Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
Aristotle's Library and a Coin of Troas
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="Sulla80, post: 4897744, member: 99456"]It is somehow fitting that my post that eventually stumbles on an ancient library should start with a the vocabulary words that I've failed to learn before today, perhaps i need more time in a library:</p><ul> <li><b>Protomai</b> or <b>protome</b> : προτομή, head and upper torso of a human or an animal as an ornament or adornment<br /> </li> <li><b>Gigantomachy </b>: in Greek and Roman mythology, the epic battle struggle between the gods and the giants The gods won with the aid of Heracles the archer and the giants were killed. Giants buried can be responsible for volcanic fires, earthquakes, etc.</li> <li><b>Rhyton</b> : an ancient Greek drinking cup formed in the shape of an animal's head or a horn with the hole for drinking in the bottom. <br /> </li> <li><b>Metope</b>: a square space between tryglyps in a Doric frieze</li> <li><b>Tryglyph</b> : best described with a picture - the highlighted in red, square panel is a tryglyph:</li> <li>[ATTACH=full]1181856[/ATTACH] <br /> <font size="3"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Decorative_emblems_The_Circus_Bath.jpg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Decorative_emblems_The_Circus_Bath.jpg" rel="nofollow">modified image from MichaelMaggs</a> / <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5" rel="nofollow">CC BY-SA</a></font></li> </ul><p><b>Rhyton</b></p><p>And putting a few of those words in a sentence: this 5th century<i> BC rhyton</i> with <i>protomai</i> of Pegasus is embellished with scenes of <i>gigantomachy</i> and can be found in the <a href="http://masterpieces.asemus.museum/masterpiece/detail.nhn?objectId=11869" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://masterpieces.asemus.museum/masterpiece/detail.nhn?objectId=11869" rel="nofollow">Virtual Collection of Asian Masterpieces </a>(VCM)</p><p><img src="http://img.masterpieces.asemus.museum/masterpieces/11869/detail/thumb_540x420_20150728180001_mm2bXTFs.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>A Small AE of Skepsis (aka Scepsis)</b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1181863[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Troas, Skepsis</b>, AE (4th century BC)</p><p><b>Size:</b> 1.3g, 9.5mm</p><p><b>Obv: </b>Rhyton with forepart of Pegasos left</p><p><b>Rev: </b>Σ - Κ, fir tree within linear square border</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Where is Skepsis?</b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1181868[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Aristotle's Library</b></p><p>Strabo writes this about Skepsis:</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>"From Scepsis came the Socratic philosophers Erastus and Coriscus and Neleus the son of Coriscus, this last a man who not only was a pupil of Aristotle and Theophrastus, but also inherited the library of Theophrastus, which included that of Aristotle. At any rate, Aristotle bequeathed his own library to Theophrastus, to whom he also left his school; and he is the first man, so far as I know, to have collected books and to have taught the kings in Egypt how to arrange a library."</p><p>-Strabo, Geographia, <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.%2013.1.54&lang=original" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.%2013.1.54&lang=original" rel="nofollow">XII 1.54</a></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>Strabo continues to explain how these books changed hands, traveled into the care of one Apellicon, a bibliophile, which apparently in Strabo's language is someone who doesn't fully appreciate the content of the books. Apellicon had the books badly copied, spreading content that was questionable. And of course - a familiar name pops up in the story:</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>"Sulla, who had captured Athens, carried off Apellicon's library to Rome, where Tyrannion the grammarian, who was fond of Aristotle, got it in his hands by paying court to the librarian, as did also certain booksellers who used bad copyists and would not collate the texts—a thing that also takes place in the case of the other books that are copied for selling, both here and at Alexandria."</p><p>-Strabo, Geographia, <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.%2013.1.54&lang=original" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.%2013.1.54&lang=original" rel="nofollow">XII 1.55</a></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>There is also a Trojan war link to Skepsis, on Mt. Ida, as the site of the palace of Aeneas. Skepsis founded by Aeneas, and later relocated by Ascanius, son of Aeneas, and Scamandrius, son of Hector (see Strabo <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D13%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D52" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D13%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D52" rel="nofollow">XIII 1.51</a>):</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>"The Scepsian (Demetrius) supposes that Scepsis was the palace of Aeneas, situated between the dominion of Aeneas and Lyrnessus, where, it is said, he took refuge when pursued by Achilles. “‘Remember you not,’ says Achilles, ‘how I chased you when alone and apart from the herds, with swift steps, from the heights of Ida, thence indeed you escaped to Lyrnessus; but I took and destroyed it.’”</p><p>- Strabo, Geographia, <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D13%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D52" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D13%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D52" rel="nofollow">XIII 1.52</a></p><p><br /></p></blockquote><p>Strabo further describes the conflicting stories across Homer, Roman tradition and Demetrius of Skepsis.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Share coins that expanded your vocabulary, coins from Troas, and anything else that you find interesting or entertaining.</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Sulla80, post: 4897744, member: 99456"]It is somehow fitting that my post that eventually stumbles on an ancient library should start with a the vocabulary words that I've failed to learn before today, perhaps i need more time in a library: [LIST] [*][B]Protomai[/B] or [B]protome[/B] : προτομή, head and upper torso of a human or an animal as an ornament or adornment [*][B]Gigantomachy [/B]: in Greek and Roman mythology, the epic battle struggle between the gods and the giants The gods won with the aid of Heracles the archer and the giants were killed. Giants buried can be responsible for volcanic fires, earthquakes, etc. [*][B]Rhyton[/B] : an ancient Greek drinking cup formed in the shape of an animal's head or a horn with the hole for drinking in the bottom. [*][B]Metope[/B]: a square space between tryglyps in a Doric frieze [*][B]Tryglyph[/B] : best described with a picture - the highlighted in red, square panel is a tryglyph: [*][ATTACH=full]1181856[/ATTACH] [SIZE=3][URL='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Decorative_emblems_The_Circus_Bath.jpg']modified image from MichaelMaggs[/URL] / [URL='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5']CC BY-SA[/URL][/SIZE] [/LIST] [B]Rhyton[/B] And putting a few of those words in a sentence: this 5th century[I] BC rhyton[/I] with [I]protomai[/I] of Pegasus is embellished with scenes of [I]gigantomachy[/I] and can be found in the [URL='http://masterpieces.asemus.museum/masterpiece/detail.nhn?objectId=11869']Virtual Collection of Asian Masterpieces [/URL](VCM) [IMG]http://img.masterpieces.asemus.museum/masterpieces/11869/detail/thumb_540x420_20150728180001_mm2bXTFs.png[/IMG] [B]A Small AE of Skepsis (aka Scepsis)[/B] [ATTACH=full]1181863[/ATTACH] [B]Troas, Skepsis[/B], AE (4th century BC) [B]Size:[/B] 1.3g, 9.5mm [B]Obv: [/B]Rhyton with forepart of Pegasos left [B]Rev: [/B]Σ - Κ, fir tree within linear square border [B]Where is Skepsis?[/B] [ATTACH=full]1181868[/ATTACH] [B]Aristotle's Library[/B] Strabo writes this about Skepsis: [INDENT]"From Scepsis came the Socratic philosophers Erastus and Coriscus and Neleus the son of Coriscus, this last a man who not only was a pupil of Aristotle and Theophrastus, but also inherited the library of Theophrastus, which included that of Aristotle. At any rate, Aristotle bequeathed his own library to Theophrastus, to whom he also left his school; and he is the first man, so far as I know, to have collected books and to have taught the kings in Egypt how to arrange a library." -Strabo, Geographia, [URL='http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.%2013.1.54&lang=original']XII 1.54[/URL][/INDENT] Strabo continues to explain how these books changed hands, traveled into the care of one Apellicon, a bibliophile, which apparently in Strabo's language is someone who doesn't fully appreciate the content of the books. Apellicon had the books badly copied, spreading content that was questionable. And of course - a familiar name pops up in the story: [INDENT]"Sulla, who had captured Athens, carried off Apellicon's library to Rome, where Tyrannion the grammarian, who was fond of Aristotle, got it in his hands by paying court to the librarian, as did also certain booksellers who used bad copyists and would not collate the texts—a thing that also takes place in the case of the other books that are copied for selling, both here and at Alexandria." -Strabo, Geographia, [URL='http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.%2013.1.54&lang=original']XII 1.55[/URL][/INDENT] There is also a Trojan war link to Skepsis, on Mt. Ida, as the site of the palace of Aeneas. Skepsis founded by Aeneas, and later relocated by Ascanius, son of Aeneas, and Scamandrius, son of Hector (see Strabo [URL='http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D13%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D52']XIII 1.51[/URL]): [INDENT]"The Scepsian (Demetrius) supposes that Scepsis was the palace of Aeneas, situated between the dominion of Aeneas and Lyrnessus, where, it is said, he took refuge when pursued by Achilles. “‘Remember you not,’ says Achilles, ‘how I chased you when alone and apart from the herds, with swift steps, from the heights of Ida, thence indeed you escaped to Lyrnessus; but I took and destroyed it.’” - Strabo, Geographia, [URL='http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D13%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D52']XIII 1.52[/URL] [/INDENT] Strabo further describes the conflicting stories across Homer, Roman tradition and Demetrius of Skepsis. [B]Share coins that expanded your vocabulary, coins from Troas, and anything else that you find interesting or entertaining.[/B][/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
Aristotle's Library and a Coin of Troas
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...