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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 3550207, member: 81887&quot;]Here&#039;s a cheap but interesting coin that I recently acquired:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]943383[/ATTACH] </p><p>Roman Empire, Phoenicia, Sidon.&nbsp; AE 21.&nbsp; Trajan (98-117 AD).&nbsp; Obverse: Radiate bust of Trajan right.&nbsp; Reverse: Zeus in guise of bull rearing right, Europa seated on his back with arms in the air; below, inscription in Greek SIDWNOS ThEAS (Goddess of Sidon).&nbsp; Cf. BMC 217.&nbsp; This coin: [USER=42773]@John Anthony[/USER] auction.</p><p><br /></p><p>Trajan (reigned 98-117 AD) was one of the most militarily successful of the Roman emperors, and when he died the Roman Empire was at its maximum territorial extent.&nbsp; He is best remembered for his successful war to conquer Dacia (roughly modern Romania), but he also annexed Nabataea and fought a series of campaigns against Parthia that resulted in gaining Armenia and Mesopotamia for the Romans.&nbsp; However, his chosen successor Hadrian realized the new Eastern territories would be too difficult to maintain, and withdrew from Mesopotamia and Armenia.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Sidon was a major city for the Phoenician culture, and has continued to be inhabited to the present day (it is now the third-largest city in Lebanon).&nbsp; The reverse type of this coin clearly depicts the myth of the abduction of Europa by Zeus.&nbsp; Europa, according to most versions of the myth, was a daughter of the king of the Phoenician city of Tyre.&nbsp; One day, she was out tending a herd of cattle, when Zeus saw her and decided to seduce her.&nbsp; Zeus transformed himself into a white bull and mingled with the herd; Europa began petting the beautiful beast, eventually sitting its back.&nbsp; At this point, Zeus ran into the sea and swam to Crete with Europa clinging to his back.&nbsp; She bore several children to Zeus before settling down and marrying King Asterios.&nbsp; &quot;Europa on the back of the bull&quot; is a frequent subject of Hellenistic art, and the design is found on Roman Provincial coins of Sidon from emperors Augustus through Elagabalus; the author Lucian of Samosata (2nd century AD) even mentions this coinage in a discussion of Europa.&nbsp; At first I was puzzled by my coin&#039;s naming of Europa as the &quot;Goddess of Sidon&quot; rather than Astarte, a goddess of fertility, sexuality, and warfare who was very popular in Phoenicia.&nbsp; However, Lucian writes that the natives of Sidon believed Europa to be identical to Astarte.</p><p><br /></p><p>Overall, this was a decent purchase for $15.&nbsp; The condition is of course not at all pristine, but the main design elements are clear, and it features an interesting bit of ancient mythology.&nbsp; Post your coins of Sidon, or that feature Europa.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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