I tre fratelli olimpici ritratti sulle monete

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Nella sequenza delle conquiste di Zeus secondo Erodoto, a Demetra succedette Mnemosine (la memoria), che diede alla luce le Muse, e poi fu la volta di Leto, che generò il gemelli Apollo e Artemide.

La figura femminile con due bimbi davanti a Zeus sul rovescio di questo bronzo è stata identificata con Leto e i due bimbi con i suoi gemelli.

PHRYGIA, Cibyra. Faustina Jr., wife of Marcus Aurelius. Augusta, 147-175 AD. Æ 35mm (22.56 gm, 6h). Homonoia with Hierapolis. Claudius Philocles, magistrate. FAVCTEI NA CEBACTH, draped bust right, hair tied back in chignon / KIBVPATWN K IERAPOLITWN EPI KL FILOKLEOC OMONOIA, female figure, draped and veiled, holding two children, standing right before Zeus, enthroned left, who holds Pegasus in outstretched right hand and sceptre in left. Franke & Nollé 984 (same dies); BMC Phrygia pg. 149, 96; SNG Copenhagen -; SNG von Aulock -. EF, dark brown patina, flan flaws on reverse and edge. ($1000)

From the Garth R. Drewry Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 63 (21 May 2003), lot 1015.
Sale: Triton VIII, 10 January 2005, Lot: 771. Estimate $1000, Sold For $2400.

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E finalmente, nell’ordine in cui si succedettero le spose di Zeus secondo Esiodo, dopo Leto venne Era.

Su questo bronzo (CNG 73) dei Perrhaebi, antico popolo greco del nord della Tessaglia, Era è raffigurata di fronte sul diritto, mentre il suo sposo sembra dalla foto che la stia osservando con ammirazione.

THESSALY, Perrhaiboi. Circa 400-344 BC. Æ 20mm (8.41 g, 4h). Veiled head of Hera facing slightly left / Zeus standing facing, head left, holding thunderbolt and scepter. Rogers 438; SNG Copenhagen 196. VF, dark brown patina.

 

 

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Zeus escogitò un modo veramente singolare per dichiarare il suo amore ad Era, che viveva nella casa della nereide Teti, sull’isola di Eubea, con la sua nutrice Macris che vegliava assiduamente su di lei a causa della sua giovanissima età. Un giorno di un freddissimo inverno Era si trovava, per caso, sola e sperduta in una strada di campagna deserta e coperta dalla neve, quando un cuculo intirizzito e tremante dal freddo le si andò a posare su una spalla. La dea ebbe compassione e tentò di riscaldarlo coprendolo con la sua veste, stringendolo al seno e accarezzandolo. A questo punto il cuculo si tramutò in un giovane bello e attraente che si fece riconoscere per Zeus e dichiarò il suo amore alla fanciulla chiedendole di diventare sua moglie. Era accettò e le nozze vennero celebrate sull'Olimpo alla presenza di tutti gli dèi. Dal matrimonio nacquero Ebe, Ilizia, Ares ed Efèsto, anche se alcune leggende narrano che Era diede vita ai suoi figli da sola.

I due sposi mi piace immaginarli uniti come su questa replica in oro di Slavey (CNG 195).

TROAS, Tenedos. Circa 1995-2005. AV “Tetradrachm” (35mm, 19.89 g, 12h). Slavey replica in gold. Janiform head, male on left, female on right (Zeus and Hera?) / Double axe; monogram and grape cluster to left, Artemis with stag and monogram to right; all within laurel-wreath. Superb EF.

 

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Era, molto gelosa dei tradimenti del marito, odiava soprattutto Eracle, suo figliastro in quanto Eracle era il preferito di Zeus. La natura umana dell'eroe portò Era a odiare tutto il genere umano: conosciuta come la più vendicativa degli dèi, spesso usava gli uomini come autori del suo volere distruttivo.

Questo racconto dà un’idea del suo bel caratterino.

Tiresia era un sacerdote di Zeus: quando era giovane si imbatté in due serpenti arrotolati tra loro e, con un bastone, uccise il serpente femmina. Fu allora improvvisamente trasformato in una donna e, cambiato sesso, divenne una sacerdotessa di Era, si sposò ed ebbe dei figli. Passati sette anni, Tiresia trovò altri due serpenti intrecciati e questa volta uccise il serpente maschio, recuperando il suo sesso originario. A questo punto, dato che era stato sia uomo che donna, Era e Zeus lo convocarono per chiedergli, visto che aveva vissuto entrambi i ruoli, se durante il rapporto amoroso provasse più piacere l'uomo o la donna. Zeus sosteneva fosse la donna, Era naturalmente l'opposto. Quando Tiresia si mostrò propenso a confermare le tesi di Zeus, Era lo accecò infuriata. Zeus allora, non potendo rimediare a ciò che la consorte aveva fatto, per compensarlo del danno gli diede il dono della profezia.

Fonte: http://zeusedera.weebly.com/era.html

 

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Sul diritto di questa moneta attualmente in asta (CNG 396, Lot 72) sono raffigurate le teste congiunte di Zeus e Dione, una delle dee della prima generazione divina amata da Zeus.

EPEIROS, Federal coinage (Epirote Republic). Circa 148-50 BC. AR Third Stater or Victoriatus (18mm, 2.80 g, 6h). Jugate heads of Zeus, wearing oak wreath, and Dione, wearing stephane, right; [monogram to left] / Thunderbolt within oak wreath. Franke 334 (V174/R263); HGC 3/1, 172. Fine, lightly toned, flan crack, roughness.

 

Dallo loro unione nacque Afrodite, secondo una leggenda accolta anche dal poeta Virgilio che nomina la dea con l’epiteto di ‘Dionea’. Secondo Platone esistevano due Afrodite: la prima, nata da Urano, era l’Afrodite Urania, dea dell’amore puro; la seconda, figlia di Zeus e Dione, era l’Afrodite Pandemia (cioè l'Afrodite del Popolo), dea dell'amore volgare.

 

 

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Bronzo della Misia con la testa di Zeus visto di fronte (CNG 73).

MYSIA, Adramytion. 4th century BC. Æ 12mm (1.72 g, 2h). Laureate head of Zeus facing slightly right / Eagle standing left on base(?); grain ear to left. SNG France 3; SNG Copenhagen -. Good VF, black patina.

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Bronzo dell’Euboia con la testa di Era frontale (CNG 73)

EUBOIA, Chalkis. Circa 290-273/1. Æ 11mm (1.42 g, 8h). Diademed head of Hera facing slightly right / Eagle flying right, holding serpent in its claws; trophy to right. Picard Em. 33, d; BCD Euboia 188 (this coin); SNG Copenhagen 443. Good VF, dark brown patina. Rare.
From the David Herman Collection. Ex BCD Collection (Lanz 111, 25 November 2002), lot 188.

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Bronzo della Cilicia con Zeus nikeforo sul rovescio (Triton XI)

CILICIA, Tarsos. 164-27 BC. Æ 26mm (14.93 g, 12h). San- and Phili-, magistrates. Tyche, turreted and veiled, holding grain ears in extended right hand, seated right on throne, right foot on the shoulder of the river god Orontes, who swims right below / TARSEWN, Zeus Nikephoros seated left; SAN/FILI in two lines to left. Cf. SNG France 1374; SNG Levante 979-80 var. (magistrates); SNG Copenhagen -; SNG von Aulock -; BMC -. Near EF, exceptional olive green patina, light adjustment marks on obverse, a couple spots of encrustation on reverse.

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Un omaggio alla consorte del padre degli dei dalla prossima NAC 100.

Calabria, Tarentum. Stater circa 302-300, AV 8.61 g. TAΡAΣ Veiled head of Hera r., wearing earring and necklace; in r. field, dolphin swimming downwards and below neck truncation, KON. Rev. ΔIOΣKOΡOI Dioscuri riding l. side by side, the first crowning his horse; while the second holds a palm lemniscata from which hangs a wreath. In exergue, ΣA. Vlasto 21 (these dies). Locker Lampson 14 (these dies). Weber 548 (these dies). SNG Lloyd 182 (this coin). Gulbenkian 37 (these dies). AMB 95 (these dies). Fischer-Bossert G 15. Historia Numorum Italy 952.
Very rare and in superb condition for the issue. Of superb style and perfectly
centred on a full flan. About extremely fine / extremely fine.

https://www.sixbid.com/browse.html?auction=3509&category=74102&lot=2917712

 

 

 

 

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Roma Numismatics Limited, Auction 11, lot 422, 07.04.2016.

Mysia, Kyzikos EL Hekte. Circa 400-360 BC. Bearded and laureate head of Zeus three-quarters facing; tunny fish to right below / Quadripartite incuse square. Leu 57, 1993, 100; cf. von Fritze 182 (stater); cf. Hurter & Liewald, SNR 83, 2004, p. 34, 182 (hemihekte). 2.64g, 11mm.
Near Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, apparently only the third known example.

 

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Classical Numismatic Group, Inc., Triton XIX, lot 164, 05.01.2016.

MYSIA, Kyzikos. Circa 500-450 BC. EL Hekte – Sixth Stater (9.5mm, 2.68 g). Head of Zeus-Ammon right on tunny right / Quadripartite incuse square. Cf. Von Fritze I 130 (unlisted denomination); cf. Greenwell 3 (same); cf. SNG France 281 (stater); cf. Boston MFA 1520 (stater); cf. Gulbenkian 640 (stater); cf. Jameson 1419 (stater); cf. Weber 4987 (stater); Giessener Münzhandlung 89, lot 169; Numismatica Ars Classica 59, lot 605. EF. Well centered and struck. Extremely rare as a hekte, apparently the third known.

 

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Classical Numismatic Group, Inc., Auction 108, lot 167, 16.05.2018.

Greek 
MYSIA, Kyzikos. Circa 450-330 BC. EL Hemihekte – Twelfth Stater (8mm, 1.35 g). Laureate head of Zeus right set on [tunny right] / Quadripartite incuse square. Von Fritze –; Greenwell –; Hurter & Liewald I 1 var. (unlisted denomination); cf. Gulbenkian 671 = Hermitage Sale II 1175 (stater). Good VF. Unique as a hemihekte; an unpublished denomination of an extremely rare issue.
Hurter and Liewald identified three staters and one myshemihekte for this issue that was unknown to von Fritze. The addition of the hemihekte to the issue suggests that there probably also was a hekte, which has yet to be discovered.

 

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Nomos 3 & 4, 9 May 2011. Lot: 1008. 

THESSALY, Thessalian League. Circa 361-360 BC. Trichalkon (Bronze, 18mm, 5.67 g 9). Head of Zeus to right, wearing oak wreath. Rev. ΠΕΤΘ - ΑΛΩΝ Forepart of prancing horse to right, emerging from a rock; below, trident head to right. Franke 1970, fig. 20 var. Rogers 2 = Traité IV 598, pl. CCXCIII, 20. Extremely rare, probably the finest known example. A coin of splendid Classical style, with a fine, glossy black patina. Some minor marks and pits on the obverse, otherwise, extremely fine.

This is surely the rarest bronze coin issued by the Thessalian League: it was issued at a time when coinage was being produced all over Greece, often in rather small numbers purely as a way of proclaiming the issuing state’s independence. This was certainly true for many cities in the Peloponnesos beginning in the later 360s: they not only produced bronzes and small silver fractions, often beautifully designed out of civic pride, but also some exceptional staters. It would not at all be surprising if one day some League silver dating to this period would appear: as with the contemporary issues of the Achaian League, it would have been produced in extremely small numbers.
A note from BCD: The reverse of this coin, practically impossible to find in this state, could not be more eloquent. Skyphios is seen bursting wildly from the rock with his head tossed up high, an image that does justice to the legend that he was the father of all horses. Below, Poseidon’s elaborate trident alludes to the creation of Thessaly when the god struck with it the land between the mountains of Olympos and Ossa and created a channel so that the waters that were inundating the plain could escape.

 

 

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Nomos 3 & 4, 9 May 2011. Lot: 1071. 

THESSALY, Kierion. Circa 350 BC. Stater (Silver, 11.12 g 3). Laureate head of Zeus to right, his hair and beard abundant and curly. Rev. [ΚΙΕΡΙΕΙΩΝ] Youthful Asklepios, nude to the waist, seated to left on rocks, holding long scepter in his left hand and resting his right on his upraised right knee; to left, tree entwined by a serpent. Photiades Pacha (Hoffmann, 19 May 1890) 51 =Traité IV, 508, pl. CCLXXXIX, 21 = SNG Lewis 574 (same dies. A coin of great rarity, one of four known staters of Kierion. Nicely toned. Scratched on the reverse and with the usual die breaks and traces of corrosion, otherwise, very fine.

Ex Hess-Leu 45, 12 May 1970, 161 (CHF 4300).

This is one of the great Thessalian rarities. The head of Zeus is clearly modeled on those that appear on the coinage of Philip II and it seems clear that a date of c. 350 for it is fully justified. The figure of Asklepios on the reverse depicts him as a young man, rather than as he usually appears: an older and bearded figure. All the known specimens of this stater, one, as Traité 507, with Asklepios seated on a throne, and three, as this (plus the one in the Lewis Collection = Traité 508, and another in trade - CNG MBS 57, 2001, 282), are struck from damaged obverse dies: no fresh example is known and it is possible that the obverse die broke after only a relatively few coins were struck. The fact that it is, nevertheless, known paired with two different reverses is truly remarkable. This exceptional issue of staters was accompanied by a number of trihemiobols (often termed diobols but they would be very light for that) and obols. A note from BCD: ASW does not state the obvious: there were no diobols in Thessaly or in any other area adhering to the Aeginetan standard. All coins called “diobols” in the various auction catalogues are simply reduced weight (or worn) hemidrachms.

 

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Nomos 3 & 4, 9 May 2011.  Lot: 1186. 

THESSALY, Magnetes. Circa 140-130 BC. Drachm (Silver, 4.31 g 6). Laureate head of Zeus to right. Rev. ΜΑ]ΓΝΗΤΩ[Ν Artemis, wearing hunting costume, with quiver over her shoulder and holding bow in her right hand, seated right on galley prow; to right, dolphin swimming downwards; above, monogram of ΩΜΥ. Furtwängler, Emission F. Very rare. A lovely example, beautifully toned and in exceptionally fine condition. Good extremely fine.

 

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Nomos 3 & 4, 9 May 2011. Lot: 1199. 

THESSALY, Melitaia. First half of the 4th century BC. Chalkous (Bronze, 16mm, 2.14 g 7). Laureate head of Zeus to left; behind, thunderbolt. Rev. Μ - E /Λ - Ι Bee with spread wings. Rogers 398. Traité 473, pl. CCLXXXVIII, 10 (thunderbolt on obverse unnoted but visible on the plate). A superb coin with a splendid, glossy, deep green patina. Good extremely fine.

This is unquestionably one of the nicest bronze coins to have survived from any Thessalian mint! The coins in this sale have all been selected for quality but this coin is exceptional: in style and quality it is truly magnificent. The head of Zeus is a noble one, reminding the viewer of issues from Syracuse and Olympia, and the bee is one of the best represented insects on a Greek coin.
A note from BCD: For the bronze coin specialist this is a gem of a coin, certainly comparable to its silver predecessor and with the added charm of a lovely patina.

 

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Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG, Auction 79, lot 10, 20.10.2014.

JDL Collection Part II: Geek Coins 
PELOPONNESUS. ELIS. 
OLYMPIA, Stater c. 340, 110th Olympiad, Aeginetic standard, AR 12.29 g. Obv. Laureate and bearded head of Zeus right. Rev. F-A/A-P Eagle standing right on ram’s head. Literature Traité II/3, 1155, pl. CCXXXIV, 10 BMC Peloponnesus 72, 122, pl. XV, 2 SNG Lockett 2409 (these dies) C. T. Seltman, The Temple Coins of Olympia , Cambridge, 1921, 18, 194 (these dies) Jameson 1244 (these dies) BCD Olympia 153 (these dies) Weber 4050 (these dies) Kraay-Hirmer pl. 158, 505 (this coin) M.-M. Bendenoun, Coins of the Ancient World, A portrait of the JDL Collection , Tradart, Genève, 2009, 21 (this coin) Condition Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. A superb portrait, in the finest style of the period, struck in high relief. Old cabinet tone, an insignificant metal flaw on reverse, otherwise extremely fine. Provenance Frank Sternberg AG XVI, Zürich 1985, lot 131. Bank Leu AG 13, Zürich 1975, lot 167. One of the few ancient traditions to have been resurrected in modern times is the quadrennial Olympic Games. Though the religious spirit of the original games has vanished, the element of athletic rivalry among nations has survived intact. Every four years the world’s attention turns to these great games, just as it did in Olympia so many centuries ago. The coinage issued for these games in ancient times had seve- ral purposes – as vehicles for commerce, as a source of income through a mandatory exchange, as a showcase for the works of gifted engravers, as keepsakes for visitors, and as celebrations of Zeus and Hera, who presided over the Sanctuary at Olym- pia and the games themselves. A narrow range of images occurs on Olympic silver coinage, all of which are dedicated to Zeus, his consort Hera, Nike, or to the nymph Olympia. Often these divinities are represented with artful portraits, though Zeus is also represented with his eagle and thunderbolt. Nike occurs as a symbol of victory, and when a laurel wreath occurs it would seem to be as an allusion to the games. Olympic staters appear to have been produced only for the games, and Charles Seltman’s comprehensive die study (1921) proves that two separate mints existed, one perhaps at the Temple of Zeus and the other at the Temple of Hera. The mint of Hera probably was combined with that of Zeus some time toward the end of the 4th Century B.C., and perhaps a century later the Olympic mint may have been moved to the regional capital of Elis. This stater, issued by the temple mint of Zeus, is a pristine example of the fine workmanship of Olympic coinage from the early Hellenistic period. Its forceful head of Zeus is paired with a vigilant eagle. Even within the repeating themes at Olympia, the engravers maintained freshness in their designs by employing different artistic approaches and by taking delight in minor varieties. On the Zeus-eagle staters, for example, the eagle is perched variously on the capital of an Ionic column, a simple base, a hare, a fawn, the back of a recumbent ram, a stag’s head, a snake or, in this case, the head of a ram.

 

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Nomos, Auction 7, lot 113, 15.05.2013.

GREEK COINS
Arkadia
Arkadian League. Megalopolis . Summer 363 - Spring 362 BC. Stater (Silver, 12.13 g 9), signed on the reverse by the magistrate Oly(mpios). Laureate head of Zeus Lykaios to left. Rev. Youthful Pan, nude and with his head facing, seated to left on a rock that is covered by his mantle, holding a lagobolon in his right hand and resting his left elbow on the rock; to left, Arkadian League monogram; at the foot of the rock, syrinx and, in small letters, OΛV. BCD Peloponnesos 1512 ( this coin ). BMC 48 = Kraay/Hirmer 512 ( same dies ). D. Gerin, “Les statères de la ligue Arcadienne,“ SNR 65 (1986) p. 17, 22 ( this coin ). Jameson 1276 ( same dies ). Kunstfreund 203 ( same dies ). Very rare. Beautifully toned, of superb late Classical style, and struck in high relief. Extremely fine. From the Spina Collection and from the BCD Collection, LHS 96, 8 May 2006, 1512, and from a Peloponnesian Hoard found before 1937 (IGCH 60).
This is one of the great late Classical Greek rarities and is a real masterpiece of the die cutter’s art. The head of Zeus is truly outstanding in the nobility of its conception, and the youthful Herakles is also exceptional: he is paralleled by youthful gods on contemporary issues from elsewhere in the Peloponnesos (as Pheneos and Stymphalos for example).

Price realized: 220'000 CHF.

 

 

Modificato 7 Dicembre, 2018 da apollonia

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Poseidone su un emiobolo di Abdera (CNG 406).

Greek 
THRACE, Abdera. Circa 150-50 BC. Æ Hemiobol (19mm, 6.52 g, 12h). Wreathed head of Poseidon right / Griffin lying left; EΠI ΦAYΛ[OY] in exergue. C-N Period XIII, 847 (D10/R13 – this coin); HGC 3.2, 1236. VF, green patina. Exceptional for issue.
From the Belgica Collection. Ex CNG Inventory 156623 (April 2005); Spink 99 (12 October 1993), lot 174.

 

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Poseidone su un bronzo di Siracusa (Triton V).

SICILY, Syracuse. Hieron II
Estimate $750
SICILY, Syracuse. Hieron II . 275-215 BC. Æ 22mm (9.12 gm). Diademed head of Poseidon left / IER-WNOS, trident head flanked by two dolphins. SNG ANS 964ff; Calciati II pg. 370, 194, R1 10 = Virzi 1872 (this coin); SNG Copenhagen 844ff var.; SNG Morcom 827 var.; Favorito 86; Laffaille 253. EF, superb green patina, reverse lighter than the obverse. A common type but of exceptional quality. ($750) Ex Tom Virzi Collection (Bank Leu Auktion 6, 8 May 1973), lot 262.

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Poseidone sul rovescio di un bronzo di Commodo in Fenicia (CNG 78).

PHOENICIA, Berytus. Commodus. AD 177-192. Æ 24mm (9.52 g, 7h). Laureate head right / Poseidon standing left, foot on rock, holding dolphin and trident. Cf. Rouvier 547; AUB 78 var. (bust type); SNG Copenhagen 106 var. (same). Good VF, black-green patina. Exceptional quality of issue.
From the J.S. Wagner Collection.

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Poseidone su un tetradramma di Antigono II Dosone di Anfipoli in Macedonia (Leu Numismatik 83).

THE GREEK WORLD
MACEDONIA
Antigonos II Doson, King of Macedon, 229-221
Estimate: CHF 8'500.00
Tetradrachm (Silver, 17.07g 12), Amphipolis. Head of Poseidon to right, wearing wreath of seaweed. Rev. Apollo seated to left on prow, holding bow in his right hand; below, monogram. SNG Berry 365. SNG Oxford 3264. An exceptionally powerful example struck in high relief on a broad flan. Beautifully toned. Good extremely fine.
Ex Leu 71, 24 October 1997, 161 and Monnaies et Médailles 76, 19 September 1991, 699.

 

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Ade su un bronzo di Nysa, in Lidia (Künker 133).

LYDIA. 
NYSA. 
Æs, 1. Jahrhundet v. Chr., Magistrat Lykophron; 3,37 g. Hadeskopf r. mit Lorbeerkranz//Kore steht r. SNG München 352.
R Braune Patina, fast vorzüglich
From the Friedrich Popken Collection.

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Ade su un bronzo di Lokris (NAC 55).

LOKRIS
LOKRI OPUNTII
Bronze, third quarter of 1st century BC. Æ 11.37 g., 6¢. Diademed head of Hades r., to l., poppy head. Rev. The Dioscuri galloping r. with spears [stars above their heads], below, OΠOYNTIΩN, the whole in laurel wreath. Corpus group 36, 1d. RPC 1338. BMC 88, pl. II, 12. Mionnet, Suppl. 3, p. 490, 36.
The only one in private hands (but see note below), the others in the BM (2),
Berlin, Vienna, the ANS (2), Thebes and Athens. Nice chocolate patina
and fine to good fine. During the time that the text of this catalogue was given its final review, one more of these coins appeared in CNG’s e-sale 235, lot 345. The stars above the heads of the Dioscuri are clear on that specimen but the wheatear below the head on the obverse is not. The RPC mentions an “ear of corn(?)” below the head (surely wheat and not corn that came to Europe from the Americas) but the corpus does not. However, if the CNG cataloguer mentioned a “grain ear” in his description, he must have seen something that does not show on the web photograph. Finally, while the RPC and the corpus describe Hades as wreathed, he is clearly just diademed.