55960
Add to Cart Karia, Stratonikeia, Septimius Severus, 193-211
AE 37.5mm, 23.83g. Facing busts of Septimius and Julia Domna; counterstamp with head of Caracalla below. Rev. Zeus Panamaros holding scepter and riding to right. BMC 55. SNG von Aulock 2668. Hoegego 84 for counterstamp. Brown patina. Provenance/Pedigree: Ex: Münzen Auktion Essen, 1994, lot 317. Panamara was a dependecy of Stratonikeia and contained an important temple to Zeus. Labienus and the Parthians in 40/39 B.C. unsuccesfully attempted to capture both Stratonikeia and Panamara. They were foiled at Panamara by an intervention of Zeus. (See: Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, 1976.). This manifestation of Zeus is depicted on the reverse of the coin. A dedicatory inscription probabably for a sculptural group was found at Panamara and relates the details of Zeus' aid during the siege. The Parthians fist attempted a surprise attack at night but Zeus illuminated the sky with lightining to alert the Panamarian defenders. During a subsequesnt attack, Zeus enveloped the attackers in fog and a severe storm which caused great confusion within their ranks but allowed the defenders to be hidden in the fog with a resulstant slaughter of the attackers. (See: Georgia Petridou, "Crossing Physical and Cultural Borders in the Battlefield: Amorphous Epiphanies and Divine Bilingualism" pp. 155ff. in Borders, Terminologies, Idiologies, and Performances, Annette Weissenrieder(ed), 2016. See more detailed imagegood Very Fine/Very Fine $3,500. |
