Dear Friends of ancient mythology! I want to tell something about the Giagantomachia - The Battle of Giants. Starting point is this coin of Gallienus from Seleukia ad Calycadnum in Cilicia. Coin #1: Cilicia, Seleukia ad Calycadnum, Gallienus AD 253-268 AE 26, 10g, 225° obv. AVK Π ΛK ΓAΛΛIHN / OC bust, draped and cuirassed, seen from behind, laureate, r. rev. C[E]ΛEVK - E - ΩN K / AΛVK / AΔN / Ω Athena, helmeted, in double chiton, stg. r., shield in raised l. hand, stabs with spear on Giant with snakelike feet, kneeling before her, grabbing her spear with l. hand and hurling with r. hand a rock ref. SNG Levante 789; BMC 57 rare, about VF, black green Patina Note: The Giant on the rev. can well be Enkelados, who has the most dramatic struggle with Athena. Mythology: The reverse of the above coin shows a scene of the Gigantomachia. The Giants, called too Gegeneis (the earth born), were human shaped except their legs which were snakelike. They emerged from the blood of Uranos which was flowing from his genital, mutilated by Kronos, on Gaia (earth). Furthermore in this way were created the Erinnyes (Furies) and the Meliai (nymphs of ash tree). When Zeus offended Gaia because he locked up the Titanes in the Tartaros Gaia sets her youngest sons, the Giants, on the Olympic gods. This war is called Gigantomachia. The attack should have been long after the offense but the memory of Gaia was good and her patience endless. But Zeus has expected the attack. The Giants couldn't be killed by gods, only by humans. So Zeus knew that without the help of a mortal the gods couldn't win the battle. He started his actions very early by giving a mortal wife a great and heavy challenged heroe as son: Herakles. It is said that the battle occured at Phlegra in Thrace, the homeland of the Giants. The Giants were leaded by Eurymedon and had Alkyoneus and Porphyrion as their bravest warriors. The Giants walked against the gods throwing rocks and mountains on them. But Herakles shot a poisoned arrow on Alkyoneus and knowing he couldn't die in his homeland dragged him over the frontier where he died. Another Giant, Enkelados, was paralyzed by Athena with the head of Medusa and when he wanted to flee again she throw the island of Sicily on him where he was buried. His fire breathing came out of the Aetna until today. After defeating the Giants with the help of Herakles Zeus sent the Hekatoncheires (= they with hundred armes) to the Tartaros to watch over them. About the meaning of the rev. of the next 2 coins we have long and intensely discussed. The most probable explanation has had Pat Lawrence: They are snippets of the Gigantomachia. So they find their place here: Coin #2: Thracia, Deultum, Gordian III, AD 239-244 AE 25, 8.35g, 24.87mm, 220° obv. IMP GORDIANVS PIVS AVG Bust, draped and cuirassed, radiate, r. rev. COL F - L PAC - DEVLT Athena, in long garment, wearing Corinthian helmet, advancing l., looking r., holding spear in raised r. hand and in l. hand small round shield. ref. a) Jurukova 355 b) cf. Varbanov (engl.) 2730 (wrongly described, but matching pic) very rare, EF, obv. slighty excentric, dark brown-green patina Pedigree: ex coll. Areich (FAC) ex coll. Lars Rutten How the garment is swinging around Athena's legs is just virtuosic! Coin #3: Thracia, Hadrianopolis, Gordian III, AD 238-244 AE 25 9.71g, 25.36mm, 180° obv. [AVT K M] ANT - ΓOPΔIANOC AVΓ (VΓ ligate) Bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r. rev. AΔP[IANO]ΠO - ΛEITΩN Athena, in long garment and helmeted, hurrying r., looking back, holding shield and inverted spear with l. hand and pointing forwards with r. hand; r. in front of her an erected snake (Erichthonios) curling r. ref. Varbanov 3992; Jurukova 639 (V270/R613); SNG Fitzwilliam 1719 (same dies) rare, VF, green-brown patina, partially week struck Pedigree: ex CNG Electronic Auction 213, 2009 Background: Myths like that of the Aetna very early lead to the opinion, that the Giants are personifications of the vulcanic powers of earth. And it was assumed that the victory of the Olympic gods was the victory of civilisation and order over the chaotic and ferocious primitive times and a symbol of contemporary tussles and victories over the barbarians. The writer Peter Weiss related the battle between barbarianism and culture to the recent past. The Frieze of the Pergamon Altar: If we speek about the Gigantomachia we must mention the Altar of Pergamon. Mosaics, frescos, pictures and sculptures decorated the residence on top of the 335m high mountain. It was all admirable, but the most impressive was the huge altar for which Eumenes III BC gave order. The Roman writer Lucius Ampelius praised it and its Gigantomachia in his 'Liber memorialis' and the Apocalypse of St.John calls it, unwilling fascinated, 'Seat of Satan'. Archaeologists decoded the Gigantomachia as reference of the Attalides to their victory over the Gauls and interpreted the uncommon structure of the altar as synthesis of sacral and palace building, where logical consistent the Telephos frieze expressed the foundation myth of the rulers, who traced back themself to Heracles and his son. So it was like a meet again when between 1871 and 1898 the mighty relief plates of the Gigantomachia and the smaller of the Telesphoros frieze were digged out and brought to Berlin, where they found Thousands of admirers in Schinkel's Altem Museum. Detail of the Pergamon Altar: Athena fighting against Alkyoneus These works were saved by its discoverer, the engineer Carl Humann, in the last minute: "I saw all covered by rank growth; aside a lime oven was smoking in which each marble block was going chopped by hammer bashes." Raw material for the plastering of new houses in the nest of Bergama - that was left of the "proud impregnable seat of the ruler". Temple of Zeus in Pergamon (own photo from 2011) Sources: (1) Der kleine Pauly (2) http://demo.interred.de (3) FAZ.NET: Der Pergamonaltar ist restauriert (4) Bernard Andreae, Laokoon und die Kunst von Pergamon, 1991 (5) Bernard Andreae, Skulptur des Hellenismus, 2001 (6) Elisabeth Rohde, Pergamon - Burgberg und Altar, 1982 (7) Hans-Joachim Schalles, Der Pergamonaltar, 1995 Best regards
CILICIA, Seleucia ad Calycadnum. Gordian III 238-244 CE Æ 27 mm, 11 gm Obv: ...ΓOPΔIANO radiate and draped bust right; C/M dot within triangle (Howgego 670?) Rev: CEΛEVKEΩN; Athena advancing right, holding her shield with her extended left arm & preparing to hurl a spear at an anguipede giant (Enceladus?) who is throwing stones at her. Ref: c.f. SNG Levante 763 https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-gigantomachy.283117/ Vivid statue of Enceladus, showing him partly buried under rocks (park of Versailles; image from Wikipedia): Mosaic featuring anguipede (serpent-footed) giants, Villa Romana del Casale, c. 3rd century CE (image from www.theoi.com): Frieze of the Gigantomachy on the Pergamon Altar (image from Wikipedia):
Thank you for your additions. Especially I like the sculpture from Versailles. I have never seen it. In 2013 I was in Berlin to visit the Pergamon Altar. It is an overwhelming experience. Highly recommended! Jochen
Wonderful! Thanks for the writeup, Jochen. I love this type and, coincidentally, just won one in Saturday's Leu auction. Their pictures and description: CILICIA. Seleucia ad Calycadnus. Gordian III, 238-244. Tetrassarion (Orichalcum, 30 mm, 15.57 g, 7 h). ANTΩNIOC ΓOPΔIANOC CЄBATOC (sic!) Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian III to right, seen from behind; before bust, uncertain countermark. Rev. СЄΛЄYΚЄΩΝ TΩ ΠP-OC ΚA/ΛYK Athena advancing right, holding shield and brandishing spear at snake-legged giant advancing left and raising both arms. SNG Levante 764 var. (reverse legend). SNG Paris 1011-1012 var. (reverse legend). Very fine. My other example is a Gallienus like your first coin. GALLIENUS AE27. 8.77g, 27.2mm. CILICIA, Seleucia ad Calycadnum, circa AD 253-268. SNG Levante 789 (same obv die). O: AY K Π ΛΚ (sic!) ΓΑΛΛΙΗΝ/ΟC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind. R: CEΛΕVKEΩΝ K/AΛVΚA/ΔN, Athena advancing right, holding shield and brandishing spear at snake-legged giant advancing left and raising both arms.
