Thessalian coins

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The Thessaly region in ancient times

The coinage of the region of Thessaly is not uniform. There are various city and federal coins, but these are not continuous. The first regional coinage dates back to the 6th century BC. Chr.

City coins

The city coins of Thessaly differ in the choice of motifs as well as in the choice of the coin base . However, the motif of the bull tamer and that of the horse are common.

Larisa

The earliest coinages of the city of Larisa date from the 6th century BC. BC and are minted in the Persian coin base (5.7 g). Coins of this weight were used until the Battle of Plataiai in 479 BC. Chr. Produced. At the same time, however, a stamping activity according to the Aiginetic standard (6.3 g) began, which brought drachmas , trioboles and oboles into circulation and after the Persians were pushed back in the course of the 5th century BC. Finally enforced. The choice of this coin base shows its strong economic importance: Larisa’s trade is oriented more towards Boeotia and Phocis and less towards Athens or Evia . Drachmas, hemidrachms, trihemioboles and oboles were minted in this early phase. Motifs are horses and ears of wheat on the front, probably an allusion to the fertile landscape of Thessaly, and a sandal on the back. Often there are also specimens showing the nymph Larisa , who is known to have drowned while playing a ball in Peneios . From the middle of the 5th century BC The motif of the bull tamer appears on the front and that of the bridled, rearing horse on the back. These representations are interpreted as a reference to the local Poseidon cult, in which a wild bull was hunted and sacrificed, as well as the representation of the god Poseidon in the form of a horse or bull.

The coins from the first half of the 4th century BC BC show the head of the nymph Larisa in three-quarter profile, which is stylistically based on the city of Syracuse , on the front and on the back a grazing or striding horse. 334/3 BC The stamping activities end in the local style, as Thessaly now falls into the Macedonian territory of Philip II of Macedonia and his son Alexander the Great .

Pherai

In the classical period, the town of Pherai mainly shows the motif of the bull tamer with Petasos on the front and a bridled galloping horse and a lion's head gargoyle on the back, which is interpreted as a reference to the Hyperia spring . From the second half of the 5th century BC. BC coins are also minted with the head of Hecate on the obverse and the nymph Hyperia on the reverse.

Federal coins

The community coins of the region of Thessaly are not continuous and can be divided into several phases:

  • The earliest phase begins around 470 BC. And ends 450 BC Silver coins are minted with the motif of the horse leaping out of the rock, a representation of the creation of the first horse by Poseidon, on the obverse and an ear of wheat with lemmas on the reverse, presumably a reference to the fertility of the Thessaly region and a local one Pheraia / Hecate cult. In this first phase of the issue, however, it is not clear whether it is a coinage of a “ federal state of the Thessalians” or an issue of a tribal state that claimed to be able to speak for the whole of Thessaly.
  • The second coining phase from 361/60 BC Until 353/52 BC Took place on the occasion of the battle of the Koinons of the Thessalians with the Athenians against the tyrant Alexander of Pherai . However, the coins can also come from the years thereafter, up to the final intervention of Philip II of Macedonia. In general, however, the economic importance of the coins seems to have been minor, as only four bronze specimens have survived. On the obverse the coins show a bearded portrait head in profile with an oak wreath and on the reverse a representation of the horse jumping out of the rock.
  • The third phase of federal coinage begins around 197 BC. When Roman troops beat the Macedonians and the Thessalian Koinon is revived. The coins of this minting phase are the only ones that are marked ΘΕΣΣΑΛΩΝ. Motifs of this last coining phase are for example Zeus with an oak wreath in profile on the front and an armed warrior with a shield and helmet on the back. The coins were minted continuously, with an interruption in the Augustan period , until the reign of Gallienus .

literature

To the myths
  • Paula Philippson: Thessalian Mythology (1944)
  • Aliki Moustaka: Cults and Myths on Thessalian Coins (1983)
Larissa
  • Percy Gardener : Thessaly to Aetolia . British Museum Catalog of Greek Coins , London 1883
  • Fritz Herrmann, Die Silbermünzen von Larissa in Thessalien , In: Zeitschrift für Numismatikau 25, 1925, pp. 1-69
Pherai / federal coins
  • Percy Gardener: Thessaly to Aetolia . British Museum Catalog of Greek Coins , London 1883
  • Fritz Herrmann, The Thessalische Münzunion in the 5th century. In: Zeitschrift für Numismatikau 23, 1923, pp. 33–43
  • Peter Robert Franke : ΦΕΘΑΛΟΙ - ΦΕΤΑΛΟΙ - ΠΕΤΘΑΛΟΙ - ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΙ. On the history of Thessaly in the 5th century BC Chr. In: Archäologischer Anzeiger 1970

Web links

Coins from Thessaly in the interactive catalog of the Münzkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Commons : Coins of ancient Thessaly  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Aliki Moustaka, Cults and Myths on Thessalian Coins (1983) 48
  2. ^ Paula Philippson, Thessalische Mythologie (1944) 65
  3. ^ Paula Philippson, Thessalische Mythologie (1944) 71
  4. ↑ Peter Robert Franke, ΦΕΘΑΛΟΙ - ΦΕΤΑΛΟΙ - ΠΕΤΘΑΛΟΙ - ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΙ. On the history of Thessaly in the 5th century BC Chr. , Archäologischer Anzeiger 1970
  5. ^ Paula Philippson, Thessalische Mythologie (1944) 65
  6. ↑ Peter Robert Franke, ΦΕΘΑΛΟΙ - ΦΕΤΑΛΟΙ - ΠΕΤΘΑΛΟΙ - ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΙ. On the history of Thessaly in the 5th century BC Chr. In: Archäologischer Anzeiger 1970