#hekte

[archaicwonder]

Extremely Rare Hekte with Helios & Horses, C. 410 BC

An electrum hekte from Kyzikos, Mysia with a naked Helios kneeling while holding two horses by their bridles; a tunny fish, the civic badge of Kyzikos, is below them while the reverse side is a quadripartite incuse square. Extremely fine and extremely rare, almost certainly the finest known.  

The engravers of the Kyzicene coinage drew their ideas from numerous sources, both local and foreign.  Here, the inter-connected mythological relationships of Helios to Apollo; and Apollo as father to the city-founder Kyzikos point to an indigenous origin. The symmetrically balanced composition of the sun-god Helios flanked by the horses’ foreparts must have been sculptural in inspiration and it has been suggested that since the composition on the obverse is perfectly square that it was copied from a metope of a temple. Although full staters bearing this composition exist in some numbers, the hektes are exceedingly rare.

[archaicwonder]

Very Rare Coin from Phokaia with Silenos

This electrum hekte, struck in 521-479 BC, at the ancient city of Phokaia in Ionia features the front facing head of Silenos (Silenus) with wide eyes, beard and mustache. The reverse is a quadripartite incuse square. A very rare coin, only 10 examples are known, five of which are in museums.

In Greek mythology, Silenus was the old rustic god of wine making and drunkenness. He was Dionysus' foster father and tutor. Dionysus was nursed by the Nysiad nymphs and raised by Silenus in a cave on Mount Nysa. He was usually depicted as a bearded, balding old man with a pot belly and stubby nose, with the ears and tail of a donkey.

[archaicwonder]

Extremely Rare Greek Coin with the Image of an African

This electrum hekte, struck circa 560-545 BC, is from the ancient city of Phokaia in Ionia. It shows the head of an African man facing left with the civic badge of Phokaia, a seal, behind the head.  The reverse side is a simple quadripartite incuse square punch.  This is a near extremely fine, extremely rare coin.

Though Aethiopians - the Greek name for all Africans characterized by dark skin and short hair - feature regularly in Greek art, their depiction on coins is by contrast very infrequent. We know that the Greeks were well acquainted with black Africans, since they appear often in Greek literature as mythical or semi-mythical characters and warriors; it appears that they were known in the Greek world as early as the Minoan period, where they were employed by Minoan commanders as auxiliary troops. Indeed, if we may believe Quintus of Smyrna, the Greeks encountered black Africans in the army of Memnon at Troy. Black African contingents also formed a part of Xerxes' army and according to some scholars fought at Marathon (see Frazer, J. G., 1913: Pausanias' Description of Greece, II. Macmillan, London, p 434; and Graindor, P., 1908: Les Vases au Nègre. Musée Belge, p 29).

Of the surviving art objects representing black Africans, many appear to be the work of artists who modeled from life. These depictions invariably display an astonishing degree of individuality, vitality, and energy, presenting scenes and designs that appealed to the craftsmen; one might surmise that the exotic appearance of such individuals presented the artist with a challenge to represent the distinctive features of blacks, whose aesthetic qualities are readily conveyed in pieces such as the present hekte.

The closest parallels we find in the numismatic record for this portrait can be seen in the silver staters of an uncertain (possibly Carian) mint that have appeared in 2008 (Gemini IV, 195) and 2009 (NAC 52, 177) that bear an incuse head of an African man, and a small issue of silver fractions on Lesbos that also show a male head, this time in relief (example). Both however are highly stylized, and may not necessarily represent the features of a particular individual.

[archaicwonder]

Extremely rare electrum hekte possibly depicting Jason, struck in Kyzikos, Mysia, c. 500-450 BC

This coin shows a nude hero, wearing a crested Corinthian helmet, kneeling to left on a tunny fish, holding a trumpet to his mouth with his right hand while holding a sheathed sword behind him with the left. The reverse is a quadripartite incuse square.

It is extremely rare. This coin, from a short series of warrior/hero types, was thought by W. Greenwell (The Electrum Coinage of Cyzicus, NC 1887), to represent either Jason or one of his Argonaut companions; given their appearance in the mythical history of Kyzikos it is not an unfair proposition.

The story of Jason tells us that the Argo landed in the land of the Doliones who were ruled by their king, Kyzikos. The king welcomed the heroes, laying out a feast and sacrificing with them to Apollo. Though they set sail again with a fair wind, in the night it changed, blowing them back to land. Mooring on the opposite side of the city from which they had left, the Argonauts were mistaken by Kyzikos and his people for their enemies the Makries, and were attacked. In the fray, the king and a number of his chiefs were slain, and only upon daybreak was the terrible error discovered. The Argonauts mourned with the Doliones, and built a tumulus for Kyzikos on the Leimonian plain.

Kyzikos (Cyzicus) was a city in the region of Mysia in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia (modern Balıkesir Province, Turkey). The city was said to have been founded by Pelasgians from Thessaly, according to tradition at the coming of the Argonauts; later it received many colonies from Miletus, allegedly in 756 BC, but its importance began only after the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), when the decay of Athens and Miletus set in.