Dear friends of ancient mythology! Here I want to present a coin which I am very glad adding to my collection. Ok, its preservation is not the best, but nearly all details could be seen, especially the animals on the rev. Most coins on CoinArchives are not better. The coin: Thrace, Philippopolis, Geta, AD 209-212 AE 30, 17.77g, 29.53mm, 180° obv. AVT K Π CEΠTI - MIOC ΓETAC Bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r. rev. Orpheus, in Thracian dress and with Phrygian cap, sitting on rocks r., playing lyre. Around him a number of wild animals, clockwise from upper right: bull, lion, ibex, goose and wolf, jackal and stork, boar in ex.: ΦIΛIΠΠOΠO / ΛEITΩN ref. Varbanov 1422; Moushmov 5383 rare, F+/About VF, nice dark green patina, some roughness in left field of rev. Mythology: The Thracian singer Orpheus is said to be the son of the muse Kalliope and the Thracian king Oiagros or the god Apollo whose fame as kitharoedos he soon outflanked. His Thracian origin was questioned until recently. But already the Greeks saw him as Thracian, in the same way like the muses wich came from the region around the mount Olympos too. Orpheus is entwined in so much myths that the mythographs assumed several different Orpheus'. He is known from the 6th and 5th century from fragments of Simonides and from a text in the 'Alkestis' by Euripides that was first played 438 BC. His art as singer was praised especially in the Orphic scripts. In the 'Argonautika' of Apollonius Rhodios he was stylized to the greatest heroe and thereby exceeding even Theseus. During the journey of the Argos he was the keleustes, giving the tact to the oarsmen, and calming the waves of the sea. His song to the lyre was so moving, that stones, rocks, even mountains came to him to listen, that the wild animals gathered tamed around hím, that the trees walked to him (Ovid Lib. X), that the rivers stopped flowing and that the snow on the mountains was melting. In the underworld the furies were moved to tears for the first and last time. When he failed in his attempt to free his beloved Eurydike from the Hades he abdicated the love to women, decided to never get married and introduced the pederasty to Thrace. Half a year he was sitting in a cave of the river Strymon, mourning. But the Mainades, the companions of Dionysos, were put into rage about him, and jumped on him. Because they feared the power of his art they first killed his 'living theater', the birds, the snakes, the droves of game, the bulls and then they teared him apart, the Holy, in a bacchanal of violence. His head nailed on his lyre they throw into the Strymon where he is said to have sung furthermore. The waves carried it to the beach of Lesbos which then became the island of poetry. His lyre was put as constellation to the sky. After his death the birds were mourning, the game, the rocks, the wood. The trees discarded their leafs, the rivers swelled from self dropped tears. But the soul of Orpheus searched the underworld for Eurydike, found her and finally they promenaded in combined steps like only one shadow. Only in death there is eternal love! The scene in which Orpheus tamed the wild animals by his music was well known in the Roman imperial time. The idea of civilizing barbaric traits through arts and poetry was a persistent cultural value throughout Roman times. It is a symbol of the victory of the civilization over barbarianism. In this sense it could play an important role in our times as well! Later on the motiv of Orpheus and Eurydike became more important. May be one of the members of this forum has a coin showing this motiv. Then it would be nice to see it here to round up this theme! History of Art: I have attached the pic of a famous mosaic from Antiochia (today Antakya/Turkey). It shows the same scene like the rev of the coin. It is a wonderful example of the painting qualities of a mosaic. This motiv later was used by Christianism too. In the Priscilla catacombes in Rome there is a wall painting showing the Good Shepherd in the shape of Orpheus. Sources: (1) Der kleine Pauly Online Sources: (1) http://www.hermetic.com/sabazius/orpheus.htm (2) http://www.religionfacts.com/jesus/image_gallery/4C_christ_as_orpheus.htm (3) http://www.dm-art.org/Dallas_Museum_of_Art/View/Collections/Ancient_Mediterranean/ID_012647 (4) http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/latin/ovid/trans/Metamorph10.htm Best regards
Wow, Jochen... another fantastic provincial! I watched longingly last year as CNG auctioned a spectacular Alexandrian drachm with a similar reverse. Congrats to its winner, whoever that was. Here's the coin: EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ Drachm (35mm, 28.63 g, 12h). Dated RY 5 (AD 141/142). AVT K T AIΛ A∆P ANTωNINOC ЄVCЄB, laureate head right / Orpheus Charming the Animals – Orpheus seated right on rock, playing lyre, charming numerous wild animals around him; L Є (date) across upper field. Köln –; Dattari (Savio) 2996 var. & 8843-4 var. (arrangement of animals on reverse for 2996, and obverse bust type for 8843-4); K&G –; Emmett 1631.5 (R5); Staffieri, Alexandria In Nummis137 (this coin). VF, brown patina with traces of green, minor roughness and smoothing. Extremely rare. Only the second we have handled, the first being the Wetterstrom example from CNA XIII (1990). From the Giovanni Maria Staffieri Collection. Ex David Simpson Collection (Triton V, 15 January 2002), lot 1778; Carlo Fontana Collection (Finarte Casa D’Aste 995, 26 November 1996), lot 940, purchased from Mario Ratto, Milan, 1957.
Wonderful coin, Jochen! My heart actually skipped a beat when I read the title of the post. This type is on my dream list. Hopefully, it won’t remain there forever.
There was a time where I was addicted by Orpheus and his myth. From this time 2 more coins from my collection. But I have to confess, that they are sometimes called Apollo. 1st Coin: Thrace, Philippopolis, Septimius Severus, AD 193-211 AE 29, 16.37g, 28.87mm, 0° Obv.: AVT K Λ CE - CEVHPOC bust, draped and cuirassed, seen from behind, laureate, r. Rev.: ΦIΛIΠΠO - ΠOΛEI / TΩN Orpheus, in Thracian garment, wearing Phrygian bonnet, sitting r. on rocks, head l., holding lyre on l. knee and plectron in extended r. hand. Ref.: Moushmov 5305; rev. B. Pick, Thrakische Münzbilder (1898), J.d.deutsch.archäolog.Inst. XIII, pl.10, 3 very rare, about VF, some corrosion The rev. is from the same die as the rev. of he next coin of Caracalla. 2nd Coin: Thrace, Philippopolis, Caracalla, AD 198-217 AE 31, 16.14g, 30.79mm, 0° Obv.: AVT K M AVP - ANTΩNEINOC bust, draped and cuirassed, seen from behind, laureate, r. Rev.: ΦIΛIΠΠO - ΠOΛEI / TΩN Orpheus, in Thracian garment, wearing Phrygian bonnet, sitting r. on rocks, head l., holding lyre on l. knee and plectron in extended r. hand. Ref.: Moushmov 5305; rev. B. Pick, Thrakische Münzbilder (1898), J.d.deutsch.archäol.Inst. XIII, pl.10, 3 very rare, F+/about VF, dark black-green patina And as give-away a pic of the mosaic of Orpheus from our Dominican Museum Rottweil (the former Area Flaviae). If you look at the details you see the high quality of this mosaic. Hence it is assumed that it was created not by local but by foreign artists Jochen
These really are wonderful coins and illustrations of the myth. One of my all-time favorite musical compositions is Jacques Offenbach's Orpheus In The Underworld, a parody/satire/lampoon of the legend that was also a thinly veiled criticism of the French government of Napoleon III. Here's a Wikipedia article on the piece: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheus_in_the_Underworld Even non-listeners of classical music will recognize the last movement of this work, since it's the famous "Can-Can" music that was used in Paris's burlesque halls for the skirt-raising dance.
