Part 8

This applies not only to Greek coins but to every class. Thus, for instance, there are collectors of English coins who confine their attention to the Anglo-Saxon period; others who will buy no coins later than the reign of Charles I.; and others, again, who only collect the copper money of the last two centuries.

The young collector who would not drift into unprofitable _dilettanteism_ should therefore select some one series and keep to it, and it is chiefly with the view of assisting him to make his choice of a field to work upon that these pages have been written.

It will be well to form some idea, in the first instance, of the numerous series which are included in the general term of “_Greek coins_.”

Greek coins may be divided into three principal sections:--

A. _Autonomous_, _i.e._ coins issued by cities governed by their own laws.

B. _Regal_, _i.e._ coins struck in the names of kings.

C. _Imperial_, _i.e._ coins of Greek cities struck in Roman Imperial times, and with the head of the Emperor on the obverse.

And into eight chronological periods as follows:--

I. B.C. 700-480. _Period of Archaic Art_, ending with the Persian wars.

II. B.C. 480-430. _Period of Transitional Art_, between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars.

III. B.C. 430-400. _Period of Early Fine Art_, to the end of the Athenian supremacy. IV. B.C. 400-336. _Period of Finest Art._ Age of the Spartan and Theban supremacies. Philip of Macedon.

V. B.C. 336-280. _Period of Later Fine Art._ Age of Alexander and his immediate successors.

VI. B.C. 280-197. _Period of the Decline of Art._ Age of the Epigoni or descendants of Alexander’s successors.

VII. B.C. 197-27. _Period of Late Decline of Art._ Age of the Attalids, Mithradates, and of the Roman supremacy.

VIII. B.C. 27--A.D. 268. _Period of Latest Decline of Art._ The Empire. Augustus--Gallienus.

§ OF THE METALS OF WHICH COINS ARE

COMPOSED.

The coins of the ancients were of various metals, of which the following need only be specified.

1. _Gold_, distinguished in numismatic works by the abbreviation [AU] (for aurum).

2. _Electrum_, a compound of gold and silver. EL.

3. _Silver._ AR (argentum).

4. _Billon_ and _Potin_, alloys of silver and bronze. Bil. and Pot.

5. _Bronze._ Copper with a percentage of tin. Æ (æs).

§ OF THE TERMS USED TO DEFINE THE VARIOUS

PARTS OF A COIN.

The front or face of a coin is called the _obverse_. Obv.

The back is called the _reverse_. Rev.

The principal device or object represented on a coin is called the _type_.

The area or space between the type and the circumference is called the _field_.

The lower portion of the area of a coin beneath the type and separated from the rest of the field by a horizontal line is called the _exergue_. Ex.

Small objects represented either in the field or the exergue as adjuncts to the main type are called _symbols_.

Portions of a coin which are sunk below the level of the surface are said to be _incuse_.

§ OF THE TYPES OF GREEK COINS.

The types of Greek coins were from the earliest times down to the age of the successors of Alexander almost exclusively religious. The reason for this is not far to seek. In an age of simple faith the head of a god upon the coin was the best of all guarantees for purity of metal and good weight. The gods were, so to speak, invoked by the State to vouch for the good quality of its currency, in the same way as State decrees often began with the formula “_In the name of the gods_.” There is, moreover, some reason to think that the earliest coins were struck within the sacred precincts of the Temple treasuries, as being holy places, secure from plunder and inviolable.

In the most ancient period the principal or obverse type is generally some animal or object sacred to or emblematical of that god whose worship was prevalent in the city in which the coin was issued. Subsequently the head of the deity himself was usually placed upon the obverse of the coin, while the reverse side was occupied by the object emblematical of his worship. Frequently, too, the head of one principal deity appears upon the obverse, and, either the entire figure or the emblem of some other, generally local divinity, on the reverse.

The chief exceptions to the above rule are the so-called _agonistic types_, or types referring to the games such as the victorious quadriga on the money of various Sicilian cities. These types are commemorative in a general way of victories in the Olympian or other local games, but it is hardly ever possible to refer them to any particular victory.

Victories in war and political revolutions are never directly referred to on Greek coins, although the unintentional records of such events may often be traced in a sudden change of coin-types. Thus, for instance, at Syracuse when the Corinthians succeeded in liberating that city from the tyranny of the Dionysian dynasty, the coinage of Syracuse is for a time assimilated to that of Corinth; a still clearer indication of restored freedom at the same time (B.C. 345) being seen in the first introduction of the head of Zeus “the Liberator” upon the coins of Syracuse.

All through the history of free and independent Greece, the original idea of the religious character of the coinage may be traced. The coinage was everywhere placed under the auspices of the gods, and gods, heroes, and their emblems, were alone considered worthy to be represented upon it. No tyrant, however despotic, not even the great Dionysius of Syracuse, would have dreamed of placing his own head upon the coinage of the State. Even Philip of Macedon, when he had united in his single hand the whole of Northern Greece, and when he reorganized the coinage of his empire on a new model, placed on his gold money the head of Apollo and on his silver that of Zeus.

It was reserved for the successors of Alexander the Great, when the political centre of the Greek world was no longer to be found in Greece itself, but in the various capitals of the powerful semi-oriental monarchies which arose out of the ruins of the Persian empire--Alexandria, Antioch, etc.--it was reserved for these self-constituted kings and their descendants to substitute their own heads for those of the gods.

Such an innovation as this, such a complete upsetting of the ancient deeply rooted idea of the connection between the gods and the coinage could not be introduced all at once. It had to be effected by degrees. Alexander the Great even in his lifetime gave himself out as the son of Zeus Ammon, and after his death the idea of his divinity gained ground year by year. The first step towards the new fashion of placing the king’s head upon the coinage was made by Lysimachus of Thrace, who introduced on his money the portrait of the deified Alexander in the character of the son of Ammon with the ram’s horn over the ear.

Ptolemy Soter, king of Egypt, the first of the dynasty which ruled Egypt for two centuries and a half after the death of Alexander, was the first monarch who placed his own head upon his coins. By slow degrees his example was followed, first in Asia and finally in Europe, where Philip V. of Macedon, B.C. 220, was the first king whose portrait in the character of a mortal, and not disguised as a demi-god, appears upon the coinage.

The influence of the old religious beliefs nevertheless maintained so firm a hold on men’s minds that the reverses of Greek coins continued to bear sacred types throughout the Roman Imperial period; and even on the money of the Byzantine emperors when Christianity had become the State religion, the figures of Christ and the Virgin, or the sign of the Cross, still bear witness that the same religious sanction in a new form continued to be invoked for the coin of the realm.

§ THE GODS AS REPRESENTED ON THE

COINAGE.

ZEUS (JUPITER). The head of this god is almost always bearded and crowned with laurel or olive (Fig. 1). The youthful head called Zeus Hellenios, on certain coins of Syracuse, is however beardless, and but for the inscription which in this case accompanies it, would be indistinguishable from a head of Apollo.

_Zeus Ammon_ (Fig. 2), frequent on coins of Cyrene, is distinguished by the ram’s horn behind the ear. This god is sometimes beardless.

The head of the Zeus of Dodona is represented with a wreath of oak-leaves (Fig. 3).

The entire figure of Zeus appears in various attitudes, of which the following are of most frequent occurrence:--

Zeus enthroned (Fig. 4), holding in one hand a sceptre, and in the other an eagle or a victory.

Zeus standing, with eagle or victory.

Zeus advancing, with ægis on his arm and hurling his thunderbolt.

_Zeus Labrandeus_ on coins of Caria stands full draped, with the double axe (Labrys) over his shoulder and a sceptre in his hand.

HADES (PLUTO), the king of the under world, resembles Zeus in type, but is usually accompanied by Cerberus.

SERAPIS. The great Egyptian divinity of the Ptolemaic age is also very like Zeus, but his head is always surmounted by a lofty modius (a measure for corn), which is often richly ornamented.

APOLLO. The head of this god is more commonly met with on coins than that of any other divinity. He is represented in full youthful beauty, generally with flowing hair and almost always crowned with laurel (Figs. 5, 6, and 7).

His full-length figure is variously delineated, usually naked, with bow or laurel branch in his hand, either standing or seated, often on the Delphian omphalos (Fig. 8), or else beside his sacred tripod. When he wears a long robe reaching to the feet, and carries a lyre, he is called Apollo Musegetes, the leader of the Muses.

HELIOS (SOL). The Sun god is known by the rays which encircle his head (Fig. 9). On coins of the Imperial period he is often seen driving the chariot of the Sun.

POSEIDON (NEPTUNE). The head of this god much resembles that of Zeus, but may usually be distinguished from it by the absence of the laurel wreath, and by the heavy way in which the dank locks of his hair fall about his neck (Figs. 10 and 11). Poseidon is sometimes seated on rocks holding a trident and a dolphin or an aplustre (Fig. 12).

Sometimes he stands resting on his trident, and sometimes he wields it on high as if about to strike. Occasionally he is seen on horseback armed with his trident. He is called _Poseidon Hippios_ (Fig. 13).

DIONYSOS (BACCHUS). The head of Dionysos is either youthful or bearded, and is encircled by a wreath of ivy (Figs. 14, 15, and 16). His full-length figure is usually naked, or with merely a fawn skin hanging from his shoulder. He holds a wine cup (kantharos), or a bunch of grapes or the Bacchic staff (thyrsus), surmounted by a pine cone.

Sometimes he has bull’s horns growing from his forehead, and on coins of Neapolis he appears as a bull with a human head (_Dionysos Hebon_).

HERMES (MERCURY). The head of Hermes is youthful, and wears a hat called a _petasus_ (Figs. 17 and 18), close fitting, sometimes with a broad flapping brim and adorned with two wings.

When his entire figure is represented, he is usually clad in a short cloak (_chlamys_), and has winged sandals (_pedilia_) on his feet.

As the messenger of the gods and the conductor of the souls of the dead, he carries the winged staff (_caduceus_), and sometimes, as god of trade, a purse. HEPHÆSTUS (VULCAN). This god is sometimes young and sometimes bearded. He wears a conical hat (_pilos_), (Fig. 19). On coins of Lipara he is generally seated naked on a four-legged stool, holding a hammer in one hand and a cup (_kantharos_) in the other (Fig. 20). The tongs and the anvil are also emblems of the worship of Hephæstus.

HERAKLES (HERCULES). The head of Herakles, youthful (Fig. 21), or bearded (Fig. 22), is usually covered with the skin of the Nemean Lion. Occasionally, however, he is simply laureate, and sometimes the club at his shoulder is added as a distinctive symbol. On reverses of coins, Herakles is represented performing his various labours, most frequently contending with the Nemean Lion (Fig. 23). Sometimes also he is seen at rest, either standing and leaning upon his club, or seated (Fig. 24). The infant Herakles strangling two serpents is a less frequent type.

PAN. The head of Pan (Figs. 25, 26, and 27) has pointed ears, and is either youthful or bearded. Sometimes also he has goat’s horns. At his shoulder on many coins appears the shepherd’s crook (_pedum_).

ARES (MARS). The head of Ares is of rare occurrence on coins. He is usually bearded and helmeted, but sometimes young and crowned with laurel like Apollo (Fig. 28), and when thus represented, as on the Mamertine coin here engraved, his name was added in order that there might be no mistake as to whose head was intended.

ASKLEPIOS (ÆSCULAPIUS). Representations of the god of healing belong to a comparatively late period of art. He is bearded, amply draped, and leans upon a staff, round which a serpent twines (Fig. 29).

He is sometimes accompanied by his daughter _Hygieia_, the goddess of health, or by a small figure enveloped in a cloak and hood, who is called _Telesphorus_, and is supposed to be the genius of convalescence.

RIVER GODS. Rivers are represented during the earlier and finer periods of art as rushing bulls or as bulls with human heads (Fig. 30), or again as young male figures with bull’s horns over the forehead (Fig. 31).

In the later period the conventional River god is a bearded reclining figure, generally half-draped, resting upon an overturned vase from which a stream of water is flowing (Fig. 32). Less frequently the god is shown as actually swimming in the water.

THE DIOSCURI (CASTOR AND POLLUX) wear conical hats, each surmounted by a star (Fig. 33 _a_). Sometimes they are seen standing side by side with palm branches in their hands, but they are more often represented on horseback (Fig. 33 _b_).

PERSEUS. The head of the hero Perseus (Fig. 34), the slayer of the Gorgon Medusa (Fig. 35), wears a winged helmet, while at his shoulders is sometimes seen the short sword or knife with a hook at the back of the blade (_harba_).

§ THE GODDESSES AS REPRESENTED ON THE COINAGE.

HERA (JUNO). The head of Hera on coins usually wears a lofty circular crown (_stephanos_) adorned with floral or other patterns (Figs. 36, 37). She also wears sometimes a crescent-shaped crown and a veil, and has often a sceptre at her shoulder.

PALLAS ATHENE (MINERVA). The head of this goddess is helmeted. Sometimes the helmet is of the Corinthian pattern (Fig. 38) and sometimes of the Athenian (Fig. 39), often richly ornamented.

She is often seen in a fighting attitude, as _Pallas Promachos_ (Fig. 40), wielding a spear and holding before her a shield or ægis. She is also very frequently seated with a victory in her hand and her shield beside her. The shield of Pallas is usually distinguished by the Gorgon’s head in the centre. The attributes of this goddess are the owl and the olive.

DEMETER (CERES) AND PERSEPHONE (PROSERPINE). These two goddesses are known by the corn wreath which they both wear. Demeter, the mother (Fig. 41), is generally veiled; the daughter, Persephone, seldom (Figs. 42, 43). The beautiful head on the well-known Syracusan medallions (see _Frontispiece_), crowned with corn leaves, is that of Persephone. This goddess often has a poppy either in her hair or at her breast. The torch is a frequent emblem, especially of Demeter.

ARTEMIS (DIANA). As the goddess of Nature in her wilder aspects, Artemis carries a bow, and at her shoulder a quiver of arrows (Figs. 44, 45). She is often accompanied by a dog or a stag. As the Moon goddess, _Selene_, the crescent is her symbol. On late coins of Ephesus she appears under a totally different aspect, viz., as the embodiment of the nourishing, life-giving forces of nature, symbolised by her many breasts.

APHRODITE (VENUS). On the coins of Eryx, in Sicily, the goddess of love is seated fully draped, with Eros (Cupid) as a youth (not a child, as in Roman art) standing before her, and with a dove in her hand. On Imperial coins of Cnidu, the famous naked Aphrodite by Praxiteles was represented. As the goddess of heaven (_Aphrodite Urania_), she sits upon the globe (Fig. 46 _a_), her head surmounted by the morning star, and holding in her hand a sceptre. On the reverse of the same coin (Fig. 46 _b_) are seen the sun, the moon, and the five planets.

CYBELE. “The mother of the gods” wears a turreted crown. Sometimes she rides upon a lion, at other times she is seated on a throne between two lions. The rabbit is also symbolical of her worship, as an earth goddess.

ISIS. This Egyptian goddess is recognised by her peculiar head-dress, consisting of a globe or disc flanked by two cow’s horns and surmounted by two ostrich feathers. In her hand she often holds the sistrum (a musical instrument). As Isis Pharia (a sea goddess) she holds a sail.

NIKE (VICTORY). (Figs. 47, 48). This divinity is almost always winged, and often flying (_see Frontispiece_). She usually carries a wreath; and on coins of Alexander the Great a sort of mast with a cross-yard (the stand for a trophy of arms). Sometimes she is nailing armour to a trophy (Fig. 48).

§ SYMBOLS.

In addition to the principal type, whether of the obverse or of the reverse, there is generally to be seen on the coins of Greek states a subordinate adjunct device, which occupies some vacant space in the field of the coin. These additions to the main type are of two kinds:--

(1) Symbols connected more or less directly with the main type: such as the sacred olive branch on the coins of Athens, and the club and bow on Fig. 24. (2) Symbols having no connection whatever with the principal type; such as the small animal on Fig. 7.

The symbols of the 1st class are naturally limited in number and more or less constant accompaniments of the main type, to which they were intended to give greater precision and definiteness of meaning. Those of the 2nd class, on the other hand, might be varied very frequently on coins of one and the same series. There can be no doubt that such symbols were the distinctive badges or signets of one of the magistrates or moneyers under whose authority the coinage was issued. The frequency with which these personal symbols were varied corresponds with the duration of the term of office of the magistrate in question, whether annual or other.

On the regal coinages from the time of Philip of Macedon onwards, in cases where a uniform coinage was issued at many mints, an adjunct symbol was very generally placed in the field of the coin as a mint-mark designating the place of issue (_e.g._ the Trident on Fig. 4). It is frequently impossible to distinguish such local mint-marks from the personal signets of the officer entrusted by the king with the supervision of the currency.

§ INSCRIPTIONS.

The inscriptions on Greek coins may be divided into the following principal classes:--

(i.) The name of the people or state. (ii.) The name of the chief of the state, whether tyrant or king. (iii.) The name of a magistrate. (iv.) The name of the engraver of the die. (v.) A legend referring to the type.

The above are written sometimes at full length and sometimes in an abbreviated form, or in the form of a more or less complicated monogram.

Those of class i., when written in full, are usually in the genitive plural, _e.g._ ΣΤΡΑΚΟΣΙΟΝ (Frontispiece).

Those of class ii. are also in the genitive, _e.g._, ΒΑΣΙΛΑΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ (Fig. 8).

Those of class iii. are either in the nominative (as ΠΟΛΥΚΡΑΤΗΣ, Fig. 45) or the genitive; in the latter case frequently preceded by ΕΗΙ (Fig. 12), and often also accompanied by the title of the office as ἑφι Λυσιστῥατου ἁρχοντος, ἑφι στραθηγου Διονυσἱου.

Among the magistrates most frequently mentioned on Greek Imperial coins are the following:-- The Archon, the Strategos (Prætor), the Grammateus (Secretary), the Prytanis, the Tamias (Treasurer), the Archiereus and Hiereus (High Priest and Priest), the Asiarch, the Hypatos (Consul), and the Anthypatos (Proconsul), etc., etc.

Those of class iv. are in the genitive, except when accompanied by the verb (_e.g._ ΘΕΟΔΟΤΟΣ ΕΠΟΕΙ, for ἑποἱει). This class of inscriptions is usually in very minute characters.

Those of class v. are in the nominative, as ΖΕΥΣ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΟΣ (Fig. 1), or genitive, as ΑΡΕΟΣ (Fig. 28).

The names of kings, even when unaccompanied by the title ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ, hold so conspicuous a position on the reverse of the coins, that it is easy to distinguish them from the names of less important monetary magistrates.

The names of eponymous magistrates, such as archons, etc., also occupy a very prominent place on the money of certain cities; such as Ephesus, for example.

The names of less important functionaries are written in an abbreviated form or even in monogram (Fig. 40), in which latter case it is almost always impossible to say what name was intended.

On coins of the later and especially of the Imperial period, the inscriptions are much more lengthy than on those of an earlier date.

§ OF THE METHOD OF DATING COINS.