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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;zumbly, post: 2035389, member: 57495&quot;]This wee little 6.8mm bit of ancient Greek silver seems to be a case of the rare become less and less so as the years go by.&nbsp; In a <a href="http://www.asiaminorcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=102&amp;pid=11025#top_display_media" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.asiaminorcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=102&amp;pid=11025#top_display_media" rel="nofollow">2009 auction</a> the type was unpublished in the standard references and &quot;possibly unique&quot;.&nbsp; Then earlier this year a <a href="http://www.asiaminorcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=102&amp;pid=11191#top_display_media" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.asiaminorcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=102&amp;pid=11191#top_display_media" rel="nofollow">second example</a> surfaced in another auction.&nbsp; This very rough and junky one that I picked up while scraping barrels makes for the third known.&nbsp; I would be surprised if there weren&#039;t quite a few more waiting to be dug up and/or identified.&nbsp; For now, I&#039;ll revel in its relative rarity and obscurity. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]370877[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>MYSIA, Kyzikos</b></p><p>AR Hemiobol</p><p>Circa 525 - 475 BC</p><p>0.26g, 6.8mm</p><p>Apparently unpublished and the third known, cf CNG 213, L151</p><p>O: Head of Attis right, wearing Phrygian cap.</p><p>R: Quadripartite incuse square. </p><p><br /></p><p>This type has been attributed to Kyzikos, probably on account of the obverse showing a head wearing the distinctive Phyrgian cap and thought to depict Attis, consort of the great Phrygian mother goddess Cybele.&nbsp; His cult seems to have been that of a fertility and vegetation god in Asia Minor, eventually making its way to Rome when the Republic adopted the worship of Cybele during the Second Punic War.</p><p><br /></p><p>Attis himself was originally a shepherd born to the virgin demigoddess Nana.&nbsp; He was gifted with beauty breathtaking as to be godlike, so obviously not like what you see represented on my coin and probably more like an Antinous-Ryan Gosling mashup.&nbsp; Or, well, maybe just more like this...</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]370879[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>In any case, Attis was so beautiful that even the goddess Cybele fell in love with him.&nbsp; Alas, he was betrothed to the daughter of the King of Pessinos.&nbsp; When the jealous goddess appeared before him on his wedding day, Attis was struck temporarily mad by her divine presence.&nbsp; In a frenzied state, he ran away and castrated himself under a pine tree, bleeding to death.&nbsp; A somewhat remorseful Cybele ordained that his body should never decay.&nbsp; An interesting story for those who like romances, then. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie100" alt=":wideyed:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Post your Greek coins of Kyzikos, or coins showing Attis or Cybele or Antinous or Ryan Gosling!&nbsp; </b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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