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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;David Atherton, post: 4804393, member: 82616&quot;]I would like to thank [USER=82322]@Ed Snible[/USER] for this tremendous book recommendation&nbsp; <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/base-and-tasteless-question-about-prices-on-ancients.365127/#post-4750546" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/base-and-tasteless-question-about-prices-on-ancients.365127/#post-4750546">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/base-and-tasteless-question-about-prices-on-ancients.365127/#post-4750546</a> which inspired me to acquire a fantastic coin. Adrienne Mayor&#039;s <i>The First Fossil Hunters</i> documents ancient Greek and Roman encounters with dinosaur fossils and how they relate to mythology. The fascinating first chapter concerns the griffin and how ancient dinosaur fossils finds in Central Asia inspired its lore. After reading it I realised I had no griffins in my coin collection! That absence was soon remedied with my latest acquisition.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1166826[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Domitian</b></p><p>Æ Obol, 3.80g</p><p>Alexandria mint, 87-88 AD</p><p>Obv: ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙΣΑΡ ΔΟΜΙΤΙΑΝΟΣ ΣΕΒ ΓΕΡΜ, LΖ; Head of Domitian, laureate, r.</p><p>Rev: griffin seated, r., with wheel</p><p>RPC 2542 (9 spec.).</p><p>Acquired from eBay, August 2020.</p><p><br /></p><p>This Alexandrian obol struck for Domitian during his seventh regnal year (87-88) features a female griffin resting its right paw on a wheel. The legendary creature with the body of a lion and head and wings of an eagle was believed by many ancients to be a real flesh and blood animal. It was thought to have lived near the gold deposits of Central Asia, perhaps as a guardian. On this obol the griffin is to be associated with the goddess Nemesis (the deliverer of justice and punishment) because of the presence here of her wheel of fortune, symbolic of the constant turning of mankind&#039;s fate. The depictions of a griffin with Nemesis&#039;s wheel began during the late first century with the earliest representations being a fresco in Pompeii&#039;s House of the Fabii and the issue of small Alexandrian bronzes from which this coin was struck. This Nemesis griffin type is related to Domitian as the maintainer of law and order.</p><p><br /></p><p>Outside of the numismatic evidence, this Egyptian stele depicts Domitian on the right as Pharaoh handing a statuette of Ma&#039;at to the Sun God Ra seated to the left. Above them you can see a griffin with the wheel of fate.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1166827[/ATTACH]</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is the earliest depiction of a griffin with a wheel from Pompeii&#039;s House of the Fabii.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1166828[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>And finally, the possible inspiration for the griffin, a protoceratops skeleton.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1166834[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Let&#039;s see your griffins!</p><p><br /></p><p>NB: Quite by chance Adrienne Mayor was recently interviewed on one of my favourite podcasts about her latest book <i>Gods and Monsters</i>. <a href="https://monstertalk.skeptic.com/214-talos-another-tale-of-gods-and-robots" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://monstertalk.skeptic.com/214-talos-another-tale-of-gods-and-robots" rel="nofollow">https://monstertalk.skeptic.com/214-talos-another-tale-of-gods-and-robots</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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