Dear Friends of ancient mythology! Everytime you look a bit closer at your coins you can detect very interesting stories. This happened to me looking at this coin. The Coin: Aeolis/Asia Minor, Kyme, pseudo-autonomous, time of Gallienus AE 21, 4.2g struck under magistrate Ermeias, AD 253-268 Obv.: IEPA.CVN. - .KΛHTOC Youthful bust of Senate, draped, r. Rev.: AIΛ.EP - M[E] River-god Xanthos, bearded, wreathed, nude to hips, leaning l., holding in r. hand long waterplant and resting with l. arm on vase from which water flows, . in l. field KVMA / I in ex. [Ξ]ANΘO[C] Ref.: SNG von Aulock 1648; Franke KZR 204; SLG Prowe III, 724; BMC 13, 114 At first I was interested in it only because of the named river-god. This it rather rare. But researching more I found the following: Important: It is the Troy Xanthos not the Lycian! Today he is called Kucukmenderes. The river Xanthos originates from the Ida mountains, runs through the plains of Troy and flows after 97km north of Troy into the Hellespont, today called Dardanelles. Several of its tributaries are river-gods too. Mythology: Homer says that only the gods called him Xanthos, yellow (because of the colour of his water), but human beings called him Skamandros. In Greek mythology he was an Oceanid, a son of Okeanos and Tethys. By Idaea he had a son named Teukros. This river played an important role in the Troyan War. During the siege of Troy the Achaeans had set up their camp near his mouth and most of the battles happened on the great plain of the Skamandros. But at the end of the Troyan War Skamandros, the river-god, himself encroached upon the war! In book XXI - near the end of the war, Achilleus again was engaged - Homer writes how the Trojan troops fled in panic from Achilles. One part of the army heads for the city while another group seeks refuge near the River Xanthos. Achilles cuts off the second group and kills many of them when they try to cross the stream. Achilles is pushing the Trojans back killing everyone in his way. He gave no mercy to anyone. All these Trojans fall into the river Xanthos and Achilles follows to kill them. The god of the river, Xanthos, asks Achilles to stop killing people in his river because the water is getting all bloody. Achilles agrees but then Xanthos turns around and asks Apollo to help the Trojans. This enraged Achilleus so much that he began to fight against the river-god. The river god is attacked by all this bloodshed in his waters, and so he Begins to attack Achilles with great waves and currents. Achilles begins to falter under this onslaught, but Poseidon and Athena reassure him, while Hera and Hephaistos attack the river with fire. Seeing his water boil away in great, mysterious heat, Xanthos relents. After these Events began that what is called 'theomachia': The gods also engage in combat, so excited are they by human warfare. Athena defeats Ares and Aphrodite, while Hera drives Artemis from the field. Poseidon challenges Apollo, but the younger god does not accept his uncle’s dare because of deference to his age. Achilles continues to chase the Trojans, and Agenor, a half-brother of Hektor, attempts to fight him in single combat; but Agenor is far inferior to Achilles, and Apollo finally rescues him. This diversion allows most of the retreating troops enough time to take refuge in the city. A slightly ironic commentary on Achilles eventual death occurs in his battle with the river. The river, rising in flood against Achilles because of all the dead bodies thrown in it, sweeps Achilles away. Achilles, who is often an overpowering natural force against the Trojans, is here thwarted and almost killed by the natural force of the river. Achilles is so alarmed by the river that he becomes fearful of ignominious death by drowning rather than the glorious death in battle that has been prophesied. Only the intervention of Hera through Hephaistos, as God of Fire, saves Achilles. Symbolically, the two great elemental forces of fire and water are in conflict, with Achilles in the middle. I have attached a map of Troas where you can see Troy and the Skamandros. Sources: (1) http://www.theoi.com/Potamos/PotamosSkamandros.html (here you find the original text of Homer!) (2) http://education.yahoo.com/homework_help/cliffsnotes/the_iliad/70.html (3) http://www.gottwein.de/graeca/maps/graeca_2mm.php#Skamandros_fl (the map) (4) Wikipedia Some explanations: (1) Theomachia is the battle between the gods. Other known machias were: (2) Gigantomachia, the battle of the gods aginst the Giants (3) Geranomachia, the annual battle of the Pygmies against the Cranes (4) Kentauromachia, the battle of the noble Lapiths against the Centaurs (5) Titanomachia, the struggle between the two genera of gods: The Titans under Kronos against the children of Kronos and Rhea under the leadership of Zeus (6) Batrachomyomachia, the battle of the frogs against the mice. a parody in the name of Homer. Best regards
Very nice write up! I'm finishing the Illiad up on audio book and the battle between Skamander(Xanthos) was pretty interesting.
