Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
The Great Transformation:Meadows
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="NewStyleKing, post: 4511608, member: 106483"]A particularly intriguing case is provided by the mint of Knidos, some time probably in the second quarter of the second century (Pl. XLVI, 39). The traditional Knidian types of Aphrodite and a lion (Pl. XLVI, 40) are abandoned.Instead, on the obverse appears a distinctively rendered head of Apollo; but it is the reverse that captivates the attention. Here we see a standing figure of Artemis,fully draped and apparently holding a bowl. At her feet stands a stag. As we have long known from Knidian inscriptions the local cult was of Artemis Hyakinthotrophos, and this must be her.</p><p>12</p><p> We have, then, a representation of a distinctive local deity. But what lifts this type out of the ordinary is that we have in this design not one, but two depictions of the deity. For, in addition to the anthropomorphized depiction of the goddess, we can see that she is resting her left elbow on an archaic cult statue—presumably her own (Pl. XLVII, 41).</p><p>13</p><p> What is going on here? Why are there two depictions: one of the goddess in ‘human’form, the other of her object of cult reverence at Knidos? The answer, I think, can be found in a pair of inscriptions from Kos, published by G. Pugliesi-Caratelli in 1987. They record a diplomatic exchange between the cities of Kos and Knidos,which the editor dated, on the basis of letter forms, to around the beginning of the second century.</p><p>14</p><p> The city of Knidos had apparently sent out embassies to its neighbours and allies announcing that they had added an extra title to the name of their goddess: she was now to be known as Artemis Hyakinthotrophos Goddess Epiphanes (‘θεὸν Ἐπιφανῆ’), on account of a recent epiphany. As part of this process, the Knidians had established a penteteric festival in her honour and sent to Delphi for recognition of the festival as Isopythian. The Koans responded favourably to the Knidian request and presumably were not the only ones to do so.The occasion of the epiphany is not recorded, however it is more than likely that this occurred during a period of military conflict, and all commentators on these inscriptions have assumed that it must have occurred during the attack on the city by Philip V in 201 BC.</p><p>15</p><p> Artemis presumably appeared and saved the city from conquest. In this extraordinary coin type, I would suggest, we can see the engraver’s attempt to show the goddess Artemis manifest (Epiphanes, in the human figure) protecting her cult statue and, by metonymy, the whole city of Knidos. We cannot say for certain that this coin was struck in the immediate aftermath of the epiphany, or, for example, the first celebration of the games. It might be tempting to suggest this; but the point I want to make is more general.In this particular case, the Knidians’ choice of coin type seems to exist in the</p><p>same realm of civic activity as the recognition of their local deity, and of their establishment of an international festival in her honour. In this respect, the unique coin from Knidos in fact seems to fall into a shift in pattern of civic behaviour we can identify elsewhere. In two classic articles Angelos Chaniotis has drawn attention to two parallel phenomena in the Hellenistic period: the rise of the civic festival (sich selbst feiern) and an increased theatrical dimension to the transaction of civic activity in the same period; and in a recent book Verity Platt has emphasised the role that epiphanies of gods play at the intersection of these two movements.</p><p>16</p><p> Knidos is one place where the epiphany of the god led to the establishment of a major festival, but it is not the only one.The same had happened slightly earlier at Magnesia on the Meander, where the epiphany of Artemis Leukophryene led to an international campaign (the record of which survives in inscriptions) to seek recognition of the goddess’sanctuary and her games as isopythian.</p><p>17</p><p> The early second century saw also the construction of a new temple, and the establishment of a festival of Eisiteria to mark the goddess’ installation in her new home.</p><p>18</p><p> And so, on the coinage of the second century we find Artemis brought to prominence, in contrast to the earlier coinage of the city where she is nowhere visible (cf. Pl. XLV, 31 and 32). Similarly at Kolophon, an epiphany of Apollo Klarios seems to have led to the establishment of a penteteric festival around the end of the third century.</p><p>19</p><p> Again,we can see the adaptation of earlier types of the city with generic Apollonian types to ones of greater detail (cf. Pl. XLV, 28-29). We might note here that Apollo is depicted full figure and standing, but since we know that this cannot represent the cult statue of Apollo Klarios (which was seated),</p><p>20</p><p> it is tempting to suggest that we may again have a depiction of the epiphany. And, of course, there is Pergamon (Pl. XLII, 18), where an epiphany of the goddess Athena has been taken to have given rise to the city’s cult of Athena Nikephoros.</p><p>21</p><p>While the coins of Knidos, Magnesia, Kolophon and Pergamon might allude to epiphanies, an issue of Klazomenai, that has only recently been recognised as such, is much more explicit (Pl. XLIV, 27). On the obverse appears a striking head of Zeus, and on the reverse the standing figure of an Amazon. The legend,however, draws us back to the obverse: ΔΙΟΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣKΛΑΖΟ. This coin claims to be of the people of Klazomenai and of Zeus Soter Epiphanes (or perhaps of the Zeus Soter Epiphanes of the Klazomenians). We know nothing of the occasion of the epiphany, although since it was of Zeus Soter, it is perhaps plausible to suggest again that this occurred in a time of war. I have suggested elsewhere that we might see the circumstances in a war between Klazomenai and Temnos that is epigraphically attested to have taken place in the first half of the second century.</p><p>22</p><p> Irrespective of the specific circumstances, how-ever, we are left with a very clear case of a coinage that makes explicit reference to a specific deity and his relation to the city. One cannot help but be reminded of the coinages of Thasos and Maroneia we have already noted, which share similar forms of legends: ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΘΑΣΙΩΝ (of Herakles Soter [and?]of the Thasians) and ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΜΑΡΩΝΙΤΩΝ (of Dionysus Soter[and?] of the Maroneians) (Pl. XL, 7-8). In these cases it is unclear whether a reference to a specific act of Soteria is being referred to, but the attempt seems to be being made to refer to a specific cult within the cities. This is in contrast, as we have noted, to the more generic references we find earlier on the coinages of these cities.Other examples of such specific reference, alongside similarly statuesque representations are not difficult to find. So at both Parion and Alexandria Troas(Pl. XLII, 17 and Pl. XLIII, 20) we have standing figures of Apollo. At the former city he is depicted holding a bow at his feet and laurel branch in his outstretched hand, at the latter he holds the bow up, but carries a bowl in his right hand. The difference in representation is explained in the legend. At Parion we haveΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣ ΑΚΤΑΙΟΥ ΠΑΡΙΑΝΩΝ—Apollo Actaeus of the Parians; at Alexandria we have ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣ ΣΜΙΘΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝ—Apollo Smintheus of the Alexandrians. Closely connected to these in style are the coins of Ilion, where the deity is Athena, described as ΑΘΗΝΑΣ ΙΛΙΑΔΟΣ—Athena Ilias(Pl. XLIII, 21). In all these cases we are told quite explicitly that these are representations of the local deity.There is, of course, another explicit way to identify the representation of a deity as being that of specific cult, and that is to represent the statue itself unambiguously. We have already seen one example of this at Knidos(Pl. XLVII, 41). Another stunning instance can be found on another unique coin,this time of Samos (Pl. XLVI, 37). Here we have a head of Zeus on the obverse and what is clearly the archaic cult statue of Hera on the reverse. This needs no labelling—ΣΑΜΙΩΝ will suffice.</p><p>23</p><p> A similar case can be made for the distinctive representation of Dionysus on the wreathed issues of Mytilene (Pl. XLIV, 26).</p><p>24</p><p> But perhaps the most extraordinary example comes from Apollonia Pontica,(Pl. XLI, 14) where the die-engraver has gone out of his way to make it clear that he is representing a statue, and a big one at that. Here we have Apollo Iatros, duly labelled (ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣ ΙΑΤΡΟΥ) standing on a truncated pedestal. The laurel he holds is lifted above its usual depiction as a single branch to take on the appearance of an entire tree. As it happens, we have literary testimony to the identity of the statue, the work of Calamis (at a reputed cost of 500 talents), and to the prominent place it took within the city.</p><p>25</p><p> Prior to its removal by Lucullus this colossal statue, with a height of 30 cubits (45 ft = 13.7m) was a major land-mark within the city.And even where the representation may not be absolutely certain to us,because the cult statue is lost, we should bear in mind that there may be other cases where the identity would have been obvious to the ancient citizen of the issuing city. One obvious candidate here is the coinage of Kos, with the depiction of Asclepius standing leaning on his snake staff (Pl. XLVII, 44). Like the coinage of Samos, this first turns up in a hoard of the late 160s, and so both have every chance of being contemporary with the Artemis coin of Knidos.</p><p>26</p><p> Lest we become fixated with statues, we might compare the circumstances of the wreathed tetradrachms of Cyzicus (Pl. XLII, 15). Louis Robert first suggested that the issue of these was connected with the reorganisation of the Cyzicene festival of Kore Soteira, which is attested in inscriptions from Delos and Delphi, where the gods declared the festival holy and perhaps Panhellenic. The coins cannot[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="NewStyleKing, post: 4511608, member: 106483"]A particularly intriguing case is provided by the mint of Knidos, some time probably in the second quarter of the second century (Pl. XLVI, 39). The traditional Knidian types of Aphrodite and a lion (Pl. XLVI, 40) are abandoned.Instead, on the obverse appears a distinctively rendered head of Apollo; but it is the reverse that captivates the attention. Here we see a standing figure of Artemis,fully draped and apparently holding a bowl. At her feet stands a stag. As we have long known from Knidian inscriptions the local cult was of Artemis Hyakinthotrophos, and this must be her. 12 We have, then, a representation of a distinctive local deity. But what lifts this type out of the ordinary is that we have in this design not one, but two depictions of the deity. For, in addition to the anthropomorphized depiction of the goddess, we can see that she is resting her left elbow on an archaic cult statue—presumably her own (Pl. XLVII, 41). 13 What is going on here? Why are there two depictions: one of the goddess in ‘human’form, the other of her object of cult reverence at Knidos? The answer, I think, can be found in a pair of inscriptions from Kos, published by G. Pugliesi-Caratelli in 1987. They record a diplomatic exchange between the cities of Kos and Knidos,which the editor dated, on the basis of letter forms, to around the beginning of the second century. 14 The city of Knidos had apparently sent out embassies to its neighbours and allies announcing that they had added an extra title to the name of their goddess: she was now to be known as Artemis Hyakinthotrophos Goddess Epiphanes (‘θεὸν Ἐπιφανῆ’), on account of a recent epiphany. As part of this process, the Knidians had established a penteteric festival in her honour and sent to Delphi for recognition of the festival as Isopythian. The Koans responded favourably to the Knidian request and presumably were not the only ones to do so.The occasion of the epiphany is not recorded, however it is more than likely that this occurred during a period of military conflict, and all commentators on these inscriptions have assumed that it must have occurred during the attack on the city by Philip V in 201 BC. 15 Artemis presumably appeared and saved the city from conquest. In this extraordinary coin type, I would suggest, we can see the engraver’s attempt to show the goddess Artemis manifest (Epiphanes, in the human figure) protecting her cult statue and, by metonymy, the whole city of Knidos. We cannot say for certain that this coin was struck in the immediate aftermath of the epiphany, or, for example, the first celebration of the games. It might be tempting to suggest this; but the point I want to make is more general.In this particular case, the Knidians’ choice of coin type seems to exist in the same realm of civic activity as the recognition of their local deity, and of their establishment of an international festival in her honour. In this respect, the unique coin from Knidos in fact seems to fall into a shift in pattern of civic behaviour we can identify elsewhere. In two classic articles Angelos Chaniotis has drawn attention to two parallel phenomena in the Hellenistic period: the rise of the civic festival (sich selbst feiern) and an increased theatrical dimension to the transaction of civic activity in the same period; and in a recent book Verity Platt has emphasised the role that epiphanies of gods play at the intersection of these two movements. 16 Knidos is one place where the epiphany of the god led to the establishment of a major festival, but it is not the only one.The same had happened slightly earlier at Magnesia on the Meander, where the epiphany of Artemis Leukophryene led to an international campaign (the record of which survives in inscriptions) to seek recognition of the goddess’sanctuary and her games as isopythian. 17 The early second century saw also the construction of a new temple, and the establishment of a festival of Eisiteria to mark the goddess’ installation in her new home. 18 And so, on the coinage of the second century we find Artemis brought to prominence, in contrast to the earlier coinage of the city where she is nowhere visible (cf. Pl. XLV, 31 and 32). Similarly at Kolophon, an epiphany of Apollo Klarios seems to have led to the establishment of a penteteric festival around the end of the third century. 19 Again,we can see the adaptation of earlier types of the city with generic Apollonian types to ones of greater detail (cf. Pl. XLV, 28-29). We might note here that Apollo is depicted full figure and standing, but since we know that this cannot represent the cult statue of Apollo Klarios (which was seated), 20 it is tempting to suggest that we may again have a depiction of the epiphany. And, of course, there is Pergamon (Pl. XLII, 18), where an epiphany of the goddess Athena has been taken to have given rise to the city’s cult of Athena Nikephoros. 21 While the coins of Knidos, Magnesia, Kolophon and Pergamon might allude to epiphanies, an issue of Klazomenai, that has only recently been recognised as such, is much more explicit (Pl. XLIV, 27). On the obverse appears a striking head of Zeus, and on the reverse the standing figure of an Amazon. The legend,however, draws us back to the obverse: ΔΙΟΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣKΛΑΖΟ. This coin claims to be of the people of Klazomenai and of Zeus Soter Epiphanes (or perhaps of the Zeus Soter Epiphanes of the Klazomenians). We know nothing of the occasion of the epiphany, although since it was of Zeus Soter, it is perhaps plausible to suggest again that this occurred in a time of war. I have suggested elsewhere that we might see the circumstances in a war between Klazomenai and Temnos that is epigraphically attested to have taken place in the first half of the second century. 22 Irrespective of the specific circumstances, how-ever, we are left with a very clear case of a coinage that makes explicit reference to a specific deity and his relation to the city. One cannot help but be reminded of the coinages of Thasos and Maroneia we have already noted, which share similar forms of legends: ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΘΑΣΙΩΝ (of Herakles Soter [and?]of the Thasians) and ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΜΑΡΩΝΙΤΩΝ (of Dionysus Soter[and?] of the Maroneians) (Pl. XL, 7-8). In these cases it is unclear whether a reference to a specific act of Soteria is being referred to, but the attempt seems to be being made to refer to a specific cult within the cities. This is in contrast, as we have noted, to the more generic references we find earlier on the coinages of these cities.Other examples of such specific reference, alongside similarly statuesque representations are not difficult to find. So at both Parion and Alexandria Troas(Pl. XLII, 17 and Pl. XLIII, 20) we have standing figures of Apollo. At the former city he is depicted holding a bow at his feet and laurel branch in his outstretched hand, at the latter he holds the bow up, but carries a bowl in his right hand. The difference in representation is explained in the legend. At Parion we haveΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣ ΑΚΤΑΙΟΥ ΠΑΡΙΑΝΩΝ—Apollo Actaeus of the Parians; at Alexandria we have ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣ ΣΜΙΘΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝ—Apollo Smintheus of the Alexandrians. Closely connected to these in style are the coins of Ilion, where the deity is Athena, described as ΑΘΗΝΑΣ ΙΛΙΑΔΟΣ—Athena Ilias(Pl. XLIII, 21). In all these cases we are told quite explicitly that these are representations of the local deity.There is, of course, another explicit way to identify the representation of a deity as being that of specific cult, and that is to represent the statue itself unambiguously. We have already seen one example of this at Knidos(Pl. XLVII, 41). Another stunning instance can be found on another unique coin,this time of Samos (Pl. XLVI, 37). Here we have a head of Zeus on the obverse and what is clearly the archaic cult statue of Hera on the reverse. This needs no labelling—ΣΑΜΙΩΝ will suffice. 23 A similar case can be made for the distinctive representation of Dionysus on the wreathed issues of Mytilene (Pl. XLIV, 26). 24 But perhaps the most extraordinary example comes from Apollonia Pontica,(Pl. XLI, 14) where the die-engraver has gone out of his way to make it clear that he is representing a statue, and a big one at that. Here we have Apollo Iatros, duly labelled (ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣ ΙΑΤΡΟΥ) standing on a truncated pedestal. The laurel he holds is lifted above its usual depiction as a single branch to take on the appearance of an entire tree. As it happens, we have literary testimony to the identity of the statue, the work of Calamis (at a reputed cost of 500 talents), and to the prominent place it took within the city. 25 Prior to its removal by Lucullus this colossal statue, with a height of 30 cubits (45 ft = 13.7m) was a major land-mark within the city.And even where the representation may not be absolutely certain to us,because the cult statue is lost, we should bear in mind that there may be other cases where the identity would have been obvious to the ancient citizen of the issuing city. One obvious candidate here is the coinage of Kos, with the depiction of Asclepius standing leaning on his snake staff (Pl. XLVII, 44). Like the coinage of Samos, this first turns up in a hoard of the late 160s, and so both have every chance of being contemporary with the Artemis coin of Knidos. 26 Lest we become fixated with statues, we might compare the circumstances of the wreathed tetradrachms of Cyzicus (Pl. XLII, 15). Louis Robert first suggested that the issue of these was connected with the reorganisation of the Cyzicene festival of Kore Soteira, which is attested in inscriptions from Delos and Delphi, where the gods declared the festival holy and perhaps Panhellenic. The coins cannot[/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
The Great Transformation:Meadows
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...