Dear Friends of ancient mythology! The motif of this coin is alluding to the founder myth of Nikaia. This myth belongs to the huge circle of myths around Dionysos too. I'm referring here to that lexikon, which already Goethe has used for his tragedy 'Faust II', the 'Gründliches mythologisches Lexikon' from Benjamin Hederich, Leipzig 1770. The Coin: Bithynia, Nikaia, Severus Alexander, AD 222-235 AE 25, 9.18g, 0° Obv.: M AVP CEVH - AΛEZANΔPOC Bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r. Rev.: NI - [K] - AIEΩ - N Dionysos, draped, with ivy wreath, holding thyrsos, std. r., head turned l. to a female figure (probably Nikaia), stg. frontal, head with chignon r., holding wreath in r. hand. Ref.: SNG von Aulock 606; Rec. Gen. 600, pl. 82, 27 (rev. only) very rare, about VF The description of this coin has caused me difficulties. On the internet I did not find a reference and therefore also no description. Dionysos is clear because of his thyrsos. This is the only ribboned staff I know. There remains the question of the female figure. First Artemis comes to mind. However, she usually stands next to her brother Apollo. In addition, her attributes, bow, arrow, dog or stag are missing. Also the wreath is untypical for her. The clothes don't suit her either. According to the story of Dionysos and Nikaia, which Nonnos tells in his Dionysakia, it can only be the latter. The Dionysiaka of Nonnos, a Byzantine poet of the 5th century AD, were by the way the last great epic of antiquity. Mythology: The nymph Nikaia (Lat. Nicaea) was the daughter of the Phrygian river god Sangarios and the goddess Kybele (Memnon ap phot. p.383). She was of exquisite beauty, but at the same time a passionate huntress who like to stay in the woods and between the mountains (Nonni Dionys. XV. 170 sqq.). Here Hymnos, a herdsman of this region, fall in love to her, followed her and watched her closely (Ib. 204). But his prayers were not answered and because he won't stop being after her she finally became angry and shot him with one of her arrows (Ib. 362). This murder Eros swore to avenge and he kept his word truely. When she was heated once by the hunt and was washing herself in a stream, Eros led Dionysos to her so that he could see her nude. At the same time he wounded his heart (Id. XVI. 1 sqq.). But Dionysos found as much approval by her as Hymnos and she threatened him with whose fate (Ib. 156.). But he has turned a river some time before into wine (Id. XIV fin.). She came thursty by her hunt to that river, got drunk and fall asleep. Dionysos, who has followed her all the time, now enjoyed what he couldn't get before (Id. XVI. 282). As soon as she regarded her accident she tried to kill her raper. But because that was impossible she hung herself (Ib. 391). But first she gave birth to a daughter of him who was called Telete and Dionysos built up a city called Nikaia after her (Ib. in fin.). Telete became a devotee of him. It is told too that he has also a son Satyrios by Nikaia. If that would be true then he stands for the male principle and Telete for the female principle of the Dionysos cult - a so-called 'Koure' in his train. As personification of the initiations rites (telete = initiation) she is closely connected to Orpheus. On Helikon, the 'Mount of Willow', Pausanias saw a statue of Orpheus with Telete at his side. And in Polygnotos' great fresco of the Underworld at Delphoi Orpheus was painted leaning against a willow and touching its branches with his hands, just as Telete in the relief of Loukou seated beside the tree close up against its foliage. Both he and she derived fertility from contact with the sacred tree. the relief from Loukou was probably set up over the grave of an Orphic votary. From the 2nd century AD coins of Nicaea show Nikaia as city-gddess with mural crown. Note: By the way, Nicaea is the city of the famous council of 325, where our Easter was fixed (on the 1st Sunday after the first new moon in spring!) and where the infamous dispute about the figure of Jesus took place, namely 'homoousios' (= equal) or 'homoiousios' (= similar). It is well known that the Homoousians won, which cost hundreds of thousands (millions?) of Homoiousians, e.g. the Arians, their lives! The picture (from Wikipedia) shows the Lefke Gate, which belongs to the city wall of Nicaea. Sources: (1) Memnos of Herakleia (2) Nonnus,Dionysiaka (3) Der kleine Pauly (4) Benjamin Hederich, Gründliches mythologisches Lexikon, 1770 And a remark about collecting provincial coins: Where are Imperial Coins that have a similar Background? Best regards
Great coin! I wonder how old the legends relating to Dinoysos were at the time. Strabo mentions that after Lysimachos took the city from Antigonos around 301 BC, he renamed it Nicaea, in honour of his wife Nicaea, one of Antipater's daughters. Some years before that, it had gone by the name Antigonia, after Antigonos, who had named it after himself.
I am bringing back this thread because as with all of @Jochen1 threads, it is very informative and awesome. I also bring it up because I just got a Dionysos from Nicaea that has me puzzled as far as attributing it. It is issued for Geta, his name clearly visible on the obverse. The reverse has Dionysos (as an infant?) riding a panther and waving around some grapes or something. 14 mm / 3.11 grams. The problem I am having is that I can find no references of the usual sorts for Roman Provincials for this coin. Wildwinds has one, with only an auction lot description: Nicaea JHE 11, 50 Geta, AE15 of Nicaea, Bithynia. 2.42 gr. ΓETAC KAICAΡ, bare head right / NIKAIEΩN, Dionysos riding panther right. Apparently unpublished. JHE auction 11, lot 50. https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/geta/t.html Other than the auction (what is "JHE"?) there is no other reference. I did find two others on acsearch, both Savoca auctions - but neither one had any reference at all. https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7437073 https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=5816806 The first Savoca is a bare head like Wildwinds; the second Savoca is draped like mine. Here are all of them in comparison; mine, Wildwinds, then the 2 Savocas. I think mine is a reverse die match to the Wildwinds and the bottom Savoca, but again, mine has a draped obverse bust, Wildwinds a head, the draped Savoca doesn't look the same on the obverse: Any additional information on this coin would be greatly appreciated. Or just pile one some more Nikaia / Nicaea Dionysos types (I know @ancientone has a nice Dionysos in cradle type).
Thanks for the great writeup @Jochen1 ! Always a great learning experience and read! I have a couple Dionysos... Thrace Maroneia 146 BCE Dionysos AE 17 Grapes Narthex Thrace Thasos 146-50 BCE Roman provincial or Military mint AR Tet Dionysos Herakles Club Lion skin
Nice one @Marsyas Mike! It may be in RPC 5.2, The Severan period (AD 193–218): Bithynia-Pontus and Asia, but I do not have this volume. Many coins like this are waiting for the Severan volumes of RPC to come out online so they can finally have a reference number. Bithynia, Nicaea. Geta, AE17. Infant Dionysos Obv: Π CEΠTI ΓETAC K, bare head r. Rev: NIKAIEΩN, Infant Dionysos in Liknon cradle r., raising hands; thyrsos behind.
Ah yes, that's the one I was talking about - baby Dion in a cradle! Thanks for sharing it @ancientone Yes, I'm really looking for ward to RPC to get around to the Severans. I have a lot of unanswered questions...
