Tuesday, September 13, 2016

The gorgons of Mallos part 3


Antiochos IV, Uncertain mint (Mallos?), 175-164 BC
(Münzen & Medaillen Auction 30, May 2009 “Roland Müller collection”, lot 706) 1.56g 11mm

Web sites and reference books for Greek coins group the coins by city. For example, Wildwind.com's Mallos entry contains the coins struck under the authority of Mallos.

The typical arrangement skips over coins struck under the authority of a king and used in the city. For Mallos Wildwinds shows nothing for the centuries between a stater of Balakros (struck some time between 333 and 328 BC) and coins of Caligula (struck AD 37-41). Coins issued from 328 BC to 100 BC at Mallos will be hiding in catalogs of Seleukid coins.

The coin at the top of the post depicts a side view of Medusa. The reverse shows Nike standing left holding wreath. Arthur Houghton and Catherine Lorber and Arnold Spaer place the type under the mint at Mallos. [SNG Spaer (1998), p. 150 #1006]. They connect Medusa to the aegis of Athena Magarsia, not to the earlier tradition of gorgoneions at Mallos.

The Gorgons of Mallos

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