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Æ19 - Gordian III ΕΚΤΩΡ ΙΛΙΕΩΝ
| Issuer | Mint of Ilium (Troas) |
|---|---|
| Year | 238-244 |
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| Composition | Bronze |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | The Trojan hero Hector depicted standing to the left, helmeted and nude, in a heroic martial pose. He holds a long spear in his right hand and a sword in his left, referencing the city's proud Homeric heritage as the legendary site of ancient Troy. The reverse legend identifies both the hero and the civic issuer, and encircles the central figure across the field. The coin reflects Ilium's deliberate propagandistic use of its Trojan mythological identity under Roman imperial patronage. |
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| Additional information |
Ilium — the city built on or near the ruins of Troy — was acutely conscious of its mythological identity and exploited it aggressively on its civic coinage. The appearance of Hector, Troy's great defender, on an issue of Gordian III's reign reflects a long local tradition of invoking Homeric figures to assert prestige, particularly useful when petitioning emperors for civic privileges. Gordian himself visited the Troad region, and ancient sources record he paid respects at the tomb of Ajax — a detail that made Iliensian flattery toward Rome both politically calculated and geographically pointed.