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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Jochen1, post: 3542292, member: 103829&quot;] </p><p>Dear Friends of ancint mythology!</p><p><br /></p><p><b>The Coin:</b></p><p>Thracia, Hadrianopolis, Gordian III, AD 238-244</p><p>AE 26 8.34g, 26.21mm, 45°</p><p>Obv.: AYT K M ANT ΓOPΔIANOC AV&nbsp; Bust, draped, laureate, r.</p><p>Rev.: AΔP - IA - NO / ΠOΛEITΩN Dionysos, nude, holding thyrsos in r. hand, lies backward to the left on panther which goes to the right</p><p>Ref.: Jurukova 482; Varbanov 4002; Lindgren III, A65A; Mionnet 778</p><p>VF, on the panther skin some spots can still be recognized</p><p>[ATTACH=full]941630[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The panther plays an important role in the mythology of Dionysos. Dionysos always was a god of the wilderness too. It is an integrative part of his cult to disrupt bloodily animal or human victims in bits. He too was disrupted (or cut) as Dionseus Zagreus in bits by the Titans too. This wild orgiastic nature was expressed by the wild animals which were his attendants. It is said that Dionysos most af all has loved the panther because the panther was as excitable as he was and would make the same leaps like the Maenads.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>All wild animals are connected to Dionysos, but none more so than the lion or panther. The supple, feline elegance of its body, the ferocious and easily provoked temper, the boundless appetite, and uncanny intelligence of the creature make it uniquely and inevitably linked to the Dionysiac sphere - and indeed, the wild cat is frequently depicted in the company of the wild God. Like the Magna Mater, Dionysos&#039; cart was drawn by lions and panthers. The cats freely accompanied him at other times, sitting tamely at his feet like puppies, or dancing enraptured with the rest of creation during the Bacchic revel.</p><p><br /></p><p>When Dionysos sought to punish someone - for instance Lykurgos - the wild cat was often the agent of the God&#039;s awful chastisement.</p><p><br /></p><p>As addition a pic of the famous mosaic from Pella in Macedonia showing the same scene as on the coin.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]941631[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Best regards[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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