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Lesbos Æ
| Issuer | Mytilene |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC - 10 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Bearded head of Zeus Ammon facing right, distinguished by the characteristic ram's horn of Ammon curving before the ear, with hair arranged and bound by a taenia. The modelling reflects Hellenistic artistic conventions, combining the iconography of the Greek Zeus with the Egyptian Ammon cult. The flan is irregular and the surface heavily patinated, with areas of earthen deposit obscuring fine detail. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A facing herm of Dionysos, depicted in the typical ithyphallic pillar form set upon a rectangular base, rendered in low relief at the centre of the field. The ethnic legend MYTI (Μ-Υ to the left, Τ-Ι to the right) flanks the herm, identifying the issuing city of Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. A ΩΠΑ monogram appears in the left field, likely representing a magistrate's name or civic control mark. The coin shows characteristic dark green patina with areas of corrosion consistent with long burial. |
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| Additional information |
Mytilene's bronze coinage of this period was municipal money in the most literal sense — the city-state retained the right to issue small bronze while Lesbos operated under shifting Hellenistic and eventually Roman oversight. By the late second century BC, Mytilene had aligned with Rome against Mithridates VI of Pontus, a loyalty that cost the city dearly when it briefly reversed course; Pompey formally restored Mytilene's freedom in 62 BC, an act that reinvigorated local civic pride and likely sustained the continuation of municipal bronze issues into the Augustan period.