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| Issuer | Clazomenae (Conventus of Smyrna) |
|---|---|
| Year | 117-138 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 31 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | The Phrygian goddess Cybele, turreted and veiled, stands facing with head turned to left, flanked symmetrically by two lions seated on either side with their forepaws raised in a heraldic pose. The composition emphasizes the civic and religious identity of Clazomenae, where Cybele held particular veneration. The magistrate's name and civic ethnic appear in the surrounding field legend, identifying the issuing authority. The reverse type is a standard provincial civic issue linking the city's identity to its tutelary deity. |
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| Additional information |
Clazomenae, the Ionian city on a peninsula jutting into the Gulf of Smyrna, was birthplace of Anaxagoras — a fact its civic coinage occasionally exploited for prestige. Under Hadrian, provincial bronzes like this one were authorized at the local level, with the strategos named in the legend bearing administrative responsibility for the issue. Klaudios Themistokles, named here, represents the Romanized civic elite that managed such commissions.
The conventus of Smyrna administered a sprawling collection of Ionian and Lydian communities, each competing for imperial favor during Hadrian's extensive eastern travels of 123–124 AD.