Kelenderis Stater with an Old Pedigree

[Curtisimo]

CILICIA, Kelenderis
AR Stater, Kelendris mint, struck ca. 425-400 BC
(20 mm, 10.69 g)
Obv.: Ephebus, unbearded, naked, holding whip, dismounting horse galloping left; anepigraphic 
Rev.: Goat kneeling right, head turned left; above, KEΛEN
Ref.: SNG Levante 21; SNG von Aulock 5628
Ex collection of German historian Fritz Taeger (1894-1960†), Rhenumis Auktion 11, lot 10050 (November 9, 2023)

Where was Kelenderis?
Kelenderis was located in Cilicia in ancient Anatolia. From the Bronze Age onward, this area was one of the most strategically important areas of the eastern Mediterranean because it controlled the trade routes on both land and sea between the Aegean to the west and the levant and Cyprus to the east. Alexander the Great was famously shocked to find the pass into Cilicia under-defended during his invasion of Persia because of how defensible the region was by land. It was for this reason that most of the great empires of the ancient western world fought to control this area.

Cilicia was divided, even in ancient times, into two distinct zones. The eastern portion consisted of a fertile plain watered by multiple rivers called Cilicia Pedias (Plain Cilicia). In the west, the Taurus Mountains extended almost all the way to the Mediterranean Sea leaving only a narrow strip of coastal plain. This area was called Cilicia Trachea (Rough Cilicia). It was on this narrow coastal plain that the small city of Kelenderis would flourish.

Fig. 1: Topographic Map showing the location of Kelenderis in Rough Cilicia.

Ships in the ancient Mediterranean tended to prefer hugging the coastline and only sailing during the daytime when possible. Only small ships could be beached during the night and therefore there was a real need for deep water ports spaced at regular intervals along major trade routes. Kelenderis commanded a good harbor that was within a day’s sail from Nagidos or Side to the west, Soloi to the east or Cyprus to the south. This situation, combined with the mineral and timber resources of the Taurus foothills and the defensible peninsula that protected the harbor, provided Kelenderis all it needed to be a thriving maritime city.

Fig. 2: View from the mountains looking down on the site of ancient Kelenderis. The hill near the port would have been the core of the Greek settlement.

History of Kelenderis
At the time of the fall of the Hittite empire ca. 1200 BC, Cilicia was inhabited by Luwian speakers (which was the dominant language of the late Hittite Empire). During the Bronze Age collapse, there may have been an influx of Mycenaean Greeks into Cilicia but the language of the region continued to be Luwian. In the 800s BC, the Assyrian empire subjugated the local kingdoms and incorporated Cilicia into their empire. However, they were never able to exert strong or consistent control over Rough Cilicia due to the challenging terrain. This pattern would repeat itself next with the Babylonians and then with the Persians. Aramaic speakers began to migrate to Cilicia in large numbers following the Assyrian invasions. These people mostly settled in Plain Cilicia leading to Aramaic replacing Luwian as the primary language in the plain but not in the mountainous western region. This divide can clearly be seen in the coins, where coins from the cities of the plain (such as Tarsus) showed themes from near eastern art and had mostly Aramaic inscriptions while the coastal cities in the west (like Kelenderis) showed largely Greek themes and were written in Greek.

Fig. 3: Note that this coin was struck at Tarsus in the Cilician plain around 50 years after my Kelenderis example and contains Aramaic writing and near eastern themes.

Psuedo Apollodorus says that Kelenderis was founded by a descendant of Hermes named Sandokos [3]. Sandokos is a theophoric name that is probably derived from the Luwian god Sandos. This has been taken as evidence that Kelenderis was originally a Luwian city. The name Kelenderis itself is also of Luwian origin. Historians since the 19th century have speculated that the city was originally a Phoenician settlement. The first century AD geographer Pomponius Mela claims that Kelenderis was a colony of Samos [3]. 

In fact, all of these suggestions may be partially accurate. Excavations at the site have shown that the earliest habitation layers on the peninsula near the port contain pottery of eastern Greek style that may date as late as the early 7th century BC [2]. This would be consistent with the arrival of a Samian colony. It’s also clear that the primary Luwian settlement of the region was about 12 miles north of Kelenderis at an incredible mountain top site known as Kirshu.

Fig. 4: The Luwian site of Kirshu.

It is temping to suspect that Greek colonists from Samos arrived ca. 700-650 BC and settled the archeological site of Kelenderis. These Greeks may have cooperated with and integrated with the people of other settlements around the bay that may have included Luwians and Phoenicians. They would have been in a prime position to trade inland with Luwian cities such as Kirshu while also taking advantage of their position on the trade routes between east and west. This would make the foundation of Kelenderis a mix between a Greek colony and an emporion. 

The Coins of Kelenderis
Kelenderis was one of the most prolific issuers of coins during the late 5th and 4th centuries BC. The coins were struck on the Persian weight standard but the artistic themes are definitely Greek as explained below.

Obverse: the Olympic Kalpe?
The obverse of this coin shows a rider with a whip dismounting from a galloping horse. This is most likely a depiction of an equestrian event known as the kalpe. The kalpe was part of the Olympic Games from 496 BC to 444 BC. Pausanias describes the event as follows:

“The kalpe was for mares and in the last lap the riders jumped off their horses and ran with the horses at the reins, like them who are today still called the anabatai” [1]

This coin design appears not long after this event was discontinued from the Olympics and it is hard not to speculate whether the coin refers to a specific Olympic victory by an athlete from Kelenderis in one of the final competitions. A few other smaller cities in the region struck the same design, which may have been an indication of the trade links between those cities and Kelenderis.

Reverse: the Goat
Because Kelenderis was situated on a narrow plain between mountains and sea, it did not posses prime farmland for agriculture. Instead, the region would have been well suited for pastoralism, particularly the herding of goats and sheep. This makes the choice of a goat for the coin design easily understandable. To better illustrate this, it is interesting to compare the coins of Kelenderis to the coin types of nearby cities with better farmland such as Soloi (bunch of grapes) or Side (pomegranate).

There may also be a connection with the well known custom from the Greek mainland that was still prevalent at this time of choosing coin types that correspond to animals found in the immediate environs of the city: the owl of Athens, the dove of Sikyon, the wolf of Argos or the turtle of Aegina.

From an Old Collection 
I bought this coin last year but I’ve only just now gotten around to compiling my notes on it. This coin came from the collection of the German historian Fritz Taeger, who passed away in 1960. His daughter sold the entire collection last year and I was happy to pick up several pieces.

Many of the coins in the Taeger Collection have even older provenances so I hope I will come across this coin again during future research.

References 
[1] http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/sourceEN/D130EN.html

[2] http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaID=6931

[3] https://topostext.org/place/361333UKel

[4] https://research-bulletin.chs.harvard.edu/2017/08/02/rough-cilicia/

[5] https://ww1.bibleodyssey.com/articles/sea-travel-and-shipwrecks-in-the-ancient-world/#:~:text=During optimal seasons (May–September,rarer%2C riskier%2C and extraordinary.

Please post your:

• Coins from Kelenderis 
• Coins from Cilicia
• Coins with a Goat
• Coins related to the Olympics
• Anything you’d like 🙂 

Edited September 5 by Curtisimo

[CPK]

Excellent article @Curtisimo, as we've come to expect from you...and a great coin, too! 👍

[kirispupis]

Great write up and interesting to read.

Here's my example from Kelenderis.

Cilicia, Kelenderis
Circa 350 BCE
AR Obol .79g, 8mm
Horse prancing right
Goat kneeling right, head left KE above
SNG France 116

[Deinomenid]

Fascinating write-up @Curtisimo. Those topographical maps really help with context. There was a vast hoard discovered  in ~1956-57 in the area,  containing amongst many others,  up to 2000 staters of Kelenderis. Much of it was dispersed  into Germany, and a lot also to there  via M&M, so given the dates and nationality of your collector, it might well be from that if he was still collecting several years before his death.

Here's one of mine, which despite the glowing reports by auction houses on the artistry of the period, has a grotesquely large horse head.

Kelenderis, stater, c. 420 BC, horseman holding hip and seated sideways on horse galloping left, rev., ΚΕΛΕΝ (retrograde), goat kneeling right with head turned back, 10.72g

 

[Sulla80]

A great writeup and coin @Curtisimo! here's my coin of Kelenderis....with thanks to Paul @ akropoliscoins.com

[ominus1]

.on man very nice @Curtisimo! 🙂

[MrMonkeySwag96]

My only coins with goats are those depicting the queen of the gods wearing the pelt of a dead goat:

Edited September 5 by MrMonkeySwag96

[Curtisimo]

Thank you for the kind words @CPKand @ominus1!

Great Kelenderis coins @kirispupis and @Sulla80. Really nice toning. 🙂 

Really cool Juno goats @MrMonkeySwag96. I will need to pick up this portrait type at some point.

1 hour ago, Deinomenid said:

Fascinating write-up @Curtisimo. Those topographical maps really help with context. There was a vast hoard discovered  in ~1956-57 in the area,  containing amongst many others,  up to 2000 staters of Kelenderis. Much of it was dispersed  into Germany, and a lot also to there  via M&M, so given the dates and nationality of your collector, it might well be from that if he was still collecting several years before his death.

Here's one of mine, which despite the glowing reports by auction houses on the artistry of the period, has a grotesquely large horse head.

Kelenderis, stater, c. 420 BC, horseman holding hip and seated sideways on horse galloping left, rev., ΚΕΛΕΝ (retrograde), goat kneeling right with head turned back, 10.72g

 

Beautiful coin @Deinomenid. Thank you for the advice on provenance searching. I have checked all of the M&M FPLs with no luck. Of the M&M auctions I have XVII, XIX and XXI. I have not been able to check XVIII and XX but I think those may be pretty light on ancient coins.

[Ryro]

Sweet stater, Curtis! And enlightening write up on ancient Kelenderis.

I've no coins from Kelenderis, so I'll share a few favorites from around Cilicia:

CILICIA. Uncertain mint, probably Tarsos. Circa 370-334 BC. Obol (Silver, 11.58 mm, 0.57 g, 9 h). Obv. Bearded head of Zeus to left, wearing laurel wreath . Rev. Head of youthful Herakles to left, wearing lion skin headdress. SNG Levante 198. SNG von Aulock 5429 (this coin). Off centered. Very rare. Purchased from "Young Collectors 2" Astarte March 2024

Greece, Asia Minor, Cilicia, Tarsos, Obol, (12MM, 0.57 gr)

Obverse: bust of facing Herakles 

Reverse: eagle standing left, on the head of a deer with large antlers

Obverse has two cuts and is off-centered. Toned. Good VF. Purchased from "Young Collectors 2" Astarte March 2024

CILICIA. Uncertain. Circa 400-350 BC. Obol (Silver, 10 mm, 0.58 g, 1 h). Female head facing, turned slightly to left, wearing earrings, necklace and flowing hair. Rev. Facing head of Bes. Göktürk 44. SNG Levante 233. SNG France 486. Fine metal and attractive on both sides. Very fine

CILICIA, Tarsos. Circa 370 BC. AR Obol. Female kneeling left, casting astragaloi / Youthful male head right.

Condition: Very Fine

Weight: 0,4 gr

Diameter: 10 mm

Purchased from NBS Aug

[Al Kowsky]

On 9/4/2024 at 7:13 PM, Curtisimo said:

CILICIA, Kelenderis
AR Stater, Kelendris mint, struck ca. 425-400 BC
(20 mm, 10.69 g)
Obv.: Ephebus, unbearded, naked, holding whip, dismounting horse galloping left; anepigraphic 
Rev.: Goat kneeling right, head turned left; above, KEΛEN
Ref.: SNG Levante 21; SNG von Aulock 5628
Ex collection of German historian Fritz Taeger (1894-1960†), Rhenumis Auktion 11, lot 10050 (November 9, 2023)

Where was Kelenderis?
Kelenderis was located in Cilicia in ancient Anatolia. From the Bronze Age onward, this area was one of the most strategically important areas of the eastern Mediterranean because it controlled the trade routes on both land and sea between the Aegean to the west and the levant and Cyprus to the east. Alexander the Great was famously shocked to find the pass into Cilicia under-defended during his invasion of Persia because of how defensible the region was by land. It was for this reason that most of the great empires of the ancient western world fought to control this area.

Cilicia was divided, even in ancient times, into two distinct zones. The eastern portion consisted of a fertile plain watered by multiple rivers called Cilicia Pedias (Plain Cilicia). In the west, the Taurus Mountains extended almost all the way to the Mediterranean Sea leaving only a narrow strip of coastal plain. This area was called Cilicia Trachea (Rough Cilicia). It was on this narrow coastal plain that the small city of Kelenderis would flourish.

Fig. 1: Topographic Map showing the location of Kelenderis in Rough Cilicia.

Ships in the ancient Mediterranean tended to prefer hugging the coastline and only sailing during the daytime when possible. Only small ships could be beached during the night and therefore there was a real need for deep water ports spaced at regular intervals along major trade routes. Kelenderis commanded a good harbor that was within a day’s sail from Nagidos or Side to the west, Soloi to the east or Cyprus to the south. This situation, combined with the mineral and timber resources of the Taurus foothills and the defensible peninsula that protected the harbor, provided Kelenderis all it needed to be a thriving maritime city.

Fig. 2: View from the mountains looking down on the site of ancient Kelenderis. The hill near the port would have been the core of the Greek settlement.

History of Kelenderis
At the time of the fall of the Hittite empire ca. 1200 BC, Cilicia was inhabited by Luwian speakers (which was the dominant language of the late Hittite Empire). During the Bronze Age collapse, there may have been an influx of Mycenaean Greeks into Cilicia but the language of the region continued to be Luwian. In the 800s BC, the Assyrian empire subjugated the local kingdoms and incorporated Cilicia into their empire. However, they were never able to exert strong or consistent control over Rough Cilicia due to the challenging terrain. This pattern would repeat itself next with the Babylonians and then with the Persians. Aramaic speakers began to migrate to Cilicia in large numbers following the Assyrian invasions. These people mostly settled in Plain Cilicia leading to Aramaic replacing Luwian as the primary language in the plain but not in the mountainous western region. This divide can clearly be seen in the coins, where coins from the cities of the plain (such as Tarsus) showed themes from near eastern art and had mostly Aramaic inscriptions while the coastal cities in the west (like Kelenderis) showed largely Greek themes and were written in Greek.

Fig. 3: Note that this coin was struck at Tarsus in the Cilician plain around 50 years after my Kelenderis example and contains Aramaic writing and near eastern themes.

Psuedo Apollodorus says that Kelenderis was founded by a descendant of Hermes named Sandokos [3]. Sandokos is a theophoric name that is probably derived from the Luwian god Sandos. This has been taken as evidence that Kelenderis was originally a Luwian city. The name Kelenderis itself is also of Luwian origin. Historians since the 19th century have speculated that the city was originally a Phoenician settlement. The first century AD geographer Pomponius Mela claims that Kelenderis was a colony of Samos [3]. 

In fact, all of these suggestions may be partially accurate. Excavations at the site have shown that the earliest habitation layers on the peninsula near the port contain pottery of eastern Greek style that may date as late as the early 7th century BC [2]. This would be consistent with the arrival of a Samian colony. It’s also clear that the primary Luwian settlement of the region was about 12 miles north of Kelenderis at an incredible mountain top site known as Kirshu.

Fig. 4: The Luwian site of Kirshu.

It is temping to suspect that Greek colonists from Samos arrived ca. 700-650 BC and settled the archeological site of Kelenderis. These Greeks may have cooperated with and integrated with the people of other settlements around the bay that may have included Luwians and Phoenicians. They would have been in a prime position to trade inland with Luwian cities such as Kirshu while also taking advantage of their position on the trade routes between east and west. This would make the foundation of Kelenderis a mix between a Greek colony and an emporion. 

The Coins of Kelenderis
Kelenderis was one of the most prolific issuers of coins during the late 5th and 4th centuries BC. The coins were struck on the Persian weight standard but the artistic themes are definitely Greek as explained below.

Obverse: the Olympic Kalpe?
The obverse of this coin shows a rider with a whip dismounting from a galloping horse. This is most likely a depiction of an equestrian event known as the kalpe. The kalpe was part of the Olympic Games from 496 BC to 444 BC. Pausanias describes the event as follows:

“The kalpe was for mares and in the last lap the riders jumped off their horses and ran with the horses at the reins, like them who are today still called the anabatai” [1]

This coin design appears not long after this event was discontinued from the Olympics and it is hard not to speculate whether the coin refers to a specific Olympic victory by an athlete from Kelenderis in one of the final competitions. A few other smaller cities in the region struck the same design, which may have been an indication of the trade links between those cities and Kelenderis.

Reverse: the Goat
Because Kelenderis was situated on a narrow plain between mountains and sea, it did not posses prime farmland for agriculture. Instead, the region would have been well suited for pastoralism, particularly the herding of goats and sheep. This makes the choice of a goat for the coin design easily understandable. To better illustrate this, it is interesting to compare the coins of Kelenderis to the coin types of nearby cities with better farmland such as Soloi (bunch of grapes) or Side (pomegranate).

There may also be a connection with the well known custom from the Greek mainland that was still prevalent at this time of choosing coin types that correspond to animals found in the immediate environs of the city: the owl of Athens, the dove of Sikyon, the wolf of Argos or the turtle of Aegina.

From an Old Collection 
I bought this coin last year but I’ve only just now gotten around to compiling my notes on it. This coin came from the collection of the German historian Fritz Taeger, who passed away in 1960. His daughter sold the entire collection last year and I was happy to pick up several pieces.

Many of the coins in the Taeger Collection have even older provenances so I hope I will come across this coin again during future research.

References 
[1] http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/sourceEN/D130EN.html

[2] http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaID=6931

[3] https://topostext.org/place/361333UKel

[4] https://research-bulletin.chs.harvard.edu/2017/08/02/rough-cilicia/

[5] https://ww1.bibleodyssey.com/articles/sea-travel-and-shipwrecks-in-the-ancient-world/#:~:text=During optimal seasons (May–September,rarer%2C riskier%2C and extraordinary.

Please post your:

• Coins from Kelenderis 
• Coins from Cilicia
• Coins with a Goat
• Coins related to the Olympics
• Anything you’d like 🙂 

Curtis, Nice score & great writeup 🤩!

[Anaximander]

Did someone say Κελένδερις?  Oh... Not used to lower case? OK, fine, KEΛENΔEPITΩN! 

   

SNG Levante 25; SNG France 2 #73 var. (monogram).

[Curtisimo]

On 9/5/2024 at 6:13 PM, Ryro said:

Sweet stater, Curtis! And enlightening write up on ancient Kelenderis.

I've no coins from Kelenderis, so I'll share a few favorites from around Cilicia:

CILICIA. Uncertain mint, probably Tarsos. Circa 370-334 BC. Obol (Silver, 11.58 mm, 0.57 g, 9 h). Obv. Bearded head of Zeus to left, wearing laurel wreath . Rev. Head of youthful Herakles to left, wearing lion skin headdress. SNG Levante 198. SNG von Aulock 5429 (this coin). Off centered. Very rare. Purchased from "Young Collectors 2" Astarte March 2024

Greece, Asia Minor, Cilicia, Tarsos, Obol, (12MM, 0.57 gr)

Obverse: bust of facing Herakles 

Reverse: eagle standing left, on the head of a deer with large antlers

Obverse has two cuts and is off-centered. Toned. Good VF. Purchased from "Young Collectors 2" Astarte March 2024

CILICIA. Uncertain. Circa 400-350 BC. Obol (Silver, 10 mm, 0.58 g, 1 h). Female head facing, turned slightly to left, wearing earrings, necklace and flowing hair. Rev. Facing head of Bes. Göktürk 44. SNG Levante 233. SNG France 486. Fine metal and attractive on both sides. Very fine

CILICIA, Tarsos. Circa 370 BC. AR Obol. Female kneeling left, casting astragaloi / Youthful male head right.

Condition: Very Fine

Weight: 0,4 gr

Diameter: 10 mm

Purchased from NBS Aug

Fantastic obols Ryan. It’s amazing how much detail the engravers were able to fit on such a small flan.

On 9/5/2024 at 6:49 PM, Al Kowsky said:

Curtis, Nice score & great writeup 🤩!

Thank you Al!

On 9/6/2024 at 1:10 PM, Anaximander said:

Did someone say Κελένδερις?  Oh... Not used to lower case? OK, fine, KEΛENΔEPITΩN! 

   

SNG Levante 25; SNG France 2 #73 var. (monogram).

Great coin @Anaximander. It’s not easy to find an example with so much of the rider on the flan. Nice!

I have to admit I am guilty of having more trouble with lowercase Greek than uppercase. 😞 In fact, one of my pet peeves is when scholarly articles quote Ancient Greek inscriptions in lowercase Greek when those letterforms didn’t exist yet!