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Griffins as representations of Nemesis.
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<p>[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 5581847, member: 110350"]Until [USER=99456]@Sulla80[/USER] pointed it out in another thread a while back, in commenting on a coin that [USER=97383]@Al Kowsky[/USER] had posted, I had no idea that when a griffin is depicted on an ancient Roman coin with its paw on a wheel, it represents Nemesis, with the wheel representing the cyclical nature of fortune -- just like on the old TV game show!</p><p><br /></p><p>After learning this, I knew I wanted an example. It didn't take that long before one I liked (and could afford) came up for sale, and I bought it right away. It arrived today, and I'm very pleased with it. (In hand, it looks even better to me than in the photo; one can see the copper shining through the greenish patina in places.) So here it is:</p><p> </p><p>Philip II, AE 27 mm., 247-249 AD, Moesia Inferior, Tomis. Obv. Bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from rear, Μ ΙΟΥΛ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟC ΚΑΙCΑΡ / Rev. Griffin seated left with right paw on top of wheel [<i>representing Nemesis*</i>], ΜΗ-ΤΡΟ-Π-ΠΟ-ΝΤΟ, continued in exergue in two lines: Υ ΤΟΜΕ/ΩϹ(ME ligate), Δ in right field. 27 mm., 12.22 g. RPC [<i>Roman Provincial Coinage</i>] VIII Online 28171 [temporary ID number] (see <a href="https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/28171" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/28171" rel="nofollow">https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/28171</a>) [this coin is Specimen 7, used as primary illustration for type, see <a href="https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/156187" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/156187" rel="nofollow">https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/156187</a> ]; Varbanov 5781 [Varbanov, Ivan, <i>Greek Imperial Coins And Their Values, Volume I: Dacia, Moesia Superior & Moesia Inferior</i> (English Edition) (Bourgas, Bulgaria, 2005)]. <i>Purchased from Herakles Numismatics, Jan. 2021; ex. I-Nummis, Paris, Mail Bid Sale 6, Nov. 7, 2008, Lot 399 (see <a href="https://www.coinarchives.com/a/openlink.php?l=239902|348|399|a3b582d0b87f863b39d084dd851a7a89" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.coinarchives.com/a/openlink.php?l=239902|348|399|a3b582d0b87f863b39d084dd851a7a89" rel="nofollow">https://www.coinarchives.com/a/openlink.php?l=239902|348|399|a3b582d0b87f863b39d084dd851a7a89</a>)</i>. [<i>“Scarce”: 11 specimens in RPC (including this coin), 6 examples in ACSearch (including this coin).</i>]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1241727[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>*See <a href="https://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/catalogue/8/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/catalogue/8/" rel="nofollow">https://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/catalogue/8/</a> : “The image of a griffin supporting one of its forepaws on a wheel appears in Roman art by the first century AD. The wheel, a symbol of the cyclical movement of human fortune, and the winged griffin are both distinctive attributes of Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance, who is also often represented with wings. In a first-century AD wall painting from the House of the Fabii at Pompeii, Apollo and two female figures are accompanied by a winged griffin with a wheel. This motif also occurs on coins of Alexandria dating to the reign of the emperor Domitian (AD 81–96). Scenes depicting Nemesis with a griffin are especially common during the second and third centuries AD and occur in many different media, including coins, gems, statues, and funerary and votive reliefs. The particular image of a griffin resting its paw on a wheel, typically seated at the foot of Nemesis, is so pervasive that it eventually became a symbol for the goddess herself. For example, a limestone mold of the second to third centuries AD from Egypt, possibly from Alexandria, shows a griffin and a wheel with the Greek inscription Nemesis.</p><p><br /></p><p>Representations of the griffin with a wheel unaccompanied by Nemesis, as in the Getty mosaic, are particularly common in North Africa and the eastern periphery of the Roman Empire. The motif appears in the second and third centuries AD in Egyptian statuettes in faience [see image at <a href="https://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/assets/images/pics/pic_30_faience-egyptian-statuette.jpg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/assets/images/pics/pic_30_faience-egyptian-statuette.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/assets/images/pics/pic_30_faience-egyptian-statuette.jpg</a>], relief stelai from the amphitheater at Leptis Magna in present-day Libya; tomb paintings in Jordan; a votive marble statue from Erez, Israel, bearing a dedicatory inscription in Greek (dated AD 210–211); gems from Caesarea Maritima in Israel and Gadara in Jordan; and terracotta tesserae from Palmyra. While the worship of Nemesis was widespread across the Roman Empire, it was particularly prevalent in Egypt, where she had a pre-Roman cult, and in Syria and the surrounding regions, where she was associated with several important local deities, including the classical goddesses Tyche (personification of fortune) and Nike (personification of victory) and the Arabic deities Allath (goddess of war) and Manawat (goddess of fate).” [Footnotes omitted.]</p><p><br /></p><p>***</p><p>Separately, does anyone have any idea of the meaning of the Δ (for "D") in the right field of the reverse?</p><p><br /></p><p>I have several other coins with griffins (or gryphons, as I sometimes feel like spelling the word!), but no others with wheels. Here they are, nonetheless:</p><p><br /></p><p>Cimmerian Bosporos, Pantikapaion, AE 19 mm., ca. 320-310 BCE, minted under Perisad I, 345-310 BC. Obv. Bearded head of satyr, right / Rev. Forepart of griffin left; below, sturgeon left; Π-A-N [PAN] around. Anokhin (2011) 1023 [Anokhin, V.A., Античные Монеты Северного Причерноморья (Ancient Coins of the Northern Black Sea Coast) (Kiev. 2011) (see <a href="https://bosporan-kingdom.com/111-3141/)];" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://bosporan-kingdom.com/111-3141/)];" rel="nofollow">https://bosporan-kingdom.com/111-3141/)];</a> Seaby 1700 [Sear, David, <i>Greek Coins and their Values, Vol. 1: Europe</i> (Seaby 1979) at p. 169]; SNG BM Black Sea 869-870 [<i>Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Great Britain, Volume IX, British Museum, Part 1: The Black Sea</i> (London, 1993); available online at <a href="http://www.sylloge-nummorum-graecorum.org/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.sylloge-nummorum-graecorum.org/" rel="nofollow">http://www.sylloge-nummorum-graecorum.org</a>; see <u>SNGuk_0901_0869</u> and <u>SNGuk_0901_0870</u>]. 20 mm., 7.87 g., 12 h.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1241738[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, L. Papius, AR Serrate Denarius, 79 BCE. Obv. Head of Juno Sospita right, wearing goat skin; control-symbol of lyre behind/ Rev. Gryphon prancing right, control-symbol of lyre-key below, L. PAPI in exergue. Crawford 384/1 (see also Crawford Vol. II Plate LXVII, control-symbol 127 & p. 788), RSC I Papia 1, Sear RCV I 311 (ill.), Harlan, RRM I Ch. 7 at pp. 32-35, BMCRR Rome 2977-3095 [<i>control-symbol pair not in BMCRR</i>]. 19 mm., 3.79 g., 9 h.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1241739[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint (4th Officina). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Griffin walking left, APOLLINI CONS AVG; Δ [Delta = 4th Officina] in exergue. RIC V-1 166, RSC IV 76, Wolkow 4a4, Göbl MIR [<i>Moneta Imperii Romani</i>] Band 36, No. 718, Sear RCV III 10180. 20.5 mm., 3.29 g., 6 h.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1241743[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Each of my four griffins is slightly different in appearance, but the basics of the depiction really didn't change much over a period spanning almost 600 years. (See the fascinating presentation by [USER=82616]@David Atherton[/USER], in his post at <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/great-griffin.365868/#post-4804393" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/great-griffin.365868/#post-4804393">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/great-griffin.365868/#post-4804393</a>, of the theory that ancient dinosaur fossil finds in Central Asia inspired the legend of the griffin.)</p><p><br /></p><p>Please post your griffins or gryphons, if possible with wheels, but if not, without them.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 5581847, member: 110350"]Until [USER=99456]@Sulla80[/USER] pointed it out in another thread a while back, in commenting on a coin that [USER=97383]@Al Kowsky[/USER] had posted, I had no idea that when a griffin is depicted on an ancient Roman coin with its paw on a wheel, it represents Nemesis, with the wheel representing the cyclical nature of fortune -- just like on the old TV game show! After learning this, I knew I wanted an example. It didn't take that long before one I liked (and could afford) came up for sale, and I bought it right away. It arrived today, and I'm very pleased with it. (In hand, it looks even better to me than in the photo; one can see the copper shining through the greenish patina in places.) So here it is: Philip II, AE 27 mm., 247-249 AD, Moesia Inferior, Tomis. Obv. Bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from rear, Μ ΙΟΥΛ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟC ΚΑΙCΑΡ / Rev. Griffin seated left with right paw on top of wheel [[I]representing Nemesis*[/I]], ΜΗ-ΤΡΟ-Π-ΠΟ-ΝΤΟ, continued in exergue in two lines: Υ ΤΟΜΕ/ΩϹ(ME ligate), Δ in right field. 27 mm., 12.22 g. RPC [[I]Roman Provincial Coinage[/I]] VIII Online 28171 [temporary ID number] (see [URL]https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/28171[/URL]) [this coin is Specimen 7, used as primary illustration for type, see [URL]https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/156187[/URL] ]; Varbanov 5781 [Varbanov, Ivan, [I]Greek Imperial Coins And Their Values, Volume I: Dacia, Moesia Superior & Moesia Inferior[/I] (English Edition) (Bourgas, Bulgaria, 2005)]. [I]Purchased from Herakles Numismatics, Jan. 2021; ex. I-Nummis, Paris, Mail Bid Sale 6, Nov. 7, 2008, Lot 399 (see [URL]https://www.coinarchives.com/a/openlink.php?l=239902|348|399|a3b582d0b87f863b39d084dd851a7a89[/URL])[/I]. [[I]“Scarce”: 11 specimens in RPC (including this coin), 6 examples in ACSearch (including this coin).[/I]] [ATTACH=full]1241727[/ATTACH] *See [URL]https://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/catalogue/8/[/URL] : “The image of a griffin supporting one of its forepaws on a wheel appears in Roman art by the first century AD. The wheel, a symbol of the cyclical movement of human fortune, and the winged griffin are both distinctive attributes of Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance, who is also often represented with wings. In a first-century AD wall painting from the House of the Fabii at Pompeii, Apollo and two female figures are accompanied by a winged griffin with a wheel. This motif also occurs on coins of Alexandria dating to the reign of the emperor Domitian (AD 81–96). Scenes depicting Nemesis with a griffin are especially common during the second and third centuries AD and occur in many different media, including coins, gems, statues, and funerary and votive reliefs. The particular image of a griffin resting its paw on a wheel, typically seated at the foot of Nemesis, is so pervasive that it eventually became a symbol for the goddess herself. For example, a limestone mold of the second to third centuries AD from Egypt, possibly from Alexandria, shows a griffin and a wheel with the Greek inscription Nemesis. Representations of the griffin with a wheel unaccompanied by Nemesis, as in the Getty mosaic, are particularly common in North Africa and the eastern periphery of the Roman Empire. The motif appears in the second and third centuries AD in Egyptian statuettes in faience [see image at [URL]https://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/assets/images/pics/pic_30_faience-egyptian-statuette.jpg[/URL]], relief stelai from the amphitheater at Leptis Magna in present-day Libya; tomb paintings in Jordan; a votive marble statue from Erez, Israel, bearing a dedicatory inscription in Greek (dated AD 210–211); gems from Caesarea Maritima in Israel and Gadara in Jordan; and terracotta tesserae from Palmyra. While the worship of Nemesis was widespread across the Roman Empire, it was particularly prevalent in Egypt, where she had a pre-Roman cult, and in Syria and the surrounding regions, where she was associated with several important local deities, including the classical goddesses Tyche (personification of fortune) and Nike (personification of victory) and the Arabic deities Allath (goddess of war) and Manawat (goddess of fate).” [Footnotes omitted.] *** Separately, does anyone have any idea of the meaning of the Δ (for "D") in the right field of the reverse? I have several other coins with griffins (or gryphons, as I sometimes feel like spelling the word!), but no others with wheels. Here they are, nonetheless: Cimmerian Bosporos, Pantikapaion, AE 19 mm., ca. 320-310 BCE, minted under Perisad I, 345-310 BC. Obv. Bearded head of satyr, right / Rev. Forepart of griffin left; below, sturgeon left; Π-A-N [PAN] around. Anokhin (2011) 1023 [Anokhin, V.A., Античные Монеты Северного Причерноморья (Ancient Coins of the Northern Black Sea Coast) (Kiev. 2011) (see [URL]https://bosporan-kingdom.com/111-3141/)];[/URL] Seaby 1700 [Sear, David, [I]Greek Coins and their Values, Vol. 1: Europe[/I] (Seaby 1979) at p. 169]; SNG BM Black Sea 869-870 [[I]Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Great Britain, Volume IX, British Museum, Part 1: The Black Sea[/I] (London, 1993); available online at [URL='http://www.sylloge-nummorum-graecorum.org/']http://www.sylloge-nummorum-graecorum.org[/URL]; see [U]SNGuk_0901_0869[/U] and [U]SNGuk_0901_0870[/U]]. 20 mm., 7.87 g., 12 h. [ATTACH=full]1241738[/ATTACH] Roman Republic, L. Papius, AR Serrate Denarius, 79 BCE. Obv. Head of Juno Sospita right, wearing goat skin; control-symbol of lyre behind/ Rev. Gryphon prancing right, control-symbol of lyre-key below, L. PAPI in exergue. Crawford 384/1 (see also Crawford Vol. II Plate LXVII, control-symbol 127 & p. 788), RSC I Papia 1, Sear RCV I 311 (ill.), Harlan, RRM I Ch. 7 at pp. 32-35, BMCRR Rome 2977-3095 [[I]control-symbol pair not in BMCRR[/I]]. 19 mm., 3.79 g., 9 h. [ATTACH=full]1241739[/ATTACH] Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint (4th Officina). Obv. Radiate head right, GALLIENVS AVG / Rev. Griffin walking left, APOLLINI CONS AVG; Δ [Delta = 4th Officina] in exergue. RIC V-1 166, RSC IV 76, Wolkow 4a4, Göbl MIR [[I]Moneta Imperii Romani[/I]] Band 36, No. 718, Sear RCV III 10180. 20.5 mm., 3.29 g., 6 h. [ATTACH=full]1241743[/ATTACH] Each of my four griffins is slightly different in appearance, but the basics of the depiction really didn't change much over a period spanning almost 600 years. (See the fascinating presentation by [USER=82616]@David Atherton[/USER], in his post at [URL]https://www.cointalk.com/threads/great-griffin.365868/#post-4804393[/URL], of the theory that ancient dinosaur fossil finds in Central Asia inspired the legend of the griffin.) Please post your griffins or gryphons, if possible with wheels, but if not, without them.[/QUOTE]
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