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Æ33 - Marcus Aurelius ΕΠΙ ϹΤΡΑ ΠΛΟΚΑΜΟΥ ΕΛΑΙΤΩΝ
| Issuer | Elaea (Conventus of Pergamum) |
|---|---|
| Year | 166-175 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | Hades, standing and facing left, driving a galloping quadriga at speed, depicted in vigorous struggle with Persephone whom he abducts; the scene illustrates the mythological Rape of Persephone. Beneath the hooves of the four horses appears a kalathos containing a poppy and ears of corn, symbols closely associated with Persephone and the Eleusinian mysteries. The reverse legend ΕΠΙ ϹΤΡΑ ΠΛΟΚΑΜΟΥ ΕΛΑΙΤΩΝ records the name of the local magistrate Plokamos and the ethnic designation of the city of Elaea. |
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| Additional information |
Elaea was a minor Aeolian port city that had long since lost genuine political relevance by the Antonine period, but retained enough civic pride — and enough wealth from its olive trade — to fund local bronze issues that advertised the city's relationship with Rome. The magistrate name ΠΛΟΚΑΜΟΥ appearing in the inscription anchors this coin to a specific, if otherwise obscure, local strategos, one of dozens of provincial officials whose names survive only because a city chose to put them on bronze.
The conventus of Pergamum grouped Elaea administratively with far larger neighbors, and civic coinage from smaller members of that conventus often ran in limited quantities for local religious festivals or market use rather than sustained circulation.