Dear Friends of ancient mythology! I know this coin is in not good condition. But I want to tell something about Priapos and for that this coin is qualified especially well. It is an AE21 of Trajan Decius from Lampsakos. The Coin: Trajan Decius AD 249-251 AE 22, 4.15g, 22.23mm, 0° obv. AYT KOI TPAIAN ΔEK[IOC] bust draped, laureate, r. rev. ΛANYAKHN / [Ω]N - EPI APOΛΛ in l. and r. field [ΩN] - ETOY Priapos, stg. l., draped to hips, with Ithyphallos, resting with raised l. and on Thyrsos, and holding in extended r. hand kantharos ref. cf. SNG Paris 1294 very rare, good F to about VF Notes: This coin shows beside its mythology some numismatic anomalies: 1) ΛAN in error for ΛAM 2) KOI in error for a. KVI, as abbreviation for QVINTVS, or b. KAI, as abbreviation for KAICAP = Caesar (Curtis Cay) 3) For the magistrate Apollonius it is not possible to find a reference Priapos was the son of Aphrodite and born in Lampsakos in Mysia. Therefore Lampsakos was the most important city of the Priapos cult. The special feature of this coin is the fact that Priapos here is not depicted as a dumb and horny garden dwarf as usually but with Thyrsos and Kantharos, the attributes of Dionysos! Mythology: Priapos was the son of Aphrodite and Dionysos, referring to other sources of Adonis or even of Zeus himself. When Aphrodite saw how ugly her child was looking, with big tongue, thick belly and exorbitant member, she threw it away and denied it. It is said that the reason for his deformity was the envy or jealousy of Hera. She should have touched the pregnant belly of Aphrodite with evil magic hand. A herdsman should have found the child and brought it up because immediatly he has assumed that this being could be important for the fertility of plants and animals. Not until Roman times he changed into a bizarre garden god and a kind of scarecrow. So it was assigned to him that he tried to rape the sleeping Hesta but was betrayed by the cry of an ass. In Bithynia it is said that he has educated the young War God Ares whom he first has teached dancing and thereafter the war handcraft. So he rather was a warlike god, and one of the Titanes. For this reason he belongs probably to the series of pre-hellenic, semi-animal teachers of gods, like Kedalion, Chiron, Silen or Pallas. Background: Priapos is the ithyphallic god of animalic and vegetabilic fertility and generally a bringer of mercy and protector against evil, originated at the coast othe Helespont, especially in Lampsakos. The city of Priapos is named after him. His name is related to Priene, Priamos and the name of the Bithynean war god Prietos. Probably together with Alexander's Crusade his cult spread in the Greek world and absorbed various local deities like Phallos in Attica or Mutunus in Rome, which he replaced. Primarly coarse formed, red coloured wooden statues were sacrified to him, so-called Hermes columns (a bust on a column). Typically was his position in Lordosis (leaning back) with erected phallos. In his function as fertlitity god he acted positive aiding as well as saving against harm. In Roman times his role was limited asgarden god. But he was the protector of wanderers and in Greece patron of sailors and fishermen. His sanctuaries were artless in imbedded in the landscape. As heir of the sepulcric Phalloi he was grave guardian too. This directs to a deeper meaning. Ocassionally he became even an All God. In Lampsakos donkeys are sacrified to him which leads to mythological explanations, f.e. the proverbial horniness of donkeys. From the graffiti on the walls of his sanctuaries a separate poetic genre developed, the Priapea and the Priapean measure. Naturally the depiction of Priapos stimulated to sarcasm but Priapos would not have been accepted if not a serious belief would have been behind him. So even in Christian times there were Priests, Priestresses and whole societies which were addicted to him. He had mysteries too and had a strong support by Dionysos who has attracted and influenced him. Furthermore he is related to Aphrodite, Pan, the Nymphs, Silvanus and Herakles. Generating myths he became not until Hellenistic times and this only marginal. Sources: (1) Vergil, Georg. IV, 111 (2) Tibull, I.1.22.4.8 (3) Horaz, Sat. I, 8 Literature: (1) Karl Kerenyi, Die Mythologie der Griechen (2) Der kleine Pauly Best regards
Very interesting subject. Well, I have this coin, but it's not from Lampsakos. AE17 Septimius Severus (193-211). Moesia Inferior, Nikopolis ad Istrum. Obv. Laureate head right. AV KAI CE CEVHΡOC. Rev. Priapus standing left, pointing at his enormous member. NIKOPOLI TWN [PROCIC]. 17 mm, 2.41 gr. Moushmov 987. Wildwinds (same obv. die?). AMNG I 1380; Varbanov 2490.
Hi Pellinore! Your coin is Hristova/Hoeft/Jekov (2018) 8.14.17.4 (same dies). Priapos was especially under Severus in Nikopolis a very popular type. We know of 9 different types for Severus and 3 types for Domna. Then there were again 4 types under Elagabal. Best regards
