Peter Weiß about Mons Argaios you can find here <a href="http://www.bngev.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/1985-Band-XXXV.pdf#page=23&zoom=auto,-276,665" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.bngev.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/1985-Band-XXXV.pdf#page=23&zoom=auto,-276,665" rel="nofollow">http://www.bngev.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/1985-Band-XXXV.pdf#page=23&zoom=auto,-276,665</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Best regards[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Jochen1, post: 3432957, member: 103829"]Dear Friends of ancient mythology! I'm sure many of you have already seen coins from Caesarea (Greek [I]Kaisareia[/I]), where the back is called 'Mt. Argaios' or 'Mt. Argaeus'. Here are three of them: [B] 1st Coin:[/B] Cappadocia, Caesarea, Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-180 AR - Didrachm, 6.73g, 20.93mm, 225° struck from AD 161 (COS III) obv. AVTOKP ANTΩNEINOC CEB Bare head with curly head r. rev. VΠA - TOC Γ (= COS III) Mount Argaios, surrounded by flames(?); in the middle a big round object, on top 8-pointed star; on the lower left rock a stag, on the lower r. rock a tree ref. Metcalf 130a; Sydenham 327; Sear GIC 1661 var. (drapery on l. shoulder) Scarce, VF, slightly toned [ATTACH=full]911428[/ATTACH] [B] Note:[/B] Probably from the hoard found in 1983 in Caesarea (Metcalf) [B] 2nd Coin:[/B] Cappadocia, Caesarea, Lucius Verus, AD 161-169 AR - Didrachm, 6.71g, 21.53mm, 225° struck from AD 161 (COS II) obv. AVTOKP OVHPOC CEBACTOC Bare head r. rev. VΠA - TOC B (= COS II) Mons Argaios, surrounded by flames(?); in the middle a big round object, on top a man stg. frontal, sceptre in raised l. hand (mountain god?) ref. Metcalf 716 scarce, about EF, slighly toned [ATTACH=full]911429[/ATTACH] [B] Note:[/B] Probably from the hoard found in 1983 in Caesarea (Metcalf) [B] 3rd Coin:[/B] Cappadocia, Caesarea, Elagabal, AD 218-222 AE 28, 11.67g, 0° struck AD 219 (RY 2) obv. AV K M AVPHΛI - ANTΩNINOC Bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r. rev. MHTPOΠ [KAICAPI] / ET B (RY 2) Agalma of Mt. Argaios on altar ref. Sydenham 518 var. (has year on altar); coll. Hunter 593, 81 VF, nice portrait of the young emperor pedigree: ex CNG Electronic Auction 129, Lot 242, December 2005 [ATTACH=full]911430[/ATTACH] [B] Note:[/B] Agalma = cult picture, consecration picture The Argaios (or Latin '[I]Argaeus[/I]') is the highest mountain in Asia Minor. It is 3916m high, volcanic and mostly snow covered on top. Today it is called Erciyes Dagi, and at its foot lay Kaisareia (Lat. [I]Caesarea[/I]), the old Mazaka or Eusebeia, today's Kayseri. Argaios was already a holy mountain at the time of the Hittites, who called it '[I]harki ' [/I](= the White). Maximus of Tyre, in his commentary on cult images of the gods, 2nd cent. AD, wrote of a mountain that the Cappadocians regarded as a deity ([I]theos[/I]), an oath ([I]horkos[/I]), and a statue ([I]agalma[/I]). [ATTACH=full]911431[/ATTACH] Erciyes Dagi (from Wikipedia) It is indeed an impressive mountain because of its enormous height and because of its volcanic activities. In the year 253 BC there is said to have been a big eruption which is mentioned on republican coins, but I did not find any specimen. The geographer Strabon, in his description of the surroundings of Caesarea, told of plains littered with fire pits where the flames broke out of the ground at night. Mazaka was the capital of the Cappadocian kings, later the capital of the Roman province Cappadocia. [B]Iconography:[/B] The images of Argaios on coins are all quite similar. It is always triangular with the tip pointing upwards and composed of parts reminiscent of rocks. In the middle there is usually a circle decorated with dots. The view that it is a flower is probably no longer valid today. Probably it is a cave, possibly for a cult statue. The picture of the Argaios is regularly surrounded by needle-shaped points or cones as on the second coin. These should be flames as symbols of his volcanic eruptions, which is confirmed by similar illustrations on other coins. The relative uniformity of the representation suggests that it is probably the representation of an actually existing cult image, a so-called [I]Agalma[/I], a consecration image that can be placed in the temple. And the stag and the tree on the first coin don't look like real. Rather they are objects with which the [I]Agalma[/I] is decorated. This theory is confirmed by the third coin, in which the image of Argaios stands on an altar. But whether the [I]Agalma[/I] was decorated by figures, which could be added to the cult picture as needed, is not known. On some types a star is depicted above the summit, as on the first coin; there are moon crescents, the sun god crowned with rays, a mountain god with sceptre or an eagle. Then there is a type on which the Argaios is carried by a man on a quadriga (probably Septimius Severus) or a very rare type on which the Argaios is seen on a carriage pulled by two elephants. Then a Tyche is known, which carries the Argaios on its head as a wall crown, and a personification of the Cappadocia, with the Argaios in the outstretched hand. Interesting (and not yet properly explained) is the following: Although the Argaios, as mentioned above, had a great importance since ancient times, there's no coin from Greek times that mentions it, apart from the relatively short time between 101 BC and 17 AD, in which an alliance with Rome existed. Only in the 1st century AD the Argaios coins appear. A possible explanation would be that the cult was reintroduced by the Romans to bring the Cappadocians closer to the Roman triad Jupiter-Helios-Serapis and to bring them to the recognition of a [I]Summus Deus [/I]faith. (Peter Weiß). It is known that an agon took place in his name. Argaios was used as surname of Zeus in Cappadocia (Eckhel). [B]History:[/B] Cappadocia was already important at the time of the Hittites (14th century BC) as a central part of their empire. Their capital Hattusa, near today's Boghazköi, was located north of Caesarea. Under Cyrus II it came under Persian influence, but since the distance to the Persian capital was long, Cappadocia remained relatively independent. This was also true for the time of Alexander and for the reign of the Antigonides since 303 B.C. Under the Romans Archelaos was raised to king by Marcus Antonius. 18/19 AD it became under Tiberius the Roman province Cappadocia. [B]Other mountain gods:[/B] The holy mountain Argaios is only one in a whole series of mountain gods. Another important cult, for example, was Zeus Kasios, which can also be traced back to the Hittites. This was the holy mountain Hazzi, where the gods descended from heaven. According to Ugarite tradition it was the seat of the storm and thunderstorm god Baal. In the Greek Seleucid period these two deities merged and parallel to the important Baal, the former mountain god was made the god Zeus Kasios, who was worshipped in Seleukeia Pierias. [B]History of Art:[/B] I have added the pic of a bronze figure, hollow on the inside, showing the mountain massif with three jagged peaks, the two outer ones having a pyramidal shape, and a face on the front in the middle of the mountain. The figure of an eagle, the bird of Zeus, is enthroned on the central summit (From the Archäologisches Museum of the University of Münster, Germany). [ATTACH=full]911433[/ATTACH] And I have added a picture of the Erciyes Dagi of today. [B]Sources:[/B] (1) Wikipedia (2) A nice article from Peter Weiß about Mons Argaios you can find here [url]http://www.bngev.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/1985-Band-XXXV.pdf#page=23&zoom=auto,-276,665[/url] Best regards[/QUOTE]
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