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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 5141434, member: 75937&quot;]Laodicea ad Lycum was an ancient city about 75 miles (120 km) east of Ephesus, situated in the Roman Province of Phrygia Pacatiana on a high plateau at the confluence of the rivers Lycus and Caprus.[1] </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1206350[/ATTACH] </p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Map of Phrygia, indicating the location of Laodicea ad Lycum.[2]</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>A water supply is, of course, the lifeblood of any ancient city, and the importance of these two rivers is emphasized on many coins issued by the city over a period of centuries. The rivers were easy to symbolize on coins; their names, Lycus (Λύκος) and Caprus (κάπρος) mean <i>wolf</i> and <i>boar</i>, respectively, in Greek.</p><p><br /></p><p>Although the site had been occupied for millennia -- excavations in the area have revealed architecture, pottery, obsidian and flint stone finds dating back to the 4th millennium BC -- the Hellenistic city was founded by the Seleucid King Antiochus II in the mid 3rd century BC, and named after his wife Laodike. There had been an older city on the same site called Diospolis or Rhoas.[3] It is one of many cities named Laodicea and it should not be confused with Laodicea ad Mare in Syria, which had a prolific mint in ancient times and is perhaps more familiar to coin collectors. Biblical scholars, however, are quite familiar with Laodicea ad Lycum for it is one of the Seven Churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation. </p><p><br /></p><p>The city flourished because it lay on the crossroads of trade routes, and did an extensive trade in textiles.</p><p><br /></p><p>With the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC and the Treaty of Apamea signed in 188 BC, the region passed to the Pergamene Kingdom, and finally, in 133 BC the last Pergamene king ceded the region to Rome in his will. </p><p><br /></p><p>Many ruins of the city remain today. These ruins include theaters, temples, baths, an aqueduct, a stadium and a gymnasium.[4]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1206359[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]1206358[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>This coin in my collection features Philip II as Caesar and depicts the two rivers, Caprus and Lycus, symbolized by a boar and a wolf:</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>[ATTACH=full]1206360[/ATTACH]<font size="3">Philip II as Caesar, AD 244-247.</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman provincial Æ 25 mm, 7.7 g.</font></p><p><font size="3">Phrygia, Laodicea ad Lycum, Sardis Workshop,[5] AD 244-247.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: •Μ•ΙΟVΛΙ••ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟϹ•Κ•, bare headed, draped and cuirassed bust of Philip II, right, seen from front.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: ΛΑΟΔΙΚЄ|ΩΝ ΝЄ|ΩΚΟΡΩΝ, river Caprus as boar and river Lycus as wolf seated back to back, heads facing each other.</font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: BMC 25.324,260 (same rev. die); RG 6326 (same obv. die); RPC VIII unassigned, ID <a href="https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/20777" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/20777" rel="nofollow">20777</a>; SNG Cop 607; SNG Leypold 1678.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>This symbolism was used early on by the city. This coin, for example, dates from the first century BC and features a boar on the obverse and a wolf on the reverse.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1206369[/ATTACH] </p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Æ 15 mm, 3.79 g, BMC 25.287,52. Naumann Auction 44, <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3206343" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3206343" rel="nofollow">lot 456</a>, 7 August 2016.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><i>Post your coins of this city, coins depicting personifications/symbols of rivers, or anything you feel is relevant! </i></p><p><br /></p><p>~~~</p><p><br /></p><p>Notes:</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Much of the information about the ancient city is taken from Archaeology, Current World. &quot;Laodicea.&quot; <i>World Archaeology</i>, 18 Sept. 2018, <a href="http://www.world-archaeology.com/features/laodicea/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.world-archaeology.com/features/laodicea/" rel="nofollow">www.world-archaeology.com/features/laodicea/</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>2. <i>Bible Map: Laodicea</i>, bibleatlas.org/full/laodicea.htm. </p><p><br /></p><p>3. Head, Barclay Vincent. <i>Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Phrygia</i>. Printed by Order of the Trustees, 1906, p. lxxiii.</p><p><br /></p><p>4. Photos and information from &quot;Laodicea on the Lycus.&quot;<i>Wikipedia</i>, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Nov. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laodicea_on_the_Lycus. </p><p><br /></p><p>5. This system of workshops in Asia Minor was developed by Konrad Kraft in <i>Das System der kaiserzeitlichen Münzprägung in Kleinasien</i> (Berlin, 1972). For a discussion of Kraft&#039;s work, see Johnston, Ann. &quot;Greek Imperial Statistics : a Commentary.&quot; <i>Revue Numismatique </i>, vol. 26, 1984, pp. 240–257 (pp. 248-249 in particular), available at <a href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/numi_0484-8942_1984_num_6_26_1866" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/numi_0484-8942_1984_num_6_26_1866" rel="nofollow">https://www.persee.fr/doc/numi_0484-8942_1984_num_6_26_1866</a>.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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