Coins have long served as more than mere tools of commerce; they are miniature canvases that encapsulate history, culture, and artistry. Across centuries, nations and empires have minted coins that are not only functional but also artistically significant; capturing the essence of their time and place in ways that modern currency rarely achieves.
While some of these nations have long since disappeared and been nearly forgotten, their coins still survive and deserve recognition as treasures of human creativity and ingenuity.
The Rise of Numismatic Art
Throughout history, coins have been a medium through which rulers proclaimed power, celebrated achievements, and expressed cultural identity. From the grand empires of antiquity to the fleeting states of recent history, the artistry imbued in coins tells stories of political ambition, religious devotion, and societal values.
The Hellenistic Kingdoms: Coins of Divine Elegance
Silver tetradrachm of Lysimachus
The coins of Alexander the Great’s successors, the Hellenistic kingdoms, stand as some of the most artistically significant examples in numismatic history. These coins often depicted finely detailed portraits of rulers in a godlike manner, merging human and divine iconography. For instance, coins minted under Lysimachus, one of Alexander’s generals, feature the image of Alexander adorned with the horns of Zeus-Ammon, symbolizing his godly status. The intricate craftsmanship and symbolism of these coins evoke both reverence and admiration for the artistic prowess of their creators.
The Byzantine Empire: A Golden Legacy
The Byzantine Empire, which spanned more than a thousand years, left behind a numismatic legacy characterized by striking imagery and religious themes. Byzantine solidus coins, minted in gold, often featured detailed depictions of emperors alongside Christian iconography, such as Christ Pantocrator or the Virgin Mary.
Byzantine Christ Pantocrator Gold Coin
These coins were not merely currency but also objects of devotion and propaganda, reflecting the empire’s intertwining of faith and governance. Their luminous beauty and meticulous designs continue to fascinate collectors and historians today.
Forgotten Nations: The Artistic Echoes of Modern History
While the coins of ancient empires often garner the most attention, currencies from more recent, defunct nations also offer profound artistic insights. These forgotten coins tell tales of fleeting sovereignty and shifting borders, encapsulating moments of cultural pride and resilience.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire: A Symphony of Cultures
The Austro-Hungarian Empire, a melting pot of diverse cultures, produced coins that reflect its rich heritage. Silver crown coins minted during the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I showcase intricate designs that blend classical motifs with the empire’s distinctive symbols. The harmonious artistry of its coinage and currency is a testament to the empire’s complex yet unified character.
Austro-Hungarian 100-coronas (1908)
Coins from the Austro-Hungarian Empire often bore inscriptions in both German and Hungarian. This was reflective of the dual monarchy established by the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, which recognized Hungary’s autonomy within the empire. For example, coins minted in Hungary during Franz Joseph I’s reign often included Hungarian inscriptions alongside German ones.
The Ottoman Empire: A Tapestry of Intricate Geometry
Ottoman Gold Coin of Sultani Sulayman
The Ottoman Empire, known for its architectural grandeur and calligraphic artistry, translated its aesthetic sensibilities into its coinage. Ottoman coins often featured elegant Arabic script and geometric patterns, embodying the empire’s Islamic heritage. These coins stood as not only a representation of monetary value but also as an extension of the empire’s artistic traditions, bridging the worlds of functional design and spiritual expression.
The Weimar Republic: Modern Art in Crisis
The Weimar Republic, marked by economic turmoil and political instability, nonetheless produced coins that reflect the artistic movements of the early 20th century. The designs of these coins often drew inspiration from Bauhaus and other modernist movements, showcasing sleek lines and geometric forms. While the republic itself was short-lived, its coins serve as reminders of the resilience and innovation that can arise even in times of hardship.
Coins of the Weimar Republic (1920’s – 30’s)
Conclusion
Today, these artistically significant coins from defunct nations and empires hold value far beyond their original worth. They are sought after by collectors, admired by art enthusiasts, and studied by historians. Their designs, often painstakingly crafted, provide a glimpse into the soul of their creators and the societies they represented.
Coins have long been more than mere instruments of trade; they have served as enduring symbols of power, authority, and ideology. From the ancient empires of Mesopotamia to the modern nation-states, rulers have harnessed the medium of coinage to disseminate political propaganda and immortalize their reigns. These small, tangible artifacts have transcended their economic function to become vehicles of communication, carrying messages of legitimacy, conquest, and cultural dominance across centuries.
The Origins of Coinage as Propaganda
The use of coins as a means of political messaging can be traced back to antiquity. One of the earliest examples comes from the ancient civilizations of Lydia and Persia, where rulers began issuing coins bearing their likeness or symbols of divine favour. The face of a king on a coin was not merely decorative—it was a statement. It affirmed the ruler’s divine right to govern and reminded subjects of their allegiance to a central authority.
Athenian Silver Owl (440 – 400 BC)
In the Greek city-states, coinage reflected not only the wealth but also the identity of the polis. The Athenian tetradrachm famously featured the owl of Athena, symbolizing wisdom and the city’s patron deity, alongside inscriptions that asserted Athens’ dominance in trade and culture. By circulating these coins throughout the Mediterranean, Athens projected its power and influence far beyond its borders.
Roman Coins: A Masterclass in Political Messaging
Perhaps no civilization perfected the art of propagandistic coinage quite like the Romans. From the Republic to the Empire, Roman rulers used coins as tools to consolidate power, celebrate military victories, and reinforce loyalty. Julius Caesar, for instance, was the first living Roman to have his portrait minted on coins—a bold move that signified his ambition and foreshadowed the transition from Republic to Empire.
Julius Caesar Silver Coin
The emperors who followed Caesar continued to exploit coinage as a medium of propaganda. Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, adorned his coins with images of Pax Romana, symbolizing the peace and prosperity brought under his rule. His successors, such as Trajan and Constantine, commemorated their military triumphs and religious policies through intricate designs and inscriptions. Constantine’s coins famously featured the Chi-Rho symbol, a Christian emblem, as a declaration of his support for the burgeoning faith and his vision for a unified empire under Christianity.
Pax Romana Coin of Caesar Augustus
Medieval Monarchs: Coins in the Service of Divine Right
During the medieval period, European monarchs used coins to assert their divine right to rule. Kings like Charlemagne and Alfred the Great issued coinage that featured Christian iconography—crosses, saints, and biblical inscriptions—to emphasize their role as God’s chosen rulers. These coins served dual purposes: economic and theological. They were tools of commerce and instruments of faith, reminding subjects of the divine order that legitimized monarchical power.
Umayyad Caliphate Silver Dirham
Islamic rulers, too, utilized coinage to assert their authority and religious identity. The Umayyad Caliphate, for instance, introduced coins bearing Arabic inscriptions, distinguishing them from the Byzantine and Sassanian coinage that had previously dominated the region. These coins were not merely currency; they were declarations of Islamic sovereignty, and the ideological shift brought about by the Caliphate’s expansion.
The Renaissance and the Age of Discovery
With the Renaissance came a renewed emphasis on art and humanism, which found its way into coinage. Monarchs like Henry VIII and Elizabeth I of England used coins to depict their portraits in increasingly lifelike detail, showcasing their wealth and power. These coins were often accompanied by Latin mottos that underscored their political philosophies and divine favour.
1754 Spanish Silver Pillar Dollar showing ‘Plus Ultra’ motto on two ribbons. The ribbon encircling the pillar is believed to be the origin of the modern dollar sign ($)
The colonial powers of the Age of Discovery also leveraged coinage to assert control over newly conquered territories. Spanish coins bearing the Pillars of Hercules and the phrase “Plus Ultra” symbolized the empire’s global ambitions and its expansion into the Americas. By distributing these coins in distant lands, Spain reinforced its dominance and the idea of a universal monarchy.
Modern Coinage: National Identity and Propaganda
In the modern era, coinage continues to play a role in shaping political narratives, albeit in subtler ways. The United States minted coins celebrating its founding fathers and national symbols, such as the bald eagle and the Statue of Liberty, to foster unity and patriotism. Similarly, Soviet coins featured imagery of workers and industrial progress, aligning with the ideals of communism and the glorification of the proletariat.
Even today, many countries issue commemorative coins to mark significant events, leaders, and milestones. These coins serve as reminders of national pride and historical achievements, ensuring that the messages of the state reach even the remotest corners of society.
A variety of national reverse designs for the modern Euro coin.
When the European Union introduced the Euro as a single form of currency for all 12 of its official members in 2002, the reverses of each Euro coin were uniform across the entire EU. But each Member Nation was allowed to create their own coin obverses, featuring national motifs and symbols.
Because euro coins circulated freely throughout the EU, the national obverses of Germany, Italy, Spain, and France could soon be found in markets in Ireland, Finland, Austria, and the Netherlands. But this only helped reinforce the message of European unity and strength through national cooperation.
The Power of Coinage in Historical Memory
Coins, though small and sometimes overlooked, have wielded immense power in shaping historical memory. They are artifacts of propaganda that encapsulate the ideologies, ambitions, and identities of those who issued them. As they passed from hand to hand, coins carried not just monetary value but also the weight of political authority and cultural influence.
By examining the history of coinage, we gain a deeper understanding of how rulers have sought to control narratives and consolidate power through one of the most enduring and universal mediums.
These minted messages, preserved in museums, archaeological sites, and private collections continue to tell the story of humanity’s political and cultural evolution.
When archaeologists unearth ancient coins, they’re not just finding currency—they’re uncovering miniature time capsules that can reveal surprising details about the civilizations that created them. Unlike many artifacts that deteriorate over time, coins often survive remarkably intact, preserving their messages across millennia and helping us reach back in time to directly touch their lives.
Perfect Messengers from the Past
Coins possess unique qualities that make them invaluable to archaeologists and historians. They’re officially dated, carry detailed imagery and powerful symbols, and they were usually mass-produced by central authorities and distributed across the lands ruled by that authority.
When a Roman emperor issued a coin proclaiming a military victory, for example, we have direct evidence of how the empire wanted that event remembered. Subsequent historians and even contemporary commentators may have interjected their own bias into their accounts. But the coins of the realm provide indisputable evidence of the ‘official’ tale – at least as the ruling powers wanted it represented.
Furthermore, the distribution patterns of coins tell stories that written records often miss. When Spanish pieces of eight appear in excavations across Asia, they help to map trade networks more accurately than any medieval document or shipping records. A single Byzantine solidus found in a Viking settlement speaks volumes about far-reaching economic connections.
Silent Emperors Speak
During the tumultuous Crisis of the Third Century (235-284 CE), the Roman Empire experienced rapid succession of rulers and civil wars. During this chaotic period, many emperors ruled so briefly (sometimes mere weeks or months) that traditional historical records either never documented them or their names were actively removed from all records over time. Coins bearing their portraits and names, however, have survived as tangible proof of their brief claims to power.
Some notable examples include:
Silbannacus – A complete mystery until the 1930s when a single coin bearing his name and image was discovered. Another coin was found in 2004. Beyond these two coins, we have absolutely no historical records of this emperor.
Domitian II – For centuries, historians considered him fictional until a single coin appeared in France in 1900. A second coin was discovered in 2003, confirming his brief rule around 271 CE as a rebel emperor.
Uranius Antoninus – A Syrian priest who declared himself emperor around 253 CE. Though mentioned very briefly in one historical source, our primary knowledge of his reign comes from his distinctive coins.
These “shadow emperors” demonstrate the remarkable historical value of numismatic evidence. When texts are silent, coins speak—preserving names, faces, and titles that would otherwise have vanished completely from historical record. Their survival also illustrates how thoroughly the Romans established their minting systems, where even short-lived usurpers quickly produced coins to legitimize their claims to power.
History Written in Metal
The true archaeological value of coins often lies in their unintended revelations. Consider the silver content analysis of Roman denarii, which shows gradual debasement—revealing economic stress long before written records acknowledged problems. Similarly, the wear patterns on coins show how long they circulated and how they were handled, providing insights into everyday economic life.
Spanish silver coins that were traded in Asia often feature ‘chop marks’ overstruck into their surface. This practice was particularly common amongst merchants who needed to verify the legitimacy of foreign coins in a market rife with counterfeits.
Coin hoards—especially emergency stashes buried during crises—create especially valuable archaeological snapshots. The Hoxne Hoard in Britain, containing 15,000 coins and buried around 410 CE, coincides precisely with Rome’s withdrawal from Britain. The newest coins in such hoards create terminus post quem dating (the earliest possible date) for whatever catastrophe prompted the burial.
Roman legions often buried their payrolls before a major battle (to avoid it falling into enemy hands if they were defeated.) To this very day, clay jars of Roman coins are still occasionally discovered during road or building construction projects.
Beyond Economics
Perhaps most fascinatingly, coins preserve cultural elements that would otherwise vanish. Religious symbols, architectural details of now-destroyed buildings, and portraits of rulers appear in miniature relief. The temple on Herod Agrippa’s prutah coin gives archaeologists architectural details of structures long reduced to rubble and bare foundations.
Coins also capture evolutionary changes in language, as inscriptions shift from Greek to Latin across the Mediterranean, or from Sanskrit to Arabic across Central Asia, documenting cultural transitions with remarkable precision.
Modern Archaeological Approaches
Today’s archaeologists apply advanced techniques to these ancient treasures. X-ray fluorescence reveals exact metallic compositions without damaging specimens. Digital mapping of find locations creates distribution patterns impossible to see before computerization. Each advance extracts more information from these tiny messengers.
For the dedicated numismatist and archaeologist alike, each coin represents far more than its face value—it’s a direct connection to the people who once held it, a microcosm of their economy, their art, their beliefs, and their identity. These miniature time capsules continue to speak volumes, one small disk at a time.
When considering Ionia on the west of Asia Minor’s Aegean coast (modern day Turkey) we are drawing our attention to the birth of coinage.
The kingdom of Lydia held much sway in this area giving protection to those city-states under its influence. It is the Lydian kings who are credited with innovating coinage and it is believed that the very first coins were made in one of these ‘vassal’ Ionian city-states.
In this area, rich in abundant agriculture, there was also an innovation of thought from the minds of figures like Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Heraclitus and Pythagoras. Athens may take the crown as the cradle of western civilisation but Ionia can lay claim to having formed the basis of Greek philosophy and historical writing.
This school of Ionic rational thought cast aside the supernatural and fostered the study of geography, nature, and research into matter and the universe. It was a movement which, quite literally, dominated the intellectual life of Greece. Also permeating through the fabric of Greek culture was the Ionic language which became the basis of Koine or ‘common speech’, being found in practically all Greek writing, including the New Testament, right through to the modern day.
Ionic architecture, sculpture and bronze casting also made a mark upon the culture of ancient Greece too. The ‘Ionic migration’, as it was called by later writers, was dated to 140 years after the Trojan war and, according to Greek tradition, the colonists had hailed from the other side of the Aegean Sea.
A myth was woven into this migration in which the colonists were led by Neleus and Androclus, sons of Codrus, the last king of Athens. By the 8th century B.C. these settlers from the Greek homeland had confirmed their possession of the coastline and had consolidated themselves into 12 major cities; Phocaea, Erythrae, Clazomenae, Teos, Lebedus, Colophon, Ephesus, Priene, Myus, and Miletus on the mainland along with the islands of Chios and Samos in the eastern Aegean Sea. At a later date the prosperous city of Smyrna was also added to this list.
Each city joined together into a league known as the Ionic or Panionic League. This was a league which differed from most in that they were joined by religion and culture as opposed to politics and war. Each year a colourful festival would take place on the northern slope of Mount Mycale in Ionia called the Panionia. The festivities took place at a temple dedicated to Poseidon, the Panionium, meaning ‘of the Ionians’ and it was this celebration which gave to Ionia its identity as a distinct people of the Greeks.
Guinness, Gods and Greats
In the centuries B.C. Ionia would find itself a part of various empires after the Lydian kingdom fell to Cyrus the Great in 546 B.C. Cyrus’ conquered lands, known to history as the Achaemenid Persian empire, would, within 70 years, set a record which, to this day, is unsurpassed.
In 480 B.C. Xerxes I (of Hollywood movie ‘300’ fame) took the Achaemenid empire up to 44% of the world’s population with a whopping 50 million people all living within its borders. This is now recognised as a Guinness world record and a record of which the ancient Ionians were a part. It wasn’t to last and a precocious young king of Macedonia would take the Persian empire by storm and make it his own; none other than Alexander the Great.
After the Battle of the Granicus River took place in 334 B.C. all the western half of Asia Minor came under Alexander’s rule. Most of the Ionian cities submitted to him and enjoyed great prosperity, all except Miletus. Miletus, the only city in the Ionian League to deny homage to Alexander, was leveled after a long siege and never quite regained its previous splendour.
The majority of the Ionian League city states obligingly struck Alexander’s tetradrachms at their mints, a coin which today is one of the most easily recognisable of the entire ancient world. His successors and the kingdoms that they founded in the western part of Asia Minor would also strike coins at the Ionian city-state mints. The Antigonids, Seleucids and Attalids all ruled over Ionia before it came under Roman rule in 133 B.C., then becoming a part of the Province of Asia.
Under the Roman Empire the principal cities of Ionia experienced a revival of prosperity, and many of the impressive ruins on their sites date from that time. Ephesus, Miletus, Smyrna, and Chios were among the most splendid cities of the Roman world and continued to flourish in Byzantine times.
Our focus, however, is on the Ionian city of Teos, related by one ancient writer as the birthplace of Dionysus, god of entertainment, art and wine. Here at this thriving seaport was built in the third century B.C. the largest temple dedicated to the Dionysian cult in the ancient world. It was a magnificent structure built entirely in marble, a rock for which Teos was famous for in Roman times being quarried nearby and shipped to Rome until around 170 A.D.
In myth, Teos itself was said to have been founded by Athamas, after whom the city was originally named. Athamas was the descendent of a Boeotian king, also called Athamas, who, after falling into disfavour with the goddess Hera, was inflicted with insanity. It was the responsibility, placed upon King Athamas’ queen, Ino, by Hermes, to help raise the infant Dionysus. As already mentioned, Dionysus was omnipresent in Teos, becoming the city’s patron deity. Actors and musicians flocked to Teos and mixed with the priests of Dionysus’ temple who themselves were theatrical actors. A guild was created which provided paid performances in other cities. Known as the city of artists, Teos’ players guild was the first in history and so it seems appropriate that a musical instrument, in the form of a chelys, should appear on the city’s coinage.
Heavenly Strings
The chelys is known to most in modern times as a lyre and its origins lay deep in mythology with the personal messenger of Zeus and companion of dead souls to the underworld, Hermes. Hermes was born to Zeus and the Pleiad, Maia, who had joined in love in Maia’s luxurious cave. The infant Hermes was born the next day at dawn and immediately set out to make his mark on the world. Upon exiting his mother’s cave, he happened upon a tortoise and devised a plan to make a beautiful new instrument. Hermes hollowed out the tortoise shell, acquired some reeds, ox’s hide and sheep gut and behold, the first chelys had been created. Almost immediately Hermes had tuned the new instrument and was strumming a stream of enchanting songs in praise of his divine mother and father.
Soon after, the precocious baby became intent on other pursuits. Craving meat he hatched a plan to steal some of his half-brother, Apollo’s, sacred flock. In a stroke of deceptive genius, Hermes, under the cover of darkness, herded some of Apollo’s cattle backwards whilst wearing wicker shoes to cover his tracks. An old man in his luxuriant vineyard noticed Hermes carrying out his devious act. The infant god, aware of this, promised the old man a plentiful harvest and a quality batch of wine should he kept quiet.
Soon after, Hermes tended the cattle, slaughtered and skinned two of them before creating a fire and roasting the meat as an offering to the gods. Having made the ritual sacrifice, as one of the gods Hermes couldn’t eat the meat, only savour the aroma. Upon returning to his mother, Hermes tried to act like a helpless baby but his mother wasn’t fooled and so admonished him. His answer was sharp and clever, claiming that he would one day be the prince of thieves and win honour for them among the Olympian gods.
Apollo, upon realising the theft immediately set about finding the culprit. Luckily for Apollo, the old man at the vineyard hadn’t been wooed by Hermes’ promises and so revealed all when questioned. Apollo noticed an eagle with outstretched wings which conveyed to him that the culprit was a son of Zeus. This and a little detective work lead to Maia’s cave where Apollo confronted the baby god. Despite receiving a barrage of lies from Hermes, who explained the impossibility of his actions as he had only been born the previous day, Apollo wasn’t convinced. He wanted justice to be served so brought Hermes to Mount Olympus to answer to Zeus.
Zeus belly laughed upon hearing the excuses being put down before him by Hermes, he then ordered that Hermes, in his role as guide, lead Apollo to the stolen cattle. The orders were duly carried out and upon being reunited with his cattle, Apollo reconciled himself with his half-brother.
Hermes, perhaps with a hint of remorse, took his chelys and serenaded Apollo with songs so enchanting and beautiful that Apollo exclaimed it was definitely worth fifty cows! At this, Hermes gave the chelys to Apollo explaining that he should become a master of the musical art, and Apollo, in turn, gave Hermes a shining whip and put him in charge of cattle herds.
The two returned to Mount Olympus where Zeus united them in friendship. From this point onwards the chelys would become an everlasting signature of Apollo who wouldn’t be seen without it. Writers have alluded to the fact that among the Ionian city-states nowhere was Apollo more worshipped and revered than Teos. This would cause one to justifiably speculate that the chelys on Teos’ coinage actually represents the A-list Olympian god himself.
Griffin d’Or
Adorning the other side of Teos’ beautiful diobol silver coinage is a very regal looking griffin which, too, has a direct link back to Apollo. With the body, tail and hind legs of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, the griffin, or grypas in ancient Greek, combined the king of the skies and of the land into one creature. Apollo, as god of the sun, took these impressive beasts to be his own sacred companions, drawing his chariot majestically across the sky.
This image is actually depicted on a second century A.D. coin of the emperor Commodus from Lydia. The exalted status as the companion of a god was coupled with an association with treasure and priceless possessions. Various ancient accounts tell of a one-eyed people called the Arimaspians who fought with the griffins for the gold which they fiercely protected. It was said that griffins lay eggs containing golden nuggets and with their strong beaks they were easily able to locate and dig nuggets of gold from the earth.
Stories relate how griffins were sacred in India too. Here they were said to attack and defeat elephants and dragons but, as related in an ancient text by Greek teacher, Philostratus; ‘the tiger alone is beyond their powers of attack, because in swiftness it rivals the winds.’.
Other cultures also held the griffin as sacred way before one appeared on a silver diobol of Teos. Griffin-like hybrids with four legs and a beaked head appeared in ancient Iranian and Egyptian art dating as far back as before 3,000 B.C. Griffins appeared in the art of the Persians, sometimes being represented on jewellery as a protector from evil, witchcraft and even secret slander.
Staying with this theme, griffins were associated with another Greek god, Nemesis, the maiden goddess of retribution, proportion and avenger of crime. Just like Apollo, Nemesis rode in a chariot drawn by griffins. Nonnus, a Greek poet living in Egypt under the Roman empire wrote a particularly chilling mythological account of Nemesis paying a visit to Niobe, the boastful daughter of a Lydian ruler called Tantalos; ‘She (Nemesis) had harnessed racing Grypes (Griffins) under her bridle; quick through the air she coursed in the swift car, until she tightened the curving bits of her four footed birds, and drew up on the peak of Sipylos in front of the face of Tantalos’ daughter (Niobe) with eyeballs of stone.’. In this role, griffins were viewed as beasts of vengeance and they helped Nemesis to exact retribution right the way across the globe.
It was for this reason and for all the other attributes of majesty and power afforded to griffins by the Greeks, Persians, Egyptians and Indians that, to this day, they remain a staple part of the global cultural fabric. Griffins are represented in architecture, emblems, heraldry, logos, in computer games, films and cartoons, they are literally all around us!
It’s no coincidence that the famous author of Harry Potter, J.K.Rowling named one of the houses at Hogwarts ‘Gryffindor’. Not many people realise that this name is a representation of the French ‘griffin d’or’, meaning ‘golden griffin’. As a parting thought the griffin was also known as an animal of intense sexual power, sometimes mating with mares on heat resulting in a beast called a Hippogriff. Those in the know will be aware that a Hippogriff named Buckbeak was expertly ridden by Harry Potter in The Prisoner of Azkaban.
ARTICLE RECAP:
The Silver Griffin from the Land of Wine & Song
These coins were struck more than 2,300 years ago in Teos, an ancient Greek city located on an Ionian isthmus on the Aegean Sea. The city was famous for its wine and was famous its temple in honor Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and good times.
Mythical Griffin: This obverse of this coin features the mythological Griffin, a beast with the body, tail and back legs of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle. In the lore of the ancient Scythians, Griffins were said to be fierce guards of their gold.
The coin’s reverse depicts a Chelys, an ancient musical instrument made from a tortoise shell. The symbolism of a musical instrument points to the focus on ‘wine, women, and song’ which the lusty Dionysus was infamous for.
The coin is also inscribed with the THI, which means “of the Teans” and ALYPION, the name of the magistrate responsible for minting and issuing these coins.
The ancient Greek city of Teos was once a vibrant trading port on the coast of Ionia (now part of western Turkey.) After being abandoned during a time of invasion, the town was later reinhabited and became known for its wine, exciting theater and its Temple dedicated to Dionysus – the god of wine, fertility and wild drunken revelry.
The Griffin is a mythical creature half lion and half eagle. Considered the king of all creatures, Griffins were associated with wealth, and they were believed to lay eggs that contained gold nuggets. The griffin was sacred to Apollo, to whom most of Ionian cities worshiped, but nowhere more so than in Teos, where the city’s population held Apollo in particularly high regard.
The Chelys: As already mentioned, Dionysus was Teos’ patron deity. Actors and musicians flocked to Teos and they mixed with the priests of Dionysus’ temple who themselves were theatrical actors, creating a guild which provided paid performances at other cities. Known as the city of artists, Teos’ players guild was the first in history. It seems appropriate, then, that a musical instrument in the form of a Chelys should appear on the city’s coinage. Because the instrument was closely associated with Apollo, it is also possible that it was chosen for the coin as a symbol of Apollo.
Rhodes, or Rhodos in Greek, meaning; ‘rose’, is an island in the southwestern Aegean sea and is part of a collection of islands known as the Dodecanese. The island covers around 540 square miles and is today one of Greece’s most popular tourist destinations.
The island was once the jewel in the crown of ancient Greece, reaching a peak of maritime supremacy, cultural richness and commercial vigour during the classical and hellenistic periods. In 408 B.C. three established city-states on the island of Rhodes, Ialysos, Kamiros and Lindos, came together in a spirit of unity to found a new federal capital and port which they named after the island.
The new foundation of Rhodes was very deliberately situated on the northern coast in order to take advantage of the island’s best natural harbour. It was a city designed, as much as possible, to resemble Athens, that supremely successful city-state, home to the Parthenon and so many philosophical greats. Rhodes benefited from a well-constructed sewer system as well as a water supply network designed by architect and ‘father of European urban planning’; Hippodamus of Miletus.
Rhodes was embarking a high summer of success, bolstered by sea trade, skilled shipbuilders and open-minded politicians who kept the city prosperous right through to the domination of Rome in the 2nd century B.C.
Rhodes island held a particularly strong and dominating position at a cultural crossroads between Europe, the Middle East and Africa and it was this tactical positioning on the major sea routes which would be the life-blood of its success. Rhodes city itself became an important stop on the trade routes linking the Greek cities in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) with the wealth of Pharaonic Egypt.
During the 330’s B.C., Alexander the Great had taken the island peacefully from the then overlords, Achaemenid Persia, and established a garrison of soldiers there. It’s said he was welcomed and a special cloak made for presentation. Over time this friendly bond, according to one source, led to the Rhodians becoming the executors of Alexander’s will, a disputed idea but a nice claim-to-fame if true.
The Pharaoh’s Loyal Ally
With the establishment of the eponymous Alexandria in 331 B.C, a strong and mutually beneficial bond had been formed between Rhodes and Ptolemy I of Egypt, a bond which caused unrest among Ptolemy’s enemies.
Alexander’s death had caused his empire to fragment and be fought over by his successors, known to history as the Diadochi.
Ptolemy was one such successor, a companion and historian of Alexander, who became Pharaoh of Egypt in c.305 B.C. thus establishing the Ptolemaic dynasty which ended with the famous suicide of Cleopatra in 30 B.C.. Another of the power-hungry Diadochus, Antigonus I Monopthalamus – ‘the one-eyed’, declaring war on Ptolemy, attempted to coax the Rhodians onto his side but they remained loyal to Ptolemy.
As a result, Antigonus sent his son, Demetrius, to take Rhodes by force. 200 warships, 170 transports carrying 40,000 men plus horses along with an allied force of pirate and privately owned vessels all descended on the island in 305 B.C. What ensued was a year-long siege of Rhodes city during which time the inhabitants defended themselves valiantly.
The culmination of this siege came in the building of a Helepolis or ‘taker of cities’ on the order of Demetrius. Reaching more than one hundred feet tall and weighing 160 tons, the Helepolis, an awesome wheeled siege tower, earned Demetrius the nickname Poliorcetes – ‘besieger of cities’. It was, at the time, an invention of mammoth proportions but it wasn’t enough.
With the help of Ptolemy and other members of the Diadochi, Lysimachus of Thrace and Cassander of Macedon, the Rhodians held strong and eventually repulsed Demetrius. An agreement was formed whereby Rhodes would support Antigonus but never carry arms against their ally, Ptolemy. In an act of reconciliation, Demetrius presented the Helepolis to the people of Rhodes. This act concluded one of the most significant events of the island’s history and gave rise to another.
A Colossal Claim to Fame
The entrepreneurial Rhodians sold the Helepolis and other siege equipment, weapons, armour and such like for a cool 300 talents. It’s very difficult to equate a talent into modern measurements but, at the time, this was equivalent to 1.8 million Attic silver drachms, each weighing 4.33 grams and thus totaling nearly 7.8 tonnes of silver! Far from being frittered away, this tidy profit was put to very good use by the Rhodians in honouring their patron deity, Helios, god of the sun and of sight and guardian of oaths.
For this era-defining victory, Helios was praised in gargantuan form. The Rhodians enlisted the help of one of their own, Chares of Lindos, pupil of famous sculptor, Lysippus, a favourite artist of Alexander the Great, to design for them a colossal statue of Helios in all his resplendent glory. Chares did not disappoint. In c. 280 B.C. he delivered his commission, a construction twelve years in the making.
It was a truly awesome sight which captured imaginations for centuries to come. According to one 2nd century B.C. engineer, Philo of Byzantium, the 33 metre high statue required 12 to 13 tons of bronze, an operation, he said; ‘…that involved the bronze industry of the entire world’. Modern historians generally agree that the statue was situated at the entrance to Rhodes’ harbour and so today two pillars stand at the entrance to the Port at the spot where the statue is believed to have stood.
Being such a monumental investment and project, the Colossus required a huge amount of funding over a period of 12 years. The coinage of Rhodes city began in around 408/7 B.C. with the introduction of a silver coinage bearing a deeply cut image and vigorous rendering of Helios, seen full-face with luxuriant hair, blown back by the wind as his chariot carried him, as the sun, across the sky. Helios’ imposing image was paired with that of a rose (a pun on the name of the city) and also the city’s ethnic; POΔION, meaning ‘of Rhodes’. Tetradrachm coins, worth four drachma, were the main denomination until later in the 4th century when the didrachm or two drachma silver coin became preeminent. Issues of these Rhodian coins were fairly regular with spikes in production correlating with construction projects or military engagements.
It was, however, the construction of the Colossus which instigated a spike in activity at the mint and, as such, these Rhodian didrachms financed its construction. From 304 B.C to c.265 B.C. an issue of coins depicting Helios in profile are thought to possibly portray the Colossus itself. If this is the case then the statue wore a radiate taenia or band of spikes, designed as if to be the gleaming rays of sunlight issuing forth from Helios’ head. Full facing didrachms featuring this new crown of sun rays were struck alongside the profile portrait didrachms and they too played their part in financing the era-defining statue which would, like the giant of world history that it was, stride its way into antiquity’s hall of fame as a wonder of the ancient world.
The Sun of God
Those who were able to see the Colossus in situ didn’t know how lucky they were. In 226 B.C., after towering over the harbour of Rhodes city for only 54 years, tremors from a powerful earthquake toppled the statue which, according to ancient writer Strabo, broke off at the knees.
It was not a good sign for the Rhodians who ritually honoured Helios every year by sacrificing four consecrated horses in an act of driving them over a precipice into the sea. This equine sacrifice was the culmination of the Halieia festival, a highlight of the island’s religious calendar with chariot races, gymnastic events and music contests.
In an act of solidarity, Pharaoh Ptolemy III Euergetes ‘the Benefactor’ offered to pay for the Colossus’ reconstruction. The Rhodians, deeply concerned about such an ominous omen, had consulted one of the most powerful women of the classical world, none other than the Pythia, high priestess of the Temple of Apollo, most famously known as, the Oracle of Delphi.
In a trance-like state, fevered by the intoxicating gases billowing forth from the earth, the Pythia channeled the voice of Apollo himself and warned not to rebuild Helios’ Colossus. Taken as a sign that Rhodes’ patron god had caused the earthquake as retribution for their insolence, the Rhodians respectfully declined Ptolemy’s gesture. As such the Colossus lay in pieces, embedded in the ground where it fell for a number of centuries. It remained a wonder which drew in the curious from far and wide.
Roman author and friend of Emperor Vespasian, Pliny the Elder, wrote in the 1st century A.D.; ‘Even as it lies, it excites our wonder and admiration. Few men can clasp the thumb in their arms, and its fingers are larger than most statues. Where the limbs are broken asunder, vast caverns are seen yawning in the interior. Within it, too, are to be seen large masses of rock, by the weight of which the artist steadied it while erecting it.’. For 880 years the Colossus lay broken in the earth, an apparition of its former glory.
In 654 A.D. Arab invaders, Ummayad Muslims, led by caliph Muawiyah conquered Rhodes and completed the job which the earthquake had begun centuries before. Muawiyah’s forces broke the statue up and transported the hacked bronze pieces to Syria where they were sold to a Jewish merchant. It’s reported in a number of sources that the bronze was carried away by upwards of 900 camels and then may have been used to make coins, tools, artifacts and weapons. Centuries later, in a case of mistaken identity, the extant Rhodian didrachms would become much revered religious relics.
The religious houses of Christian Europe saw in Helios’ portrait an image of the Passion of Jesus Christ whereby the son of God was adorned with the crown of thorns. These coins, it was believed, were the very biblical coins, thirty pieces to be exact, that Judas Iscariot received upon betraying Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Alas we know this not to be the case but it’s an entertaining historical footnote to behold.
A Statue for Liberty
While the production of Rhodian silver coins bearing the image of Helios came to an end during Roman domination in the 1st century B.C., it’s the legacy of these coins that really brings them into a league of their own.
These were coins made by the very people who built the Colossus and saw it with their own eyes. To the Rhodians these coins represented life and liberty. On the subject of Liberty, one can fail but notice the more than passing resemblance between Helios and Auguste Bartholdi’s masterpiece, Liberty Enlightening the World, more commonly known as the Statue of Liberty.
The French sculptor is known to have been inspired by the story of Rhodes’ colossus, an inspiration which took the beaming rays of Helios’ crown and placed them on Liberty’s head. Rhodes’ coins survive as relics of this source of inspiration, the original blueprint of freedom personified.
To raise money for Liberty’s pedestal, American poet, Emma Lazarus, wrote a sonnet called ‘The New Colossus’ in 1883, a poem which would, in 1903, very appropriately be cast onto a bronze plaque and mounted inside Liberty’s pedestal.
In words that would be equally applicable to Liberty herself, an ancient eulogy in praise of Helios from the Greek Magical Papyri, beautifully expresses the colossal importance of his celestial body; ‘the earth flourished when you shone forth and made the plants fruitful when you laughed and brought to life the living creatures when you permitted’.
JW Turner’s The Rise of the Carthaginian Empire (1815)
What remains of the ancient city of Carthage, near the modern city of Tunis in North Africa, was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1971. The ruins tell a story of total destruction and annihilation. Here lived a people who were one of the most influential civilisations in the ancient world, a people who almost changed the course of Western civilisation so how could it be that virtually all trace of their being was put to the torch?
This is the story of Carthage, its rise to glory and its demise at the hands of one of Rome’s great generals, Scipio Aemilianus. Apart from the beautiful coins produced within Carthage’s powerful empire, all that survives are the accounts of ancient Greece and Rome, both vengeful enemies of the state. We hear of a group of depraved monsters, greedy, treacherous and brutal who readily sacrificed their own children to cruel gods. However, we need to remember that both ancient Greece and Rome had an axe to grind.
Carthage was one of the largest and richest cities in antiquity and the power it held within the Mediterranean was a threat. Carthage was founded a hundred years earlier than Rome in c.814, it’s said by an exiled priestess fleeing her native city of Tyre in ancient Phoenicia, now Lebanon. The Greeks named her Dido and legend told of how she came to found Carthage and become its queen. Upon landfall in north Africa she led her people to a local Berber chieftain in the hope of acquiring some land to settle and make home. The chieftain replied that she could have “as much land as could be encompassed by an oxhide”. Thinking on her feet, Dido cut the hide into strips and stretched them around a large hill name Byrsa or “hide”, an alternative name for Carthage.
In carving out the earth for their new settlement the Tyrians discovered an ox’s head and all activity came to a halt. This was a bad omen that foretold the city would be wealthy but “laborious and always enslaved”. The decision was taken to dig elsewhere and fortune smiled upon the tired colonists for a horse’s head was found in the freshly dug earth. In Phoenician culture the horse was a symbol of courage and conquest, foretelling that Dido’s new city would rise to greatness.
And so it was that Carthage, a name which derived from the Phoenician Qart-Hadasht meaning “New City”, came into being.
Mother of pearl, coral, amber and ebony
For centuries, Carthage was a mere outpost of its mother city, Tyre, but by 509 B.C. it was independent enough to negotiate a commercial treaty with the new Republic of Rome. Bringing with them their Phoenician penchant for seafaring and trade, the Carthaginians set about establishing themselves in the mediterranean as its most dominant power. One of its main advantages was the supremely dominant position it held in the Gulf of Tunis. Here it was close to Sicily, Italy, Sardinia and Corsica and not too distant from the Balearic Islands, Spain and Gaul (modern day France).
From Carthage, trade could be completely controlled. Through domination of the seas it became the overlord of a vast network of trade which stretched to the west of Africa and into northern Europe. It’s even said that Britain’s first contacts with the classical world were through Carthaginian merchants who came in search of tin. Commodities from all over the ancient world flowed in and out of Carthage and its network of cities and satellite states which was larger than any other power in the region.
Within his poem, Ithaca, the Greek poet, Constantine Cavafy, gives a vivid recounting of the lush goods which would have abounded in and around these ports; ‘…May there be many summer mornings when, with what pleasure, what joy, you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time; may you stop at Phoenician trading stations to buy fine things, mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, sensual perfume of every kind, as many sensual perfumes as you can’.
This great source of richness was coupled with ready access to abundant fertile land and an enterprising culture in the working of it. The writings of Mago of Carthage on farming and animal husbandry were considered as being of such importance that they were among the few to be spared by the Romans after their destruction of the city. This innovation was coupled with Carthage’s revolutionary idea of the ‘flat pack’ ship which was the first to have been produced using a standardised design and construction. This was part of the foundation which saw Carthage secure itself as one of the largest and most powerful navies in the ancient Mediterranean.
As long as money clinks, my captain I’ll obey
Both Carthage’s army and its navy were lead by powerful families, mainly the Magonids and Barcids, who spent vast sums on piecing together a burgeoning force of foreign mercenary soldiers. One of the main struggles which ancient Carthage sought in expanding its sphere of power and influence was over the island of Sicily and its main city-state of Syracuse.
Beginning in the 480s B.C., two centuries of bitter warfare would see Carthage establish a network of fortresses and mints which protected and paid its mercenary forces both in Sicily and in its hard-fought lands in Spain and Sardinia. This network first came into being when Carthage established its coinage c.410 B.C. in Sicily itself.
Control of the island and beyond could only be secured if Carthaginian coins chinked in the purses of its soldiers of fortune. To this end, Carthaginian ships made daring voyages as far as West Africa to trade for gold. In around 350 B.C. a super-attractive new gold stater was produced specifically to pay Carthage’s forces. It was adorned with two of the powerful city-state’s most potent symbols, the Phoenician goddess, Tanit, and Dido’s omen of good fortune, the horse.
Tanit was Carthage’s patron deity, bestowing protection and good fortune upon it. She was a mother goddess, representing fertility, love, the moon, stars and sky, cycles of life, strength, abundance and much more. Tanit was worshipped throughout North Africa, Spain, Malta, Sardinia and Rome but her most well known temples were found in Carthage itself.
Her bust closely resembles coins which were produced by Carthage’s nemesis in Sicily; Syracuse, which depict their own deities such as the nymph Arethusa. It should be said that these coins of Syracuse have been identified by numismatists as being the very pinnacle of ancient art, unsurpassed until at least the nineteenth century, so this is a proud numismatic heritage to speak of.
Tanit wears a wreath of grain, referencing fertility and abundance. Her neutral facial expression is said to denote nobility and a transcendence of earthly concerns, just like the Greek coins from which she is modeled. According to Carthage’s enemies, this beauty and divine wonder was underpinned by a much darker side. Ancient writers say that zealous Carthaginians gladly gave their children’s lives as sacrifices to honour their patron goddess, Tanit, and her consort Baal-Hamon.
Adorned Statue of the Punic Goddess Tanit, 5th–3rd centuries BC, from the necropolis of Puig des Molins, Ibiza (Spain), now housed in the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia (Barcelona)
Nowadays, however, these claims have been questioned as ancient attempts to paint the Carthaginians in a bad light although it is still a possibility. This being as it may be, Tanit’s status as the primary deity of ancient Carthage is undeniable. The choice of a horse as her counterpart on Carthage’s gold staters too shows the significance which they gave to this majestic animal. To the Carthaginians it may have been a proud representation of their foundation story, a subject which was commonly depicted on coins of the ancient city-states.
However, because the myth was recounted by a later Roman writer named Justin, its uncertain whether or not the Carthaginians knew of it. Another interpretation of the horse is that it refers to the military purpose of the staters. On some Carthaginian coins the horse is shown with the goddess of victory, Nike, who holds a wreath and a caduceus. The wreath was a symbol given to victors in contests and battles and so the horse may represent the military might and success of Carthage. Military success, though, in the ancient world required money and a lot of it.
Weathering the storm
The wars in Sicily against Syracuse and beyond required huge resources and over time Carthage’s gold staters contained more and more silver. From 320 B.C. they have been classed as electrum which is a mixture of silver and gold.
A further draw on resources came when North Africa was invaded by Agathocles of Syracuse in 310-307 B.C.. Agathocles sought to subdue Carthage and use its wealth to fund his wars. Allied with Libyans and Berbers, Carthage was able to see off Agathocles and continued to prosper until it came into conflict with a new enemy, then just a small city-state on the Tiber River in Italy; Rome.
While the electrum staters ceased to be produced in around 280 B.C., their designs remained the staple of Carthage’s coinage right until the bitter end. Carthage would soon, in 264 B.C., embark on a series of three wars with Rome, known as the Punic Wars (deriving from the Phoenician word for the citizens of Carthage and in Latin reading Punicus), which would ultimately spell disaster and utter destruction for this once great city-state. Not even the efforts of one of their most famous names, the distinguished general, Hannibal Barca, could save them.
After the loss of the first Punic War in 241 B.C. Carthage’s treasury was so depleted that it was reduced to coining debased silver and over-valued bronze coins. Under the terms of the treaty devised by Rome, Carthage had to pay 1,000 talents of gold immediately, plus another 2,000 talents over the next decade, amounting to an eye-watering 78,000 kilograms of bullion, or some 8.3 million gold staters! The second Punic War was meted out between 218B.C. and 201 B.C. and again Carthage was overcome. This time Rome stripped Carthage of its hard-fought colonies, denied it of its navy and forced it to pay another huge indemnity.
Carthago delenda est
By the time of the third Punic War of 149 B.C. to 146 B.C. Rome had come to the end of its tether. Its elite came to believe that only total annihilation of Carthage could ensure Rome’s security. It was in the build-up to this last and most famous phase of the wars that Roman Republican politician, Cato, ended all his speeches with the words; Carthago delenda est, ‘Carthage must be destroyed’.
Roman naval attack on Carthage. Photo credit: WorldHistory.org
And so it was that the might of the Roman Republic came down on Carthage in the form of a three-year siege, beginning in 149 B.C. The city had a population estimated at 700,000 and the vast majority of them were wiped out. In the spring of 146 B.C the Romans launched their final assault and over seven days systematically destroyed the city and slay its inhabitants.
Only on the last day was the order given by Rome’s commander, Scipio Aemillianus, to take prisoners. 50,000 citizens were rounded up to be sold into slavery. Carthage’s top-of-command, Hasdrubal, pleaded for his life and freedom. This was observed by his wife who cursed her husband and with her children walked into a temple engulfed with flames.
The ancient historian, Polybius, was present at the final destruction of Carthage alongside Scipio and it’s said that; ‘Scipio, when he looked upon the city as it was utterly perishing and in the last throes of its complete destruction, is said to have shed tears and wept openly for his enemies’.
Such was the destruction that apparently not one stone was left on top of another. The site was cursed and according to a 19th century myth, sown with salt to prevent any crop ever growing there again. Despite this inglorious end and scornful treatment, a century after the war ended, Julius Caesar planned to rebuild Carthage as a Roman city but little work was done.
Augustus revived the project in 29 B.C. and by the time of the Empire it had become one of the main cities of Roman Africa. It appears from the history books that Rome had a grudging respect for Carthage as confirmed by the Roman politician, Cicero, who wrote; ‘Carthage would never have held an empire for six hundred years had it not been governed with wisdom and statesmanship’.
Such sentiments developed into full-scale equanimity on 5 February 1985 in a symbolic peace treaty which was signed by the mayors of Rome and modern Carthage, 2,131 years after the war ended.
The Kingdom of Pontus was located on the southern coast of the Pontus Euxinus ‘hospitable sea’ in Asia Minor. Pontus Euxinus is an ancient name for the Black Sea and Asia Minor for an area which roughly covered that of modern day Turkey.
In the decades following the death of Alexander the Great, many new kingdoms emerged from his fragmented empire. Out of this period of formation came the Kingdom of Pontus which was proclaimed by its founder, Mithradates I, in 281 B.C. This new kingdom was Hellenized (i.e. culturally Greek) with Greek being its official language and its kings proudly proclaiming a bloodline through Alexander himself.
In general terms, Pontus was nothing special, it’s borders ebbed and flowed like most kingdoms. What it needed was a sign that great things were to come and they sure did come. Ancient sources record that in the birth year of one particular Pontic prince a comet burned brightly for 70 days, shining so bright as to be brighter than the sun itself. As a baby the prince was said to have been struck by lightning, a phenomenon which Alexander the Great’s mother, Olympias, had dreamt of happening to her womb and which had happened, too, to Semele, the mother of Olympian god, Dionysus.
Prophecies in the east had foretold the coming of a god-sent saviour king whose rise would herald the end of an evil empire. Was this the second coming of Alexander? In 120 B.C. Mithradates V, King of Pontus, was murdered by poison when his son and heir, also Mithradates, was only 13 years old.
The dead king’s wife and mother of young Mithradates, Laodice, took over the kingdom and set about having the young prince disposed of. Laodice had Mithradates ride dangerous horses and throw javelins and when this didn’t work she tried to poison him. That too didn’t work; Mithradates took flight and spent several years in the Pontic wilderness during which time he took a keen interest in the natural plant and wildlife of the kingdom.
Upon his return to court, Mithradates himself used a poison, possibly arsenic, to remove several treacherous relatives and rivals, managing to secure his kingdom in the process.
Mithradates VI ‘The Great’ had arrived.
This young man, the very prince whose birth, it’s said, had been heralded by a comet brighter than the sun and who had been struck by lightning as a baby, immediately set about writing himself into the history books. Through his father, Mithradates had a royal lineage harking back to the Persian emperors and through his mother he had a direct bloodline to Alexander himself. This meant that the new king was a perfect fusion of east and west, something which proved to be a potent political tool for the king whose dream was to form an empire unifying the towns and cities around the Black Sea.
In this endeavour, Mithradates was given a divine helping hand in inheriting Alexander the Great’s mantel, his purple cloak which, it’s thought, was imbued with the great emperor’s qualities. During a time when the Roman Republic was becoming increasingly powerful, perhaps it was Alexander’s inspiration which made Mithradates the republic’s most dangerous and relentless enemy.
The golden kiss
Mithradates’ rule saw the Kingdom of Pontus reach its largest extent and it wasn’t just his dreams of a Black Sea empire which caused this to happen but also a drive to liberate the Greek cities of Asia Minor from their oppressors, the Romans.
Using philhellenism (a love of Greek culture) as a political tool, Mithradates proclaimed himself as ‘great liberator’ of the Greek world and set about executing a ruthless plan which became known as the Asiatic Vespers. In 88 B.C. between 80,000-150,000 Roman and Italian citizens were murdered on a single day in the Greek settlements of Asia Minor. The plan was orchestrated by Mithradates who had convinced his friends and allies to rid themselves of their Roman oppressors in one foul swoop. It was a brutal move which is now considered to be one of the first genocides in history.
Rome wouldn’t stand for such defiance and the hornet’s nest was well and truly stirred. War was declared on Mithradates by the Roman Senate and what ensued became known to history as the Mithradatic Wars. Around this time Mithradates is said to have portrayed the Romans to his men as a group of people suckled by a she-wolf, who once had kings chosen from shepherds, soothsayers, exiles, and slaves, and who were hostile to him and other monarchs.
Not all kingdoms, however, bought into Mithradates’ cussing of the Romans who could be quite accommodating if it benefited them. King Nicomedes IV of Bithynia had been forced out by Mithradates and fled to Rome only a couple of years previously. With the aid of former Roman consul, Manius Aquilius, Nicomedes was able to gain his throne from the neighbouring Pontic kingdom but it didn’t end there. Aquilius encouraged King Nicomedes to encroach upon Pontic territory and this was seen as a massive affront by the proud and belligerent Mithradates.
Battle was inevitable. Aquilius’ forces took on Mithradates and were beaten with the former consul of Rome promptly fleeing in the direction of Rome to save his life. Aquilius got as far as the Aegean island of Lesbos before being handed over to Mithradates. Making an example of Aquilius, Mithradates had him placed upon a donkey and then forced to confess his wrongdoings all the way to the city of Pergamon. Waiting for Aquilius was an ignominious end. Here, Mithradates attempted to strike fear into all those who opposed or displeased him. Orders were given to heat a bar of gold to melting point which was then ceremoniously poured into Aquilius’ mouth. It was a bold move against the might of Rome and significant gains were soon made by Mithradates.
Liberation, divination and frustration
In the spring of 88 B.C. Mithradates was invited by the military leader of Athens, Ariston, to liberate Greece. If ever there was a chance to follow in the footsteps of Alexander as hero of the Greek people then it was now. A Pontic army was sent to Greece and anti-Roman rebellions erupted throughout the Greek mainland. Rome only had two Legions in the area but they were up in the northeast fighting against the Thracians.
Forced back to Greece to fight the first Pontic army, the Roman legions had their tails chased by a second Pontic army which had marched into Thrace. Now with two armies in the field, a heady sum of money was needed to realise Mithradates’ dreams of a liberated Greece. For this endeavour the spirit of Alexander was revived in a gold coinage which bore his youthful image. This was, however, more than a mere representation of the legendary King of Kings, this was the image of a god. Upon Alexander’s temple can be seen the curled horn of a ram; this is the deified Alexander as the god Zeus-Ammon. While building his empire, Alexander had insisted on marching his troops to the temple of Zeus-Ammon in the Egyptian desert. This famed oracle told Alexander that he himself was the son of Zeus-Ammon confirming the claims which Olympias, Alexander’s mother, had made years previously.
Subsequently Alexander’s portrait was sometimes adorned with horns of the Egyptian god, Amun, as confirmation of this divine status. On the reverse of Mithradates’ gold coinage is the seated image of Athena Nikephoros, meaning Athena ‘carrying Nike’, the Greek goddess of victory. Accompanying Athena and Nike is a Greek legend which translates as ‘Basileus Lysimachoi’ or in modern terms, ‘King Lysimachus’.
Why, then, do Mithradates gold coins name King Lysimachus and not Mithradates himself? These coins are direct copies of a gold coin struck by the founder of the Kingdom of Thrace, Lysimachus, over two hundred years previously. Lysimachus was a companion and bodyguard of Alexander the Great who had formed the new kingdom out of the chaotic power struggles that followed Alexander’s death in 323 B.C.
Lysimachus had struck the gold coins in honour of Alexander and they had become immensely popular, so much so that they were still circulating in Thrace and the Black Sea area when Mithradates’ army were campaigning there in the early first century B.C.. Recognising their popularity, Mithradates took to striking his own copies and used them to fund a contingent of Thracian mercenaries against the Roman legions.
As it happens, the famous Roman general and statesman, Sulla, eventually pushed Mithradates’ forces back into Asia Minor and the gold staters ceased to be minted around 86 B.C. It was a huge setback for Mithradates who was fined 600,000 gold staters and forced to abandon his attempted liberation of Greece. Rome would continue to deny the Pontic king from fulfilling his ambitions, however, during his reign, Mithradates did manage to conquer the historical regions of Colchis, Cappadocia, Bithynia, the Greek colonies of the Tauric Chersonesos as well as, for a brief time, the Roman province of Asia.
It was an awesome achievement but after a long struggle with his Roman nemesis, the mighty Mithradates was eventually forced to take his own life. The end game took place in the ancient Greek colony of Panticapaeon on the Cimmerian Bosporus in the northern Black Sea. In 63 B.C. Mithradates had hatched a plan to invade Italy by way of the Danube when his own troops led by his son, Pharnaces, revolted.
Reading the writing on the wall, Mithradates attempted to poison himself along with several other family members. Consuming the poison last, most had already been used and it was not strong enough to overcome Mithradates. He ordered a Gallic mercenary to finish the job by blade and Mithradates was dead. It’s believed that his body was taken by the famous Roman general, Pompey the Great, back to the old Pontic capital of Amasya to be buried in the rock-cut tombs of his ancestors. Pompey then awarded the Bosporan kingdom to Pharnaces for the betrayal of his father. Pharnaces ruled for sixteen years before making a decisive move on his original inheritance of Pontus.
The Romans reacted swiftly and a rapid five day war ended Pharnaces’ hopes, culminating in the Battle of Zela in 47 B.C. The victor at this battle was none other than Julius Caesar and it was a quick, clean and clinical routing of Pharnaces’ forces. Writing back to the Roman senate, Caesar summed up his actions in the famous words; ‘Veni, Vidi, Vici’ – ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’. It was the end of any hopes that the Kingdom of Pontus might be saved.
The Poison King
To this day, Mithradates is known as the ‘poison king’ but how did he earn this name?
From an early age Mithradates took a great interest in toxicology, taking the time during his years in the Pontic wilderness to become familiar with the poisonous plants and animals within the kingdom. Here could be found Monkshood, Hellebore, Nightshade, Hemlock, Azalea, Rhododendron and Pontic ducks, all poisonous if eaten. Once he ascended the throne, Mithradates set about building laboratories and collecting specimens from right across his new kingdom. Plants and animals with powerful healthful or poisonous characteristics were abundant throughout the Black Sea region and poison was built into the culture of some of Mithradates’ allies. The mounted nomad archers of Scythia, poisoned their arrows with a sophisticated concoction of viper venom and other pathogens.
Shamans from this area as well as physicians and healers were employed to help Mithradates find the holy grail of toxicology, a universal antidote to all poisons. A central part of this endeavour saw him consume a concoction of various poisons every morning as a means of building up immunity. In a world where poisoning was the preferred method of undetectable assassination, paranoia was a necessary evil. Mithradates employed guards in his kitchens as well as royal tasters. Poison cups of electrum (gold mixed with silver) were used which would reveal the presence of poison if a crackling sound was heard along with an iridescent colour. In addition, Mithradates used glossopetra or ‘tongue stones’ in his drinks. Believed to magically deflect poisons, glossopetra were, in fact, fossilized giant sharks teeth which, like the poison cups, would react with any hidden poisons.
Mithradates’ sleeping quarters were always guarded by a horse, a bull and a stag which would whinny, bellow or bleat whenever anyone approached the royal bed and while such measures may seem a little extreme they weren’t without foundation. It’s known that a group of Mithradates’ friends formed a plot to assassinate him but one of the conspirators, perhaps in fear of the king’s unorthodox methods of retribution, got cold feet. It was arranged that Mithradates would listen in on one of their meetings by hiding under a couch and the plot was known.
Retribution for this heinous plan, just like Aquilius’ faceful of molten gold, would serve as a potent antidote for anyone else thinking of doing the same. Naturally, the plotters were tortured and executed but Mithradates didn’t stop here, he then killed all the plotters’ family members and went on to kill each of their friends. Employing such brutal measures against his enemies and hunting down a universal antidote to poison were two of Mithradates’ most potent drives to ensure his position was kept secure.
Over the years a vast library was built, many notes taken and eventually a formulation was identified which would become the most popular and longest lived prescription in history. It was called Mithradatium and it led to Mithradates being hailed as the father of experimental toxicology.
After Mithradates’ death the formulation was reputedly found in his cabinet on a note written in his own hand. It was carried to Rome by Pompey and translated into Latin by his freedman, Lenaeus. According to Marcus Aurelius’ physician, Galen, Julius Caesar was prescribed Mithridatium and over time the emperors of Rome would all take a version of it. Roman poet, Juvenal, once wrote; ‘“If you want to survive to gather rosebuds for another day,” “find a doctor to prescribe some of the drug that Mithridates invented. Before every meal take a dose of the stuff that saves kings.”.
The formulation was said to contain many ingredients of which some of the more familiar are cardamom, anise, dried rose leaves,parsley, frankincense, myrrh, rhubarb root, saffron, ginger, and cinnamon. Nero’s physician, Andromachus, was one of the many doctors who claimed to have improved the recipe for which he replaced minced lizards with venomous snakes and added opium poppy seeds.
It’s Andromachus’ version of Mithradatium which archaeologists believe may have been found in a vat discovered near Pompeii in 2000. After the Romans made their mark on Mithradates’ universal antidote it went viral in Europe to the point where apothecaries were required by law to mix it outdoors in public squares.
For more than two millennia after the death of Mithridates, kings, queens, and nobles from Charlemagne and Alfred the Great to Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I would take some form of Mithridatium on a daily basis. It’s even been claimed that a form of Mithridatium was advertised by a pharmacy in Rome as recently as 1984.
British numismatic historian, Justin Robinson, takes us on a fascinating journey spanning 2000 years as he examines how the powerful symbol of Britannia changed and evolved over the centuries.
History does not record the name of the engraver who first depicted Britannia on coins. She appeared for the first time during the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD), and is presented as a rather forlorn figure, with one hand resting on her chin as if she is contemplating her fate under Roman occupation. In some coins she appears to be wearing a rainproof, hooded woollen cloak known as a birrus Brittanicus, which was popular amongst native Britons to protect them from the inclement weather. Britannia sits with her foot on a pile of rocks, holding a spear and with a large spiked shield at her side.
Britannia, depicted during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian.
Hadrian is, of course, best remembered for building the impressive 73 mile stone wall across the north of England, which ran from coast to coast and marked the northwest frontier of his Empire. Perhaps this is what Britannia is guarding on the coin, ready to repel any invaders who try to breach the defences.
Hadrian’s Wall
Hadrian’s decision to depict Britain as a female warrior may have been inspired by events that took place in Britain fifty-six years before his reign began. In 60-61 AD, Rome was left reeling from a series of devastating attacks that killed many thousands of their citizens living in this remote outpost of the Empire. The uprising was led by Queen Boudica of the Iceni tribe, who achieved what the Romans had thought impossible and united previously warring Celtic tribes against their common enemy.
Under her command, the Celts fought with a ferocity that took the occupiers completely by surprise and had burned down the thriving cities of Colchester, London and Saint Albans before the Romans could assemble a sufficient number of soldiers to crush their revolt.
The Boudican Revolt (60-61AD)
During the final battle, it was reported that Queen Boudica drove her war chariot between the tribes shouting encouragement and spurring them on. When all hope of victory was lost, legend has it that she took poison rather than be captured. Her inspirational leadership, daring to challenge the might of the Emperor and refusal to take prisoners or become one herself earned her the respect of Rome, who considered her a worthy adversary, made all the more remarkable because she was also a woman.
Looking again at Hadrian’s coin, it is not a great stretch of the imagination to see Britannia seated next to the large wheel of a sythed war chariot, which Queen Boudica is believed to have driven.
Queen Boudica in her war chariot with her daughters
A similar design appeared on coins issued by Hadrian’s successor, Antoninus Pius (138-161 AD) who, unlike Hadrian, never visited Britain. His army successfully pressed further north and built the 39 mile long Antonine Wal. It spans what is today known as the Central Belt of Scotland between the Firth of Clyde to the Firth of Forth. Constructed primarily in turf and timber, the Antonine Wall took about twelve years to complete and was abandoned after only eight years.
Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall
On some coins, Britannia is depicted holding a Roman military standard alongside her spear. This arguably reflects the Emperor’s pride in securing this remote region of his empire for the glory of Rome.
Britannia holding a shield and Roman military standard on a coin issued under Antonius Pius
Britannia continued to appear intermittently on Roman coins throughout the Roman occupation of Britain. During the reign of Commodus (177-192AD), she was depicted standing with a sword in one hand and a helmet in the other. However, after the Romans withdrew from Britain at the beginning of the fifth century, it would be more than a millennium before she would appear on a coin again.
One of the reasons I love old coins is that they are a witness to the past. To hold one in your hands is to make a physical connection to the hands that once held it before yours. Coins have been present at the most pivotal events in human history and have been carried in the pockets and purses of kings and beggars ever since they made their appearance about 2,600 years ago.
A coin doesn’t have to be struck in silver or gold to be valuable. Indeed, two of the lowest value coins in circulation two thousand years ago provided the inspiration for one of Jesus’ most famous teachings in the New Testament.
The grand temple in Jerusalem was a hive of activity. Crowds of pilgrims passed through the temple gates and paused to throw their offerings into the large ceremonial collection bowls that stood ready to receive them. The high temple walls would have echoed with the noise of coins as they landed in the bowls. Many wealthy people were throwing in large sums of money, much to the delight of the religious leaders.
Amidst the noise and the people, one donation went virtually unnoticed. A poor widow briefly emerged from the crowd to drop in two small copper coins. Compared to the many wealthy donations, her offering was an insignificant amount. Her coins were so light that they would have barely made a sound as they landed in the bowl.
The widow’s offering. Image courtesy of Good News Productions International and College Press Publishing.
But her gift had been observed by a young man sitting quietly opposite the collection bowls. He had been watching the people as they made their donations, large and small, to the temple treasury. Quickly, Jesus called over his followers and shared an astonishing insight with them.
“Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.”
Mark 12:43-44 (New International Version)
Jesus used these two little coins to explain one of his most radical teachings. God measures the true value of a gift, not by its financial worth but on how much it costs the giver to give it.
This teaching put him at odds with the powerful religious leaders in Jerusalem who enjoyed fine clothes and banquets while demanding offerings that pushed God’s people into poverty. They hated Jesus for calling them out for their hypocrisy and speaking with the authority of God, and so they conspired to have him put to death.
Of course, we have no way of knowing precisely which coins the poor widow dropped into the collection plate that day. They were most likely tiny copper lepta, or similarly sized prutah. In Jesus’ day, these would have been the lowest value coins in the region. Often poorly struck and badly worn, they would circulate for many decades until they no longer resembled coins.
Two small coins. Image courtesy of Good News Productions International and College Press Publishing.
When the Bible was translated into English, the Greek word lepta (meaning thin and small) became mite, which was the name of the smallest coin circulating in Europe at the time. The word was used by the Bible translators so that readers could understand that it was a coin with the lowest possible numerical value.
The coins could have been struck a century or more before Jesus saw them in the temple. The Maccabee ruler Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BC) struck huge quantities of prutah and lepta, and archaeological evidence suggests that they continued to circulate well into the second century. These coins depict an anchor on the obverse and an eight-pointed star on the reverse.
The Prutah
The lepton and prutah were in circulation for so long that surviving examples are almost always extremely worn. But that is part of their charm. Just imagine the number of people who carried this coin with them, the places they went, the things they saw. Who knows, maybe one of its previous owners was a poor widow who dropped it into the collection box in the temple.
It has been said that all of the armies that have ever marched, all the Parliaments that have ever sat and all the monarchs that have ever reigned, put together, have not impacted the world as powerfully as the man who taught us the true value of a gift.
