Zeus and Artemis Anaïtis on an Æ 21 of Apameia

[Roman Collector]

I purchased this little bronze of Apameia in Phrygia some years ago, but I thought I would revisit it here at NVMIS FORVMS. Coin collecting isn't just about acquiring new coins for the collection, it's also about appreciating old favorites.

Phrygia, Apameia, ca. 88-40 BCE.
Greek Æ 21.1 mm, 8.54 g, 12 h.
Magistrate Attalos, son of Bianoros.
Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right.
Rev: AΠAM / ATTA / BIAN, Cult statue of Artemis Anaïtis facing.
Refs: BMC 25.80, 61; SNG Cop 172; SNG München 122; HGC 7, 672.
Notes: Ex Roma E-Sale 27, lot 1088, 28 May, 2016.

Coins of the first and second centuries BCE of Apameia in Phrygia come in four main types:

1. Bust of Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet, r. /Eagle over Maeander pattern between the caps of the Dioscuri. I have previously written elsewhere about one of these.
2. Head of Zeus wearing wreath, r./Cult statue of Artemis-Anaïtis.
3. Turreted bust of Artemis as city-goddess, r./Marsyas advancing right, playing double flute.
4. Laureate head of Zeus/Crested helmet, r., over Maeander pattern.

These coins also bear the name of the city and the magistrate under which the coins were issued. A magistrate may appear on coins of different types, suggesting the coins were issued during the same time frame but represent different denominations.

Artemis Anaïtis was the result of syncretism between the Greek Goddess Artemis (Roman Diana) and Persian goddess Anahita. Tacitus (Annals 62) refers to the syncretic deity simply as the "Persian Diana," who had a temple in Lydia "dedicated in the reign in of Cyrus (presumably Cyrus the Great). On coins, she resembles the Ephesian Artemis, but has a tall kalathos on her head, supporting a veil which falls all the way to the ground on both sides of her body.

The Greek and Roman historians transliterate Anahita as Anaïtis. The Wikipedia article about her states the goddess combined two independent elements. The first is a manifestation of the Indo-Iranian idea of the Heavenly River who provides the waters to the rivers and streams flowing in the earth while the second is that of a goddess with an uncertain origin, though maintaining her own unique characteristics, who became associated with the cult of the ancient Mesopotamian goddess Inanna-Ishtar, and therefore part of Zoroastrianism.

From "Asia citerior," Auctore Henrico Kiepert Berolinensi. Geographische Verlagshandlung Dietrich Reimer (Ernst Vohsen) Berlin, Wilhemlstr. 29. (1903). David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.

Although this coin is from Apameia in Phrygia, east of Lydia, she seems to have been primarily a Lydian goddess. We know from numismatic evidence, Tacitus, and Pausanias that the Lydian cities of Hypaepa, Philadelphia, and Hierocaesarea were centers of the cult of Artemis Anaïtis in Asia Minor. According to Barclay Head (BMC Lydia, pp. lix ff.): "From the few notices of Hypaepa in ancient writers and from the inscriptions ..., we learn that the inhabitants were known as 'Persian Lydians', and that the veiled goddess whose effigy appears on the coins represents the Persian Anaïtis, whose worship is described by Pausanias (v. 27, 5) as consisting of a ritual chanted from a book by priests wearing the tiara, in a language unintelligible to the Greeks. The celebration included the miraculous kindling of fire upon the altar of the goddess."

Post anything you feel is relevant!

[shanxi]

Nice coin. I have two examples from different magistrates:

Apameia
Asia Minor, Phrygia
AE20, 133-48 BC
Obv.: laureate head of Zeus right
Rev.: AΠAMEΩ / AΡTEMIΔ BABA, cult statue of Artemis Anaitis facing
AE, 8.59g, 20.2mm
Ref.: BMC Phrygia p. 77, 48

 

Apameia
Asia Minor, Phrygia
AE19, 133-48 BC
Obv.: laureate head of Zeus right
Rev.: AΠAMEΩN HPAKΛEI EΓΛO, cult-statue of Artemis Anaitis seen from front.
AE, 8.14g, 19mm
Ref.: SNG München 123; SNG Tübingen 3967

 

 

[kirispupis]

Great writeup. Here's my example, one of the very first ancient coins I purchased.

Apameia, Phrygia
magistrate Heraklei Eglogistes
c. 133 - 48 BCE
AE 7.860g, 20.0mm
obverse laureate head of Zeus right;
reverse cultus-statue of Artemis Anaitis facing, wearing polos and veil, AΠAME downward on right, HPAKΛEI / EΓΛO (magistrate) in two downward lines on the left
SNG Cop 183; SNGvA 3470; SNG Munchen 123; BMC Phrygia p. 80, 67; Weber 7028; HGC 7 672
ex David Wray Collection

[Ryro]

That is a damn nice portrait of the big man!

Here's a coin from a few hundred years later celebrating the goddess of witchcraft:

PHRYGIA. Apamea. Pseudo-autonomous. Time of the Severans (193-235). Ae. Obv : ΠAMЄIA. Turreted and draped bust of Tyche to right. Rev : CΩTЄIPA. Hekate triformis, holding torch in each hand. BMC 110-113. Condition : Nice green patina.Good very fine. Weight : 2.2 gr Diameter : 15 mm 

[Alegandron]

My only Apameia…

RI

Augustus 27BC-AD14

Æ20 5.5g 12h

Apameia Phrygia

Magistrate Attalos c 15BC

Two corn-ears above maeander pattern

RPC I, 3125, S

[ominus1]

2 hours ago, Roman Collector said:

it's also about appreciating old favorites.

......hear here!...:)..i have many i haven't visited in years and this coming year will be 'reflection tyme' for me mostly...:)

[JAZ Numismatics]

Nice write up, thank you! I like the coinage of Apameia very much. I recently sold one of the bronzes with Marsyas reverse, a scarcer small denomination...

 

And I currently have an issue of Augustus, which combines the goddess with the meander pattern...