Image - Creative Commons License from the British Museum Mēn, illustrated in this marble Roman relief from the 2nd Century AD, is the Moon god of Roman Anatolia, perhaps connected with the Mesopotamian moon god Sin which was also a male lunar god. The Roman Luna was female. The deity is portrayed with a crescent moon behind his shoulders and wearing a phrygian cap. Strabo describes a temple of Mēn of Pharnaces: "And the kings revered this temple so exceedingly that they proclaimed the "royal" oath as follows: "By the Fortune of the king and by Mēn of Pharnaces." And this is also the temple of Selenê, like that among the Albanians and those in Phrygia, I mean that of Mēn in the place of the same name and that of Mēn Ascaeus near the Antiocheia that is near Pisidia and that of Mēn in the country of the Antiocheians." -Strabo, Geography XII p.557 Meis Axiottenos is the local Lydian manifestation of this deity. The Roman province of Lydia was in western Asia minor in modern Turkey. The map below shows roughly the location of ancient Axiotta where there was a sanctuary of Meis Artemidorou Axiottenos and his mother, "Great Mother".(*) Stelae, inscribed stone slabs or columns, have been found that “both advertise a divinity’s power and warn others either explicitly or implicitly against committing a religious transgression, which is accomplished by recounting how a worshiper had suffered an ailment that was believed to be linked to an offense against the god or goddess, and which only had disappeared after proper amends had been made”(*). This rare coin from Saitta, Lydia (near modern İcikler, Turkey) located between the River Hermus and its tributary Hyllus, depicts Mēn Aziottenos on the obverse and Apollo on the reverse. Saitta (CAITTHNΩN) is the only city to use Axiottenos (AΞIOTTENOΣ) together with the god's bust on its coins (*). Saitta, Lydia, Pseudo-autonomous, AE17, 1/3 Assarion, time of Septimius Severus, 193-211 AD Obv: Bust of Mēn Axiottenos on crescent right, wearing Phrygian cap Rev: CAITTHNΩN, Apollo standing facing, head to left, holding branch in his right hand and leaning left on bow set on ground Size: 2.26g, 16.3mm Ref: SNG von Aulock -; SNG Copenhagen -; BMC 17; Lindgren I 789; Asia Minor Coins Online AMCO #6106 Note: Although I don't have a copy of Lindgren to confirm, AMCO states that the reference coins share the same dies as this coin, as does this one at wildwinds. I haven't seen a nicer example so far. As always, any corrections or additions to the above are much appreciated. Post coins of lunar gods, late 2nd or early 3rd century coins of western Anatolia, or anything else you find interesting or entertaining.
Wonderful write up and sensational coin! Really something special right there. Just further proof that all Men should wear Phrygian caps!
Sapadbizes, Yuezhi king of western Bactria, ~20 BC. 16mm, 1.33g, MAC 2824. Obverse: CAΠAΛBIZHC, Helmeted bust right Reverse: NANAIA legend on either side; Lion standing right, lambda and crescent above, The goddess Nanaia is linked to the Armenian Nane and the Persian Anahita, and thus indirectly to Men via Anahita. Also via Anahita, she incorporated elements of the Sumerian Inanna and Ishtar, including her lion imagery. Sapadbizes was a Yuezhi king who ruled portions of western Bactria, and who was probably conquered by Kujula Kadphises, another Yuezhi lord and founder of the Kushan dynasty.
a few good men.... Pamphylia, Sillyon(Sillyum). Lucilla AE24. Bust of Men Lucilla, daughter of Marcus Aurelius, wife of Lucius Verus, Augusta, 164-182 AD. AE24, 9.5g. Obv: ΛΟΥΚΙΛΛΑ CEBACTH. Draped bust right, hair gathered in back in Chignon. Rev: CIΛΛYEΩN. Draped bust of Mên right, crescent at shoulders. Pamphylia, Attaleia. Caracalla AE24. Men standing. Obv: Caracalla laureate r Rev: Men standing head l., foot on bucranium holding pine-cone in r., staff in l. SNG RIGHETTI 1261(1) Phrygia, Hierapolis in alliance with Ephesus. AE22 Pseudo-autonomous. Boule/Men. Obv: IEPAPOLEITWN K EFECIWN, Veiled bust of Boule r. Rev: NEWKOPWN OMON(OIA), Men in Phrygian cap standing r., head l., r. foot on bull's skull, holding pine cone and scepter. BMC 187, pl. 52.5 and SNG Copenhagen 470, but seems to be from new dies on both sides. Commemorating the harmony with Ephesus in Ionia. Assigned to the time of Valerian/Gallienus. Pisidia, Antioch. AE24 Septimius Severus. Cult Image of Men Pisidian Antioch. Æ24. Septimius Severus, laureate, head to r. IMP CAES L SEP S EVERVS PER AVG. Rev. PISIDICA ANTIOCH, Cult image of Men, frontal, head to r., holding a Victory on an orb (requiring a support under his elbow, as in statuary image), scepter in his r., at the foot of which is a cock; his left leg is bent to place on a bull's head; otherwise, he is identified by his Phrygian bonnet and the horns of a crescent moon on his shoulders. Pisidia, Parlais. Julia Domna. Cult Image of Men Parlais, Pisidia. Julia Domna. 20mm and 4.0gm. Reverse IVL AVG COL PARLAIS. Men stg. facing, holding sceptre and pine-cone, foot set on bucranium.
Here's my Mên Axiottenos with Hermos, the river god, on the reverse. From the Saitta Collection. I love pseudo-autonomous issues. Wikipedia says that Axiotta was also known as Aziotta. Which explains why Men is sometimes called Aziottenos in coin descriptions
This may be a little bit off topic for a coin site, but I just wanted to mention that there is also such a thing as a Lydian scale in music. You have all heard it, guaranteed, but maybe some of you haven't been aware that it was the Lydian scale. It is quite often used in music for movies, as it has an uplifting feeling to it. For those who are into musical scales, it's the high 4, which creates a feeling of modulation. Rich Beato gives several good demonstrations here:
I think this is an error. It is common for English to pronounce x as a z (eg Xerox). The Greek letter is Ξ/ξ and is pronounced as "ks". It has nothing to do with Z.
Glad to see some nice coins and the write-up on the deity "Men". been waiting and looking for one myself with the right Emperor if the obverse had one as an RPC and found it finally. Marcus Aurelius. (AD 161-180). Cilicia. Coracesium Æ26 / Men Title: Marcus Aurelius. (AD 161-180). Cilicia. Coracesium Æ26 / Men Attribution: RPC IV 6012 (temporary) Date: AD 161-180 Obverse: [ΑΥΤ]οΙ(sic) ΚΑ[ΙϹΑΡ ΑΝΤⲰΝƐΙ], laureate and cuirassed bust right Reverse: ΚΟΡΑΚΗ-[ϹΙⲰΤⲰИ], Men standing left, wearing Phrygian cap, holding pine cone, crescent behind shoulders Size: 26.22 mm Weight: 7.98 grams Description: good Fine. Two examples found in Coin Archives and ACSearch. I could only find a couple of these online also. i guess it is up there now with the three rarest coins in my collection. Post your moon gods:
LYDIA, Sardes Imperial times, 200-235 AD. Æ (23mm, 4.27 gm. 6h). Obv: MEN ACKENOC, bust of Mên Askenos right on crescent moon, wearing Phrygian cap. Rev: CAPΔIANΩN B NEΩKOPΩN, EPMOC, River god Hermos reclining left. SNG Copenhagen 511.