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Æ42 - Valerian and Gallienus ΕΠΙ ϹΤΡ ΒΑΛ ΑΡΙϹΤΟΜΑΧΟΥ ΟΜΟΝΟΙΑ ΜΥΤΙΛΗΝΑΙΩΝ ΠΕΡΓΑΜΗΝ ΕΦΕϹΙ
| Issuer | Mytilene (Conventus of Pergamum) |
|---|---|
| Year | 253-268 |
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| Reference(s) | X#85380 |
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| Reverse description | Homonoia composition featuring the enthroned Tyche of Mytilene seated facing at centre, holding a patera in her right hand and a herm statuette of Dionysus in her left. To the left of the throne stands Asclepius, depicted frontally and leaning upon his serpent-entwined staff; to the right stands the archaic cult idol of Artemis of Ephesus in characteristic polymastos form. The multi-figure arrangement is a classic homonoia type celebrating the concordia of the three cities — Mytilene, Pergamum, and Ephesus — within the Conventus of Pergamum. The encircling legend naming the strategos Valerius Aristomachos runs around the periphery of the field. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The ΟΜΟΝΟΙΑ ("homonoia") coinage of Mytilene records a formal friendship alliance between that city and both Pergamum and Ephesus simultaneously — an unusual triple acknowledgment struck under the strategia of Bal. Aristomachos. These alliance bronzes were civic prestige pieces, not trade currency, issued to mark concordat relationships between cities that competed fiercely for imperial favor during the joint reign of Valerian and Gallienus.
The sheer diameter of this issue places it among the largest provincial bronzes of the mid-third century, a deliberate statement of civic ambition from a city determined to assert its standing within the Pergamene conventus.