For quite awhile I have wanted a coin with a River God on it, just because it is such a neat image. And now to actually hold this miniature work of art that some great artist created almost 2500 years ago by hand, is a mind blowing experience. I wonder what hands have held this coin. Where has it been? What stories it could tell? It seems that every time I get a new Greek or other ancient coin, I always wonder about the history involved. Don't you think they could make a great History Channel show about what the coins could have seen? Anyway, this is my newest ancient. JonySky
Very nice coin. I like your points about the history the coin has seen. That's one of the things I like about collecting.
That's a great coin Jony! Yes, I always wonder where my ancients have been. They could have been in a Roman peasant's pocket and paid for a loaf of bread or been part of a great king's collection centuries ago. That is a very cool coin. Can you tell me more about it? I don't know anything about those. I don't think I've even seen one before.
The River God Well I had to do a bit of home work to find out more about the River Gods on Greek Coins, and it was well worth the learning. In Greek Mythology, Achelous was the patron diety of the Acheloos River, the largest river in Greece, and as a result was considered the chief of all river dieties. Each river had their own River God and were considered the source of "sweet water", and were worshipped along with the many Gods the Greeks worshipped. Now in the Legends of Herakles, River God Achelous was a suitor for Deianeira daughter of Oeneus, King of Calydon, who battled Herakles for her and lost. At one point in the battle, Achelous turned himself into a bull. So on a number of Greek coins, particularly Gela, Sicily, the River God has the body of a bull and the head of a man. The Bull/Man River God actually appeared in Greek art as early as the 7th Century B C. Pretty cool, huh? Jony
That's great information Jony. Thanks for researching that. I love your new coin with Achelous on it. I may have to look for one myself one of these days. Have a great weekend!
