Archaios | Thrace Mesambria Athena Promachos | AE

Description: Archaios Numismatics Description: Greek Bronze coin from Mesambria Thrace, circa 175-100 BC. Obverse: Diademed Female Head Right Reverse: Draped and Helmeted figure of Athena Promachos advancing Left, holding shield with Right arm, raised Left arm preparing to throw a thunderbolt. Mint: Mesambria , Thrace Size: 19 mm Weight: 5.46 g Ref: SNG Cop 660 Inv:1902.13.25; 364.12 Condition: VF, Interesting coin from Mesambria. As always, Please use the Pictures as your judge as grading is subjective. Notes: Athena was a significant ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, handicraft, and warfare, who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. In Greek mythology, Athena was believed to have been born from the head of her father Zeus. Athena was regarded as the favorite daughter of Zeus, born fully armed from his forehead. She was a warrior goddess, and was believed to lead soldiers into battle as Athena Promachos. Zeus trusted her to wield the aegis and his thunderbolt. Athena was also regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities across Greece, particularly the city of Athens, from which she most likely received her name. In the founding myth of Athens, Athena bested Poseidon in a competition over patronage of the city by creating the first olive tree. She is usually shown in wearing a helmet and holding a spear. Her major symbols include owls, olive trees, snakes, and the Gorgoneion. Mesembria (or Mesambria) was an important Greek city in ancient Thrace. It was situated on the coast of the Euxine (Black Sea) and at the foot of Mount Haemus; upon the confines of Moesia, in which it is placed by Ptolemy. There are some competing historic explanations for the founding of the town: Strabo relates that it was a colony of Dorians from Megara, and that it was originally called Menebria (Μενεβρὶα) after its founder Menas; Stephanus of Byzantium says that its original name was Melsembria, from its founder Melsas; and both writers state that the termination -bria was the Thracian word for town. Separately, according to the Anonymous Periplus of the Euxine Sea, Mesembria was founded by Chalcedonians at the time of the expedition of Darius against Scythia; but according to Herodotus it was founded a little later, after the suppression of the Ionic Revolt, by fugitives from Byzantium and Chalcedon. These statements may, however, be reconciled by supposing that the Thracian town was originally colonized by Megarians, and afterwards received additional colonists from Byzantium and Chalcedon. Mesembria was one of the cities, forming the Greek Pentapolis on the Euxine, the other four being Odessus, Tomi, Istriani and Apolloniatae. Mesembria is rarely mentioned in history, but it continued to exist till a late period, being recorded by Pomponius Mela, Pliny the Elder, and Ptolemy, and appearing in the Peutinger Table. The Dorian colonisation is dated to the beginning of the 6th century BCE, and evidence shows that it was an important trading centre from then on and a rival of Apollonia. It remained the only Dorian colony along the Black Sea coast, as the rest were typical Ionian colonies. At 425/4 BCE the town joined the Delian League, under the leadership of Athens. Coinage Bronze and silver coins were minted in the city since the 5th century BCE and gold coins since the 3rd century BCE. The town fell under Roman rule in 71 BCE, yet continued to enjoy privileges such as the right to mint its own coinage. Archaeology Bulgarian archaeologist Lyuba Ognenova-Marinova led six underwater archaeological expeditions for the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) between 1961 and 1972 in the waters along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Her work led to the identification of five chronological periods of urbanization on the peninsula surrounding current town of Nesebar through the end of the second millennium BCE, which included the Thracian protopolis, the Greek colony Mesambria, a Roman-ruled village to the Early Christian Era, the Medieval settlement and a Renaissance era town, known as Mesemvria or Nessebar. Remains date mostly from the Hellenistic period and include the acropolis, a temple of Apollo and an agora. A wall which formed part of the Thracian fortifications can still be seen on the north side of the peninsula. Some Excerpts From Head, Hist. Num., and Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia We Thank You for stopping in and taking time to look at and bid on our listings. Good Luck Bidding or Buying ! We encourage you to click the "See other items" link above in the "Seller Information" area of the listing as well to check out our other items posted. We have a variety of great classical and other ancient numismatic items available. We will be regularly continuing to post for sale and auction a wide variety of Ancient Roman, Greek, and Eastern coins as well as Medieval, Byzantine, and some Modern coins as well. We do combine shipping if buying or winning multiple items. Just contact us before you pay and let us know and we will gladly send an updated invoice with the combined shipping amount. You can also follow us to be notified when new listings are posted. With over 20 years in the numismatics hobby we continue to revel in the excitement that comes from holding each new small piece of history in our hands. We enjoy the enduring sense of history both of the prior uses and users as well as the creativity and necessity that surround the time and place at which these coins were minted and used in circulation. Our aim is to cater not just to the high end collector but also to the hobbyist and the newly initiated and those on a limited budget. Everyone starts the hobby somewhere and where we can share our knowledge to help inform or jumpstart your collecting pleasure we will aim to do so. We want you to love every purchase you make with us and we always stand by the quality and authenticity of all the coins we are selling.

Price: 58 USD

Location: Seattle, Washington

End Time: 2024-11-11T21:57:06.000Z

Shipping Cost: 3 USD