A Parliament of Owls

[Phil Anthos]

Such a large topic, with owls occurring everywhere around the Middle Ocean. Of course the most popular and familiar are the beautiful birds from Athens, the Athene Noctua or 'little owl' which was sacred to Athena...

Some other owls of the region include the similarly sized Tawny owl and the Eurasian Eagle-Owl with its six foot wingspan!

But leaving Athens aside for now let's check on some nests from others places. I'll start this off with Taras (go figure), but I'd love to see your other owls, even the eastern imitations. 

Here is a very common didrachm...

And a pair of drachms, the left-facing owl being extremely rare...

A couple of diobols...

And two fractions...

Yes the Tarentines loved their little owls and the goddess they represent. But so did many other city-states, so show them here.

[robinjojo]

Nice examples, Phil!  

My only bronze Athenian coin is from the later 2nd to early 1st century BC.

Attica, Athens, AE 14, 130-90 BC.

HGC 4, 1734; Kroll 1993, no. 100.

4.19 grams

Cicada/owl on thunderbolt, AOE to left.

Edited November 19, 2024 by robinjojo

[AncientOne]

Nice set of owls from Tarus!

 

Here one from Laodicea in Syria.

 

 

Athamanes tribe in Epirus. Athena holding owl but it looks more like a duck.

[Qcumbor]

A tiny owl 🙂 

Mn. Cordius Rufus, Denarius - Rome mint, 46 BCE
RVFVS, Corinthian helmet right surmonted by an owl standing right
Retrograde MN (ligate) C O R D I V S medusa on aegis
3.75 gr - 19 mm - 3 h
Ref : HCRI # 64, RCV # 441, RRC # 463/2

Q

[DANTE]

A bicameral parliament (well, sort of):

 

 

Edited November 19, 2024 by DANTE

[expat]

One from Pergamon

PERGAMON (Mysia) AE16.
Obverse: Head of Athena right, wearing helmet decorated with 8 pointed star.
Reverse: AΘHNAΣ / NIKHΦOPOY. Owl standing facing on palm frond right, with wings spread. Monograms ΓΑ and ΑΡ either sides of owl in fields.
Wildwinds online “plate” coin
SNG Leipzig 1102-1103. Pergamon mint, ca. 200-133 BC.  2,9 g - 16 mm.

And a wonderful countermark on a provincial of Galba

[kirispupis]

I have so many owls that they've formed their own political parties. I'll skip over the numerous imitations to coins that happen to include owls. Here are a few of the others.

Troas, Sigeion Circa
Issued by Chares
350 BCE AE12 2.06g
Helmeted head of Athena right
Owl standing right, head facing
BMC 19-20

 

Kings of Thrace. Agathokles, son of Lysimachos
circa 290s-283/2 BCE Adramyteion
AE Bronze, 13 mm, 1.90 g, 11 h
Laureate head of Apollo to right. Rev. AΓA-ΘO Double-bodied owl standing facing.
HGC 3 -. Terin Series 7, 8
 

Phoenicia. Tyre. ‘Uzzimilk
RY 10 = 340/39 BCE
Shekel Silver, 20 mm, 8.21 g, 12 h
Deity, holding reins in his right hand and bow in his left, riding hippocamp to right above two lines of waves; below, dolphin right.
Rev. Owl standing right, head facing; crook and flail in background; to right, date and ' (in Phoenician).
DCA 918. E&E-T 1146-8. HGC 10, 349
Ex collection of Dr. A. Drakul.
 

 

Phrygia. Dorylaion
300-100 BCE
AE 10.52mm 1.22g
Obverse: Helmeted head of Athena right
Reverse: ΔΟΡΙ, owl standing right, head facing, spearhead in right field
Winterthur 4088

 

Akarnania, Argos Amphilochikon
Circa 300-200 BCE
Æ 2.04g, 16mm, 12h
Helmeted head of Athena to right
Owl standing to left, head facing; ΑΡΓΕΙΩ to right, spearhead to left
BCD Akarnania 160-1; HGC 4, 798.
Ex J. Greiff Collection

 

Aiolis. Neonteichos
circa 300-100 BCE
Æ 13 mm, 1,30 g
Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with griffin
Owl standing right, head facing; NE monogram below
SNG Copenhagen 244; SNG von Aulock 1670

 

Islands off Thrace. Lemnos. Hephaistia
circa 300 BCE
Æ 12 mm, 2,44 g
Obv: Helmeted head of Athena left.
Rev: ΗΦΑΙ. Owl standing facing.
SNG Copenhagen 974; HGC 6, 289.

 

IONIA. Pedasa
Circa 4th century BCE
AE 10 mm, 1.58 g, 12 h
Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Attic helmet.
Rev. ΠΗΔΑ-ΣΕΩΝ Owl with closed wings standing right, head facing.
H. von Aulock: Eine neue kleinasiatische Münzstätte: Pedasa (Pidasa) bei Milet, in: JNG 25 (1975), pp. 123-8
Ex collection of G. Plankenhorn

 

Arkadia, Tegea
4th-3rd Century BCE
AE 15.91mm 3.73g
Obverse: Helmeted head of Athena right
Reverse: TEΓE, owl standing left, head facing, palm branch before
BCD Peloponnesos 1727
Ex BCD Collection Purchased April 1979

 

Islands off Thrace, Lemnos, Myrina
Circa 386-261 BCE
Æ 2.41g, 11mm, 12h
Head of Athena to right, wearing Corinthian helmet
MYPI, owl standing facing, [bow to right?]
SNG Copenhagen 989; CN Type 19860; HGC 6, 299

[Phil Anthos]

The owl on your Tyre shekel looks very different.  With the tufted ears I wonder if it could be a eagle-owl, which were not unknown in the east. They look much like our great horned owls here in the PNW.

Here's the Eurasian Eagle-Owl...

Edited November 20, 2024 by Phil Anthos

[kirispupis]

25 minutes ago, Phil Anthos said:

The iwl on your Tyre shekel looks very different.  With the tufted ears I wonder if it could be a eagle-owl, which were not unknown in the east. They look much like our great horned owls here in the PNW.

Here's the Eurasian Eagle-Owl...

It could be, though the long legs are indicative of something closer to a burrowing owl.

I also live in the PNW (Bellevue - near Seattle). Here's a great horny owl I photographed.

And here's a burrowing owl.

Here's a Verreaux Eagle owl I photographed in Tanzania. They have the ears and longer legs I think than a great horned.

[JayAg47]

Here's my parliament of owls, both old and new, and small and big! 

 

[Phil Anthos]

From Cilicia we get this guy...

Soloi, Cilicia

3rd-2nd Century BC AE20 (7.12g) O: Head of Athena right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet. R: Owl standing right, head facing; Θ left, ΣOΛEΩN to right. SNG BN 1207; SNG Levante 863-864; Sear 5622v; BMC 21 151,42 ex Jack H. Beymer An important coastal city, Soloi may have originally been a Rhodian colony. Soloi thrived throughout the Hellenistic period, but was finally destroyed by Tigranes of Armenia during the 1st century BC.

[CPK]

Those little owls are everywhere!

DOMITIAN, AD 81-96
AR Denarius (19.29mm, 3.53g, 6h)
Struck AD 88-89. Rome mint
Obverse: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VIII, laureate head of Domitian right
Reverse: IMP XVII COS XIIII CENS PPP, Minerva standing right on top of rostral column, holding spear and shield; owl to lower right
References: RIC II 657 (R)
A rare type, well-struck on good metal with light toning. A distinctive and unusually artistic portrait of Domitian.

 

@kirispupis did you forget that little gem of a quadrans? 😉 

[DonnaML]

@Phil Anthos, this one looks like the same type as one of yours:

Tarentum, Calabria. AR Nomos, ca. 272-240 BCE. Magistrates Sy… and Lykinos. Obv. Nude youth on horse advancing to left, crowning horse with wreath held in right hand, holding reins in left hand; to right, ΣΥ; below horse, ΛΥΚΙ/ΝΟΣ in two lines / Rev.  Taras or Phalanthos [see https://coinsweekly.com/and-this-is-where-aristotle-was-wrong/] astride dolphin to left, his back half-turned to viewer, brandishing trident held in right hand, chlamys draped over left arm; ΤΑ-ΡΑΣ beneath dolphin; in right field, owl standing to left, head facing.. Vlasto 836-841 [all same type] at p. 95 & Pl. XXVII [Ravel, O.E., Descriptive Catalogue of the Collection of Tarentine Coins formed by M.P. Vlasto (London, 1947, reprinted 1977)]; HN Italy 1025 [Rutter, N.K., ed., Historia Numorum Italy (London, 2001)]. 19.5 mm., 6.47 g, 12 h. (“Reduced standard” compared to larger size of earlier coins, beginning after arrival of Pyrrhus in Italy ca. 280 BCE.) Purchased at Nomos Obolos Auction 22, 6 March 2022, Lot 39.

One more small owl:

Trajan AR Drachm, AD 98/99, Koinon of Lycia. Obv. Laureate head of Trajan right, ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙϹ ΝΕΡ ΤΡΑΙΑΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ ΓƐΡΜ / Rev. Two lyres with owl perched on top of them, standing to right, ΔΗΜ ΕΞ ΥΠΑΤ • Β [COS II]. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. III 2676 (2015); RPC III Online 2676 at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/3/2676; SNG von Aulock 4268 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Deutschland, Sammlung Hans Von Aulock, Vol. 2: Caria, Lydia, Phrygia, Lycia, Pamphylia (Berlin, 1962)]; BMC 19 Lycia 9-11 at p. 39 (ill. Pl. IX No. 11) [Hill, G.F., A Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum, Lycia, Pamphylia, and Pisidia (London, 1897)]. Purchased Jan. 6, 2022 at Roma Numismatics E-Sale 93, Lot 717. 18 mm., 2.87 g., 6 h. 

Edited November 20, 2024 by DonnaML

[Phil Anthos]

Yep, same type. Yours is a nicer example though.

~ Peter 

[shanxi]

Three small owls, which are not the main motif.

 

LYDIA. Philadelphia.
Hermippos, son of Hermogenes, archieros.
2nd-1st century BC.
Obv.: Diademed and draped bust of Artemis to right, with bow and quiver over her shoulder.
Rev. ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΕΩΝ - ΑΡΧΙΕΡΩΣ - EPMIΠΠΩΣ / EPMOΓΕΝΟΥΣ, Apollo seated left, holding patera in his right hand and leaning left on lyre; above, owl seated right on back of the throne.
AE, 21mm, 8.88g, 12 h
Ref.: BMC 10. SNG Copenhagen 337-338.

 

Mysia, Pergamon
AE 17
Obv.: laureate head of bearded Asklepios
Rev.: AΣKΛHΠIOY ΣΩTHPOΣ, Asklepian snake coiled around omphalos, owl standing on the snake's back
AE, 8.66g, 17.3mm
Ref.: BMC Mysia p. 129, 160; SNGvA 1371; SNG BnF 1813; SNG Cop -

 

Domitianus
AR-Denar AD 93-94
Obv.: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM PM TRPXIII, laureate bust right
Rev.: : IMP XXII COS XVI CENS PPP, Minerva standing r. on prow, holding spear and shield; at her feet owl.
Ag, 3.18g, 17.2x18.8mm
Ref.: RIC² 762, RIC176, C 284, Kankelfitz 12

[mcwyler]

Seleucis and Pieria. Laodicea ad Mare. 1st century BC. Ae (bronze, 2.56 g, 13 mm). Helmeted head of Athena right. Rev. ΛAOΔIKEΩN THΣ IEPAΣ KAI / AYTONOMOY Owl standing right. HGC 9, 1414.

Troas. Sigeion.(355-334 BC).Ae. 1.85g, 11mm.

Kamarina, c. 420-405 BC. Æ Onkia (13mm, 1.26g, 11h). Facing gorgoneion, with protruding tongue. R/ Owl standing r., grasping lizard. CNS III, 10; HGC 2, 552.

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

I remember seeing what I think was a republican denarius with a helmeted bird (owl?) ready for fight on the reverse. Am I tripping or does it actually exist?

[mcwyler]

14 minutes ago, AncientCoinnoisseur said:

I remember seeing what I think was a republican denarius with a helmeted bird (owl?) ready for fight on the reverse. Am I tripping or does it actually exist?

Well there's this one but that's an owl on a helmet...

https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/london_ancient_coins/89/product/rome_republic_mn_cordius_rufus_ar_denarius_46_bc_r_aegis_of_minerva_with_head_of_medusa_in_centre/2081525/Default.aspx

[NewStyleKing]

I've looked but I haven't one in my collection!

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

1 hour ago, mcwyler said:

Well there's this one but that's an owl on a helmet...

https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/london_ancient_coins/89/product/rome_republic_mn_cordius_rufus_ar_denarius_46_bc_r_aegis_of_minerva_with_head_of_medusa_in_centre/2081525/Default.aspx

No, I’m sure it was a different one, although I’m not 100% sure it is a bird, and I’m not sure it was a republican denarius, just that it was made of silver! I remember this ‘fighting bird’, perhaps holding a spear and wearing a helmet, it was wild!

[Phil Anthos]

Some more MG owls...

Herakleia, Lucania

281-278 BC AR Drachm (16.5mm, 3.82g) O: Head of Athena, three-quarters facing right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with Scylla throwing stone; Φ behind. R: Owl with wings closed, standing right on olive branch; club to right, |-HPAKΛEIΩN above, ΣΩΣI to left. Van Keuren 114; HGC I, 999; HN Italy 1411 Scarce ex NAC

Hyria, Campania

400-335 BC AR Didrachm (21mm, 7.33g) O: Head of Athena right, wearing wreathed Attic helmet decorated with an owl. R: Man-headed bull walking right; YDIN[A] above. Rutter 69 (O32/R??); SNG ANS 255; HGC I, 435; HN Italy 539; Sear 294v (bull left) ex Den of Antiquity

Velia, Lucania

465-440 BC (Period II: Pre-Athena Group) AR Drachm (15mm, 3.52g) O: Head of nymph with frontal eye right, wearing beaded necklace. R: Owl with closed wing perched right on olive branch, head facing; YEΛH behind. Williams 78; HGC I, 1328; Hands Class VI; HN Italy 1265; Sear 251 ex Munzen & Medaillen GmbH

[jdmKY]

@AncientCoinnoisseur Here you go!

[mcwyler]

59 minutes ago, AncientCoinnoisseur said:

No, I’m sure it was a different one, although I’m not 100% sure it is a bird, and I’m not sure it was a republican denarius, just that it was made of silver! I remember this ‘fighting bird’, perhaps holding a spear and wearing a helmet, it was wild!

Isn't the internet wonderful? How about...

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

26 minutes ago, jdmKY said:

@AncientCoinnoisseur Here you go!

YES!!! THAT’S THE ONE! I knew I wasn’t crazy 😄

[maridvnvm]

L Papius Denarius Serratus

Obv:– Head of Juno Sospita right, wearing goat skin tied under chin. Behind head, owl
Rev:– Gryphon running right; in ex., L. PAPI.; in field, crow with open wings or eagle
Minted in Rome from . B.C. 79.
Reference(s) – RSC Papia 1. RRC 384/1. RCTV 311.
Symbol variety – RRC 76. Babelon 76. BMCRR 12