A very special Athens bronze

[kirispupis]

Recently, I acquired this very rare bronze from Athens. It doesn't look like much, but has an amazing story.

Attica, Athens
39-37 BCE
Ae 6.10g, 17mm
Head of Dionysos, wreathed in ivy, right.
Athena advancing right, holding a spear “AΘE”
Kroll 140

 

Kroll started his section on the coin with this. 

The six AE 1 issues of the next, or unwreathed, phase of the post-Mithradatic coinage have a historical interest that few other Athenian bronze series can rival.

The scene was 39 BCE. Marc Antony, with his new bride Octavia (the elder sister of Octavian), he arrived to great acclaim in Athens and was proclaimed the "New Dionysos".  He was then betrothed to Athena, which appears to have been no problem to his actual wife, and Antony approved the match so long as he received a commensurate dowry of 1000 talents.

Both marriages eventually led to divorce. Marc Antony divorced Octavia in 33 BCE and ejected her from his house, while Athena divorced him earlier, when he hooked up with Kleopatra.

Raubitschek writes that Octavia was also deified herself as Athena (likely why she approved of the match) and was later portrayed on silver coinage of Marc Antony that I don't own.

Kroll continues his discussion of the coins with:

Together with the associated fractional varieties 141 (Young Dionysos head/Kantharos) and 142 (Bearded Dionysos/Bust of Athena), these are the first and, until the time of Hadrian, the only Athenian coins with types depicting Dionysos. In view of the extravagant lengths to which the Athenians went in honoring Antony as Dionysos, including a ritual marriage between Antony-Dionysos and Athena and the celebration of a new festival, the Panathenaic Antoneia of 'Antony the New Dionysos', the initial Dionysos issues can be attributed to 39/8 or 38/7 B.C. with a high degree of probability.

So impoverished was Athens from paying the exorbitant 'dowry' to Antony, that these coins contained increasing amounts of lead. My type, the rarest of those found at the agora (29 examples with the next rarest having 45), contains on average 18.82% lead from Kroll's measurements. At this time, the New Style coinage was no longer and Athens was minting only bronze coinage.

Marc Antony was not the first person deified in Athens. Roughly 270 years earlier, Demetrios Poliorketes was also deified in Athens. In that case, he chose against wedding a statue and instead took his mistress Lamia to the Parthenon and 'celebrated' his nuptials with her there. I'm not sure if they tell that story in the official tour, but the connection may be why Plutarch paired Demetrios and Antony in his Lives.

Feel free to add your Athens bronzes or Dionysos examples!

Edited December 23, 2024 by kirispupis

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

It's an interesting history behind a scarce issue.  I don't recall seeing  very many Athenian AE's.  I also like the green patina.

[NewStyleKing]

The very rare NewStyles of Basileos Mithradates and Aristion elude me, so I made weight with a common Pontic Star between 2 crescents AE, but a good one. There is lots of lead in them too!

I blame Mark Anthony for the ultimate demise of the NewStyle , but it was almost down and out by then, just as a commemorative coin by then, IMHO! The obverse die counts after the Mithradatic war issues like my previous posting . ( so far no replies! ) was the last flourishings! It's quite obvious with the Legionary coinage, the denarius was the thing, nevermind the reduced silver content!

[NewStyleKing]

 

A must for all Athens AE fans and the newStyle coinage.

 

 

Kroll, John H., Walker, Alan S. “The Greek Coins”- The Athenian Agora .The American Journal of Classical Studies at Athens. Vol. 26 The Greek coins   1993

 

                                A fascinating disquisition on coin finds from the Agora.  For the Rome-Pontic times the AE section 3 gives dates for the “Two Pilloi” and the “Star between Two Crescents” types. Comments are very interesting about the lead composition of the Mithradatic bronze and that this is a common coinage. I have noted this.

There are other discussions on the possible linkage of some of the probably post-Mithradatic AE Athena/Owl on Amphora with some corresponding silver New Style issues and their dating and sequencing and the cessation of the New Style. This paper contains so much and is easily overlooked but should not be.

[kirispupis]

15 hours ago, NewStyleKing said:

 

A must for all Athens AE fans and the newStyle coinage.

Kroll, John H., Walker, Alan S. “The Greek Coins”- The Athenian Agora .The American Journal of Classical Studies at Athens. Vol. 26 The Greek coins   1993

 

This is a great reference and can be found online here. I'm slowly building a collection of Athens bronzes. I only have six so far, but pick up interesting examples when I can.

[CPK]

Great coin with an interesting history! You don't see Athenian AE's very often. Congrats!