CHF Editor Ancient Greece & Rome, Coin History

The Silver Griffin from the Land of Wine & Song: Ionia Teos Silver Diobol

Western Philosophy: It Happened Here First 

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.

CHF Editor Ancient Greece & Rome, Coin History

The Greek God Pan: Cimmerian Bosphorus Bronze

by Jonathan Mann

Cimmerian Bosphorus Bronze Coin

A city-state founded on the edge of the known world

In the 7th century B.C., Miletus, a Greek colony on the western coast of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) sent a daring group of voyagers to search for new lands. They would venture all the way across the ‘inhospitable sea’ (the ancient Greek term for the Black Sea) to its northern shores where lush, fertile pastures were awaiting them. Settling on the eastern coast of what is now Crimea, Miletus’ colonists founded the ancient city-state of Panticapaeum (‘fish road’) on a strategic peninsula which dominated the Cimmerian Bosporus. This narrow strait was the nautical superhighway between Lake Myatis and the Black Sea meaning that, as a trading port, Panticapaeum would soon become an economic powerhouse. First, however, the Milesian settlers would have to contend with the locals. Powerful barbarian tribes known to the Greeks as the Tauri and the Scythians didn’t take kindly to their new neighbours and needed to be dealt with if Panticapaeum was to flourish.

Both the Tauri and Scythian cultures practised human sacrifice and possibly cannibalism so it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. Just like the Vikings, Scythian raiders would regularly demand tribute, i.e. large sums of money, in return for leaving peacefully. Panticapaeum, in this harsh environment, managed to find a compromise with its new neighbours. Over time it could be seen that mutual cooperation was actually much more beneficial and out of this cooperation came riches and success. At the turn of the 6th century B.C. Panticapaeum joined with other Greek settlements around the Cimmerian Bosporus to form a Kingdom. Power in numbers was the order of the day and the dividends were massive. Trade abounded and exports of Bosporan grain, salted fish and slaves were dispatched right across the Black Sea and into Greece, reaching powerful city-states such as Mytilene and Athens. By 480 B.C. Panticapaeum had become a capital of the Kingdom of Bosporus and was veritably called the jewel of the Black Sea. As a Greco-Scythian hybrid domain the Kingdom is now recognised as the first truly ‘Hellenistic’ state in that its fusion of cultures adopted Greek as its language and civilisation. This fusion did, however, inevitably lead to the birth of a Bosporan Greek identity which today is well recognised as being unique within the ancient world. 

The unsung hero of Athens’ golden age

What also drew Panticapaeum and the Bosporan Kingdom into the limelight was the extent to which the most powerful city-state of the age was reliant upon them; Athens. Despite all its success and prosperity, Athens had one major achilles heel; it was unable to feed itself. The Bosporan Kingdom became a much-valued ally in providing an abundance of grain upon request. It was imperative to Athens that this flow of sustenance was maintained and so militarised colonies were set up in the cities of Amisos and Sinope on the southern shore of the Black Sea thus maintaining ready access to the Cimmerian Bosporus. Further Athenian ‘fortress’ colonies were founded in the Cimmerian Bosporus itself such as Athenaeum, Nymphaeum and Stratokleia, which secured even further their position as Panticapaeum’s number one client.

In 438 B.C. a signal shift took place at Panticapaeum which sent shockwaves across the kingdom. The rule of the powerful Archaenactidae tyrants who had reigned for over 40 years came to a sudden and mysterious end. In their place came the Spartocids, a dynasty of far greater power and ambition who would go on to rule for 320 years. Its founder was Spartacus, the head of a powerful aristocratic family of Panticapaeum whose rise to power would see the kingdom’s prosperity reach heady new heights. Under the Spartocids, the kingdom would expand, taking in new city-states, trading ports and commercial centres, acquiring their territories and vastly increasing its capacity to provide sustenance to the Black Sea and far beyond.

This was to be the Bosporan kingdom’s golden age and it came with a bang. Athens’ first move with the new ruling elite was to ensure their continued position as controller of export trade via their military colonies in the Bosporus. Spartacus was happy to oblige his best customer of Bosporan grain imports and he and his successors were duly buttered up by the Athenian top brass. It was ensured that Athenian writers made numerous references to the ‘special’ relationship between the two powerful city-states and citizenship rights were granted to Spartacus’ grandson, Leukon I, who had granted special privileges to Athenian ships at Bosporan ports. All good things must come to an end, however, by the time Athens had lost a crippling war with the Spartans in 404 B.C all but ending its trade affair with the Bosporan kingdom, Spartacos’ successors were already making their mark as kingdom builders. It is against this background of enterprise, expansion and economic dominance that the Bosporan Kingdom’s coinage comes into its own. 

Going for gold

The bronze coins minted at Panticapaeum during the 4th century B.C. are little artistic wonders in their own right and they perfectly convey the fusion of cultures which made the kingdom so unique. On the obverse is depicted the forepart of a beautiful mythical beast which has its origins in the distant past of Scythian and near eastern culture; the griffin. This majestic animal had the body, tail and hind legs of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. The griffin, or ‘grypas’ in ancient Greek, very deliberately combined the king of the skies and of the land in one creature to convey its special status among the beasts of mythology. To the inhabitants of the Bosporan Kingdom the griffin was never far out of mind as they were believed to inhabit the mountains of Scythia. Here they reputedly battled with a tribe of one-eyed people known as the Arimaspians. An ongoing battle of wills took place each day for the rich gold deposits which were present in the Scythian mountains. Griffins were said to be able to dig this out with their strong beaks before depositing it in their nests. This mined gold was supplemented by the solid gold eggs laid by the griffins, a highly prized possession amongst the gold-loving Arimaspians. Fiercely protective of every nugget, large or small, a griffin would tear to pieces any Arimaspian who dared try to steal their prized precious metal.

One Roman writer called Aelian wrote about the underhand  tactics used to steal this gold; ‘Dreading the strength of these animals, do not set out in quest of the gold by day, but arrive by night, for at that season they are less likely to be detected. Now the region where the Grypes live and where the gold is mined is a dreary wilderness. And the seekers after the aforesaid substance arrive, a thousand or two strong, armed and bringing spades and sacks; and watching for a moonless night they begin to dig. Now if they contrive to elude the Grypes they reap a double advantage, for they not only escape with their lives but they also take home their freight, and when those who have acquired a special skill in the smelting of gold have refined it, they possess immense wealth to requite them for the dangers described above. And they return home, I am told, after an interval of three or four years.”.

As the capital of a Kingdom laden with Scythian influence, Panticapaeum chose the griffin to grace its bronze coins, likely as a means of expressing its cultural identity. This was the edge of the known world and the influence of Scythian and near-eastern culture was clearly something the rulers of the Cimmerian Bosporus wanted to shout about. Upon the coins the griffin sits above a sturgeon, a variety of fish which is abundant in the waters of the kingdom. Around the griffin are the letters P A N denoting that the coin was struck at Panticapaeum. 

Pan, pan pipes, panic and Panticapaeum’s world panning record

The reverse of Panticapaeum’s bronze coins show in profile a truly ancient deity, his eyes seemingly filled with madness. This is Pan, the Greek god of shepherds and flocks, fields, groves, mountain wilderness and wooded glens, hunting, rustic music and a fair bit more. One of the more obscure gods, Pan had the hindquarters, legs and horns of a goat and spent most of his time wandering through the wilderness playing the Syrinx or pan pipes. Now a well-known instrument, the pan pipes have various origin stories attached to them in mythology.

One of these stories related to a nymph named Syrinx whom Pan had fallen in love with. Fleeing from him, Syrinx returned to her sisters who turned her into a reed. Not knowing which reed this was, he picked several and joined them together. Realising that blowing upon them produced a beautiful melody which encapsulated those around him, Pan had created the Pan pipes. He could be seen gleefully playing them as he skipped through the forest but he was not always so full of the joys of spring, despite being a god traditionally associated with that very season. The word panic originated through his name as his menacing voice frightened anyone who was unfortunate enough to stumble upon him. Pan’s nature was wild, his spirit rooted in nature, in ancient mystery and the forest.

Nature can be unpredictable and so was Pan who enjoyed tricking, confusing and tormenting those who were unlucky enough to attract his attention. He is written as once having challenged Apollo to a musical contest. This brazen challenge was duly accepted by Apollo who was certain to win and win he did, however, this was challenged by one of the judges, a certain King Midas (of golden touch fame). Apollo was so disgusted by this insult that he transformed Midas’ ears into those of an ass. Pan, too, can be seen sporting the same ass’s ears in his portrait on the bronze coins of Panticapaeum, the city to which he is a patron god. Despite these ass’s ears, menacing appearance and slightly unkempt hair, in the case of Panticapaeum’s coinage, Pan has become a world beater. In 2012 a gold stater of Panticapaeum with the same designs as the bronze coins (except Pan is seen from a slightly different angle), sold for a cool $3,250,000. This result still stands to this day as being a record for the most expensive ancient Greek coin ever sold and goes to show that Panticapaeum’s coins pack an artistic, cultural and aesthetic punch above all others. 

Jonathan Mann is a numismatist specializing in medieval British coinage and is a member of the British Numismatic Society. His experience comprises over a decade in the British coin trade, as well as a position at the UK’s leading coin auctioneer, Spink & Sons as their hammered coin specialist. Jon has also represented Mayfair auctioneer, Dix Noonan Webb as their rep in the north of England. One of his biggest claims to numismatic fame is being responsible for handling and cataloguing a gold sovereign of Henry VII which set a world record as the highest price ever achieved at auction for a Tudor coin; £372,000. Jon is also proud to have represented the finder of the 2014 Lenborough hoard of Anglo-Saxon coins, helping him and the landowner to achieve an award of £1.35m from the British Museum Treasure Valuation Committee.