[B. M. C., Thessaly to Aetolia, 1883.
P. Monceaux, ‘La légende et l'histoire en Thessalie,’ in Rev. des Etudes gr., 1888.
Id. ‘Fastes éponymiques de la Ligue thessalienne,’ in Rev. arch., 1889.]
The fertile plain of Thessaly, shut in on an sides by lofty mountain
ranges, and watered by the river Peneius and its tributary streams, was
believed to have once formed a vast lake, until, by the agency of the
earth-shaking Poseidon, the rocks which confined the waters were rent
asunder at the pass of Tempe, and an outlet thus made for the Peneius
into the sea (Herod. vii. 129). Hence Poseidon was very generally
revered in Thessaly as the creator of the national soil, as well as
of the celebrated Thessalian horses which grazed in the rich alluvial
plains with which the land abounded (Hom. Il. ii. 763).
As Poseidon ταυρεος (Preller, Gr. Myth., 4th ed., i. 570), games were
held in his honour, in which the youth of Thessaly exhibited their skill
in seizing wild bulls by the horns ‘praeterea Thessalos equites, qui feros
tauros per spatia circi agunt insiliuntque defessos et ad terram cornibus
detrahunt’ (Suet., v. Claud., c. 21). These peculiarly national religious
festivals were called ταυρεια (Preller, l. c., note 4) and ταυροκαθαφια, and
their prevalence throughout the land is amply proved by the coins, on
which we see a Thessalian athlete pulling down a raging bull, while on
the reverse is usually a horse (accompanied sometimes by the Poseidonian
trident), now quietly grazing, now bounding rapidly along with rein
flying loose, or issuing from a rock and so symbolizing the springs of
clear water called forth by the stroke of the trident of Poseidon, the
cleaver of rocks (πετραιος, Preller, l. c., p. 572). ‘Primus ab aequorea
percussis cuspide saxis Thessalicus sonipes bellis feralibus omen Exsiluit’
(Lucan, Phars. vi. 396).
Macdonald (Coin Types, p. 98) has been the first to point out that the
bull and matador, &c., on the obverses, and the horse or horseman on the
reverses, of so many Thessalian coins, are types complementary to one
another, and forming together a sort of picture of one of the national bullfights. It is indeed highly probable that the motif of older Thessalian
291
coin-types was agonistic; for there can be little doubt that, almost everywhere in Greece, there was a special demand for current money during
the periodical local games, and, moreover, that in most of the smaller
Greek cities, whose money circulated chiefly within their own territories,
an issue of coins would only be required in festival years.
The Thessalians do not appear to have felt the want of a coinage of
their own before the beginning of the fifth century B.C. It was then
that Larissa and Pherae first found it necessary to issue money, and
probably on the occasions of the celebration of the ταυρεια of Poseidon.
The weight-standard of the coins of Thessaly, from the earliest times
down to the second century B.C., was the Aeginetic. This fact indicates
that whatever commercial dealings may have taken place between
Thessaly and the outside world beyond its mountain barriers, must
have been in the direction of Phocis and Boeotia, where the Aeginetic
standard prevailed, and not with Macedon in the north, or with the
cities of Euboea, or with Athens.
Historically, the Thessalian coinage falls into three well-defined
periods:—
(i) B.C. 480, or earlier, to B.C. 344, from the Persian wars to the time
of the subjection of the country by Philip of Macedon, when the autonomous issues of the Thessalian cities come to an abrupt termination, and
are supplanted by the regal money of Macedon. The coins of this
period may be subdivided by style into two classes, (α) B.C. 480-400,
with the reversetype in an incuse square, and (β) B.C. 400-344, without
the incuse square.
(ii) B.C. 302-286. New issue of silver coins in Thessaly, probably on
the occasion of the expedition into Thessaly of Demetrius Poliorcetes,
who then bestowed liberty upon several Thessalian cities. These silver
issues lasted no long time, but it is probable that bronze money continued to be struck in Thessaly throughout the century of Macedonian
rule.
(iii) B.C. 196-146. This period is marked by Federal coinages in the
names of the Thessalians, the Magnetes, the Perrhaebians, the Aenianians.
and the Oetaeans, which came into existence after the proclamation of
the freedom of Greece by Flamininus, and lasted until Thessaly was
incorporated with the Roman province of Macedonia, B.C. 146.
Geographically, Thessaly is divided into the following districts,
Perrhaebia, Histiaeotis, Thessaliotis, Pelasgiotis, Magnesia, Phthiotis,
Aeniania, and Oetaea.
Achaei of Phthiotis. The coins assigned in the first edition of this
work to the Phthiotan Achaeans are described infra, see Achaean League.
Cf. N. C., 1902, p. 324 sq.
Aenianes. The earliest coins of this people belong in style to the
later period of fine art.
ΑΙΝΙΑΝΩΝ Warrior hurling javelin
and holding his petasos, or a small
shield, before him.
AR ½ Dr. 43 grs.
Head of Zeus.
ΑΙΝΙΑΝ Sword in sheath and javelin.
AR Obol.
292
Circ. B.C. 168-146.
The second series of Aenianian coins probably began after the dissolution of the Aetolian League, to which the Aenianes had been subject.
These late coins were perhaps intended to pass as Attic didrachms, the
obversetype being copied from the coins of Athens. They bear the
name in the nominative case of one of the five Aeniarchs of the League
(Collitz, Dialectinschr., 1431 b., 1432).
FIG. 171.
Head of Athena; her helmet adorned
with griffin and foreparts of horse
(Fig. 171).
ΑΙΝΙΑΝΩΝ Slinger adjusting his
sling; beside him, two javelins.
AR 120 (max.) grs.
Head of Athena in Corinthian helmet.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. II. 3.]
" Slinger.
AR 38 (max.) grs.
Head of Zeus.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. II. 4.]
" Warrior hurling javelin.
AR 36 grs.
The Aenianian bronze coins resemble in their types the silver of the
late class. The slinger represented on the coins of this people is probably their mythical king, Phemius, concerning whom See Plutarch
(Quaest. Gr. xiii), who relates that the stone with which he slew his
adversary was revered as sacred by the Aenianes. See also Hypata,
where the above coins were perhaps struck.
Atrax (Pelasgiotis), on the northern bank of the Peneius, about ten
miles west of Larissa.
Circ. B.C. 400-344.
Head of Nymph.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. II. 7.]
ΑΤΡΑΓΙΟΝ Free horse walking.
AR ½ Dr.
Bearded head (of Atrax ?).
[N. C., 1896, Pl. II. 6.]
ΑΤΡΑ (retrogr.) Cupping-glass and
forceps.
Æ .8
Similar. [Ibid., Pl. II. 7.]
ΑΤΡΑΓΙΩΝ Rushing bull.
Æ .45
Head of Apollo.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. II. 8.]
" Horseman.
Æ .95
The types of this last coin are copied from the coins of Philip of Macedon.
Cierium (Thessaliotis), anciently called Arne, after a nymph of that
name, a daughter of Aeolos the son of Hippotes (Paus. ix. 40. 3), who
by Poseidon became the mother of Boeotos.
The figure of Arne casting lots with astragali has probably no special
reference to a local oracle at Cierium. There are numerous purely
artistic Thessalian coin-types which can only be accounted for as
fanciful devices. If the seated divinity oil the reverse of the first of
the above-described coins be indeed Asklepios, as is probable from
the prevalence of Asklepian worship in Thessaly (cf. coins of Tricca and
Atrax), it is perhaps the earliest representation of that god occurring on
coins. See Bompois, Didrachme de Ciérium, Paris, 1876.
Crannon (Pelasgiotis), the residence of the powerful family of the
Scopadae, was situated near the source of the river Onchestus, which
took its name from Onchestos the son of Poseidon. The coins of
Crannon show that Poseidon received especial honours there, not of
course as a sea-god, but as the father of springs and rivers. The horse
and the bull, accompanied by the trident, taken in connexion with each
other, refer to the ταυρεια or bull-fights held at the Poseidonian festivals.
The curious type of some of the bronze coins, a hydria on wheels
accompanied by two crows, is explained by Antigonus Carystius (Hist.
Mirab., 15), who says that ‘the παρασημον or device of the city consisted
of two crows seated on a chariot, and that when there occurred a great
drought it was customary to agitate, σειειν, or drive about, the chariot
whilst petitioning Zeus for rain’ (see also Macdonald, Coin Types, p. 65).
Hydria on car with two crows perched
on the wheels.
Æ .65
Head of Zeus.
Id.
Æ .6
[Cf. B. M. C., Thes., Pl. II. 11-15.]
Demetrias (Magnesia), on the Pagasaean Gulf, was founded by Demetrius Poliorcetes, B.C. 290, and became the favourite residence of the
Macedonian kings. See alsoMagnetes.
Eccarra (?) (Phthiotis ?). To an unknown city of this name (probably
the Ακαρρα of Steph. Byz. and the Acharrae of Livy (xxxii. 13)) M. Six
(N. C., 1890, 186) would assign the coins erroneously attributed to Icaria,
an island near Samos. They seem to belong to the latter half of the
fourth century B.C.
Head of Zeus laur.
ΕΚΚΑΡΡΕΩΝ Artemis standing to
front, resting on spear.
Female head facing, crowned with
grapes; type suggested by Kimon's
head of Arethusa on coin of Syracuse.
Cf. coins of Larissa, and, for reverse,
coins of Rhizus and of Scotussa [N. C.,
1896, Pl. VII. 3, 4].
Gomphi=Philippopolis (Histiaeotis), at the foot of Mt. Pindus, on the
road which led through the pass into Athamania. On the mountain
above the town stood a temple of Zeus Akraios, whose statue is seen on
295
the coins. Philip II changed the name of this town to Philippopolis,
but it subsequently resumed its ancient appellation.
Circ. B.C. 350.
Head of Hera (?) facing, wearing stephanos, ear-rings, and necklace, and
with two fillets hanging down on
either side. [N. C., 1891, Pl. IV. 8]
Photiades Cat., Pl. I. 59.]
ΙΛΙΠΠΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ Zeus Akraios
seated on rock (Mt. Pindus) and resting on sceptre; in field, fulmen.
AR Didrachm and Drachm.
Circ. B.C. 300.
Similar, or head of nymph with floating
hair.
ΛΟΜΦ or ΓΟΜΕΩΝ Zeus enthroned
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. III. 4]
Halus (Phthiotis), on the northern shore of the Pagasaean Gulf, at the
extremity of Mt. Othrys, said to have been founded by Athamas, one of
the sons of Aeolos. Zeus was here worshipped as the dark god of storm
and winter under the epithet of Laphustios (the Devourer). To this
divinity Athamas was ordered by an oracle to sacrifice his children
Phrixos and Helle. The myth of their rescue by means of the ram with
fleece of gold, sent by their divine mother, Nephele, forms the subject of
the coin-types of Halus.
The only silver coin known seems to be a modern cast from a bronze
piece (Num. Zeit., 1901, 25). The bronze coins may be of two periods,
B.C. 400-344 and B.C. 300-200. Some of these last bear the monogramΑΧ of the Phthiotan Achaeans.
296
Head of Zeus Laphystios, laureate, or
wearing taenia; in front, sometimes,
fulmen. [B. M. C., Thes., Pl. XXXI.
1; N. C., 1899, Pl. VII. 1.]
ΑΛΕΩΝ Phrixos naked, or more rarely
Helle draped, holding on to the ram.
Heracleia Trachinia (Oetaea). This important Spartan stronghold
commanded the only road into Thessaly from the south. It was named
Heracleia in consequence of the cult of Herakles, indigenous in Trachis
and Oetaea from the earliest times (Preller, Gr. Myth., ii. 247). Its coins
belong to the earlier half of the fourth century.
Head of Zeus; behind, fulmen.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. III. 11 a.]
ΥΠΑΤΑΙΩΝ Athena Nikephoros standing with spear and shield.
Æ .85 and .55
Lamia (Phthiotis), near the head of the Malian Gulf, and the chief
town of the people called the Malians. The coins usually read ΛΑΜΙΕΩΝ,
more rarely ΜΑΛΙΕΩΝ.
ΜΑΛΙΕΩΝ Similar, but Philoktetes in
standing posture.
Æ .55
297
Circ. B.C. 302-286.
FIG. 172.
Female head (nymph Lamia ?), bound
with taenia and wearing ear-ring
(Fig. 172).
ΛΑΜΙΕΩΝ Philoktetes or Herakles
naked, seated on rock, holds bow in
case.
AR Dr., 86 grs.
Gardner (Num. Chron., 1878, 266) believed the head on this coin to be
a portrait of Lamia, the famous hetaira who captivated and lived with
Demetrius Poliorcetes. In her honour both Athens and Thebes erected
temples, and the people of the town of Lamia, to flatter Demetrius, may
have placed her head on their coins. Friedlaender considered the head
in question to be that of Apollo (Zeit. f. Num., vii. 352), and cited a
coin of Amphipolis on which a head, presumed by him to be a head
of Apollo, wears ear-rings. (See supra, p. 215 note.)
Larissa (Pelasgiotis), on the right bank of the Peneius, was the most
important town in Thessaly, and the residence of the Aleuadae, the
noblest of all the aristocratic families of the land.
The mythical ancestor of the race, Aleuas, was a descendant of
Herakles through one of his sons, Thessalos.
The rich series of the coins of Larissa begins at an earlier date than
that of any other Thessalian town. The sandal of Jason on the oldest
coins refers to the story of the loss of one of that hero’s sandals in crossing the river Anaurus. The coins of the best period are of exquisite
beauty. The head of the nymph is clearly that of the fountain Larissa,
and was doubtless copied from the beautiful full-face head of Arethusa
on contemporary tetradrachms of Syracuse. The coin with the head of
Aleuas, with the name ΕΛΛΑ on the reverse, may belong to the time
of the occupation of Larissa by Alexander of Pherae. The name,
ΣΙΜΟΣ, is that of an Aleuad chief who appears to have been appointed
tetrarch of one of the four divisions of Thessaly by Philip of Macedon,
B.C. 353 (B. M. C., Thes., p. xxv; but see Hill, Hist. Gk. Coins, pp. 93 ff.).
On Philip’s second invasion of Thessaly, B.C. 344, he put down the
tetrarchs whom he had formerly set up, and Thessaly was brought into
direct subjection to Macedon. From this time there is a break in the
issue of silver money throughout Thessaly. All coins struck in the
country now bore the name and types first of Philip and then of Alexander;
and there is nothing to show that Larissa recovered her autonomy until
the liberation of Greece by Flamininus in B.C. 197, when it became the
place of mintage of the Federal coinage of Thessaly, concerning which see
R. Weil, Z. f. N., i. 172 ff., and B. M. C., Thes., pp. 1-6.
298
Before Circ. B.C. 480.
Inscr., ΛΑRΙSΑΙΟΝ, ΛΑRΙSΑΕΟΝ, &c.
Horse biting his foreleg; above, partridge, or cicada.
[Babelon, Traité, Pl. XLIII. 1-3]
Sandal of Jason, above which, sometimes, bipennis, in incuse square.
AR Drachm.
Head of Jason in petasos.
ΛΑRΙ Sandal, sometimes with bipennis
above, in incuse square.
AR ½ Dr.
Head of nymph, or bull’s head.
ΛΑ Sandal or horse’s head, in incuse
square. [B. M. C., Thes., Pl. IV. 6,
7; cf. Hunter, I. p. 451.]
AR Obols.
Circ. B.C. 480-430.
Inscr., ΛΑRΙ, ΛΑRΙSΑ, ΛΑΡΙΣΑΙ, ΛΑΡΙΣΑΙΟΝ, &c.; Drachms,
½ Drachms, Trihemiobols or ¼ Drachms, and Obols.
FIG. 173.
Thessalian youth restraining bull, or
forepart of bull.
Free horse, or forepart of horse in
incuse square (Fig. 173).
Horseman or Horse.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. IV. 10, 11.]
Nymph Larissa, seated on chair or supporting on her knee a hydria which
she has filled at a fountain, or seated
on hydria and playing with ball, &c.,
in incuse square.
This and later reverse types illustrate the story of the nymph Larissa
who, while playing ball, fell into the river Peneius (Eustath., ad Hom.,
1554, 34).
Circ. B.C. 430-400.
Inscr., ΛΑΡΙΣΑΙΑ, ΛΑΡΙΣΑ, &c.; Drachms, Trihemiobols, and Obols.
Thessalian youth restraining bull.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. IV. 12, 13; Pl.
V. 1, 2, 4.]
Horse’s or bull’s hoof on shield. [B. M. C.,
Thes., 28, 46; N. C., 1900, Pl. XIII.
11.]
Incuse square. Larissa running and
playing ball, or bust of Asklepios
with serpent in front.
AR Obol.
299
Circ. B.C. 400-344.
Inscr., ΛΑΡΙΣΑΙΑ, ΛΑΡΙΣΑΙΩΝ, ΛΑΡΙΣΑ; Didrachms, Drachms,
½ Drachms, and Trihemiobols.
FIG. 174.
Head of fountain nymph, Larissa, at
first in profile, and later facing with
flowing locks; a copy of Kimon's
full-face head of Arethusa on a coin
of Syracuse (p. 177) [Fig. 174, also
N. C., 1895, Pl. V. 6].
Horse galloping, trotting, grazing, or
held by man; or mare walking beside her foal. Sometimes with name
ΣΙΜΟΣ, the Tetrarch of Larissa,
B.C. 352-344.
ΑΛΕΥΑ Head of Aleuas in richly
ornamented conical helmet.
The obv. and rev types of this last coin are complementary of one
another, and, taken together, represent a Thessalian Bull-fight (Macdonald, Coin Types, p. 99).
ΛΑΡΙΣΑ Larissa standing draped, one
hand raised to her forehead.
Æ .6
Larissa Cremaste (Phthiotis) stood on the slope of a steep hill (hence
the surname κρεμαστη) about twenty miles west of the Malian Gulf. It
was believed to have anciently formed part of the dominions of Achilles,
whose head appears upon some of its coins. When Demetrius Poliorcetes,
in B.C. 302, invaded Thessaly he took Pherae and Larissa Cremaste and
300
proclaimed them free, and it is to this period that its earliest coins
belong.
Circ. B.C. 302-286.
Head of Achilles (?), r. or l., with loose
hair. [B. M. C., Thes., Pl. VII. 1.]
ΛΑΡΙ Thetis riding on hippocamp
bearing shield of Achilles inscribed
ΑΧ.
Magnetes. This people after the liberation of Thessaly, B.C. 197,
struck federal coins for the whole of the Magnesian peninsula at Demetrias, where their assemblies were held, and where the Magnetarchs
resided (Livy xxv. 31). The head of Zeus is clearly contemporary with
that on the Federal coins of the Thessali.
B.C. 197-146.
Head of Zeus crowned with oak.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. VII. 2, 3.]
ΜΑΓΝΗΤΩΝ Artemis with bow,
seated on prow; in fieldmonograms
or Magnetarch’s name, ΗΓΗΣΑΝΔΡΟΣ.
Among other types on Imperial coins are Aphrodite Neleia (ΑΦΡΟ.
ΝΗΛΕΙΑ) and Zeus ΑΚΡΑΙΟC (Wace, J. H. S., xxvi. pp. 165 ff.).
As Iolcus was one of the towns included in the territory of Demetrias,
the Argo is here an appropriate type.
301
The Centaur is Cheiron, who dwelt in the neighbouring Mt. Pelion,
and to whom sacrifices were offered by the Magnetes until a late date
(Plut. Sympos. iii. 1).
Methydrium (?) (Thessaliotis), probably near Scotussa (Imhoof, Zeit.
f. Num., i. 93).
Circ. B.C. 480-400.
Forepart of springing horse.
[Babelon, Traité, Pl. XLIII. 15.]
Incuse square, placed diagonally.
ΜΕ ΘΥ Corn-grain with its husk.
AR Dr. 90 grs.
To this city may be also conjecturally attributed the following
½ drachm:—
Forepart of horse springing from rocks.
[N. C., 1890, Pl. XIX. 6.]
//////ΕΘ///// Inc. sq., within which, head
of bearded Herakles in lion-skin.
AR ½ Dr. 46.6 grs.
The attribution of these two coins to Methydrium is, however, uncertain. They may both belong to another city called Methylium, only
known from coins; or, as Wroth suggests (N. C., 1890, 317), the ½ Drachm,
with the incomplete inscription, should probably be read [Φ]ΕΘ[Α] and
be assigned to Pherae (q. v.).
Metropolis (Histiaeotis), in the plain at the foot of one of the eastern
offshoots of the Pindus range, near the borders of Histiaeotis and Thessaliotis. Aphrodite was here worshipped under the name Καστνιητις, and
swine were sacrificed to her (Strab. ix. p. 437 f.)
Circ. B.C. 400-344.
Head of Aphrodite facing; to l., bird(?);
to r., Nike crowning her.
[Imhoof Coll.]
ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟ[ΛΙΤΩΝ] Dionysos standing.
AR Diob.
Id. [B. M. C., Thes., Pl. VII. 8.]
ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ Apollo Kitharoedos.
AR Trihemiobol.
Bearded head facing.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. VII. 7.]
ΜΗΤΡΟ Figure seated on rock under
tree, holding thyrsos.
AR Obol.
Circ. B.C. 300-200.
Head of Apollo.
ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ Forepart of bull.
Æ .75
Id. [B. M. C., Thes., Pl. XXXI. 6.]
ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ Aphrodite Kastnietis standing, holding dove, with
Eros beside her.
Oetaei. There is said to have been a city called Oeta near the
mountain of the same name, the scene of the death of Herakles. The
coins of the Oetaei may be compared with those of Heracleia Trachinia.
Circ. B.C. 400-344.
Head of lion, spear in mouth.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. VII. 9.]
ΟΙΤΑΩΝ (retrogr.) Herakles naked to
front, holding club transversely; his
head is wreathed.
AR ½ Dr.
Id. [B. M. C., Thes., Pl. VII. 10.]
ΟΙΤΑ Bow and quiver.
AR Obol.
Id. [B. M. C., Thes., Pl. VII. 11.]
ΟΙΤΑΩΝ Spear and knife.
Æ .6
303
B.C. 196-146.
On the liberation of Thessaly we hear of the κοινον των Οιταιεων, and
the coinage begins again on the Attic standard.
ΟΙΤΑΙΩΝ Herakles naked to front,
holding club downwards and lionskin; head wreathed.
AR Diob. 119 grs.
The smaller silver coins resemble those of the previous period, but are
of inferior style. Herakles was worshipped by the Oetaei under the
name Κορνοπιων, or the ‘Locust-scarer’ (Strab. xiii. p. 613).
Bronze coins of the type of the Aetolian federal money, the spear-head
and jaw-bone of the Kalydonian boar, are also known (B. M. C., Thes.,
Pl. VII. 14).
Perrhaebi. These people were descendants of the original occupants
of Thessaly, and in historical times inhabited the region between Mt.
Olympus and the river Peneius. Their chief town was probably the
Homeric Oloösson near Tempe.
Circ. B.C. 480-400.
Inscr., ΠΕ or ΠΕΡΑ on reverse; Silver. Drachms, ½ Drachms, Trihemiobols, and Obols.
Thessalian restraining bull or forepart
of bull.
Galloping horse or forepart of horse in
incuse square.
AR Dr. and ½ Dr.
Horseman.
Athena (?) or Thetis seated, holding
helmet in incuse square.
Petthali. A Thessalian people known only from an inscription and
from the following bronze coins:—
Circ. B.C. 350.
Head of Zeus, r., laur.
[Zeit. f. Num., xvi. 91; xvii. 235.]
ΠΕΤΘΑΛΩΝ (retrogr.) Forepart of
horse springing from rock, l.
Æ .55
Id. [B. M.]
Inscr. not retrogr. Same type but to
r., and beneath horse, trident.
Æ .55
For other coins attributed to the Petthali see Imhoof, Rev. Suisse,
Tom. XIV.
Peumata. (Phthiotis ?). See U. Köhler, Zeit. f. Num., xii. p. 110.
Head of nymph bound with oak-wreath.
[Zeit. f. Num., xii. p. 111.]
ΠΕΥΜΑΤΙΩΝ written round the large
monogram of the Achaeans ΑΧ in
field, helmet.
Æ .5
If the silver coins assigned by Gardner to the Phthiotan Achaeans
belong in reality to the early Achaean League (N. C., 1902, 324); there
would seem to be no cogent reason why Peumata should be assigned to
Phthiotis. It is noticeable that the symbol, a helmet, is present also on
the silver coins. (See Achaean League,infra.)
Phacium (Pelasgiotis), near the banks of the Peneius, between Atrax
and Pharcadon.
305
Head of nymph crowned with corn.
[B. M. C. Thes., Pl. XXXI. 7.]
ΦΑΚΙΑΣΤΩΝ Horseman.
Æ .8
Phalanna (Perrhaebia), a few miles north-west of Lariassa, on the left bank of the Peneius. Cf. Steph. Byz. Φαλαννα, πολις Περραιβιας απο Φαλαννης της Τυρους Θυγατρος.
Circ. B.C. 400-344.
Young male head with short hair.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. VIII. 12-14.]
ΦΑΛΑΝΝΑΙΩΝ Bridled horse.
AR Dr., ½ Dr., and Trihemiobol.
Hekate holding two torches seated on
lion, r.; beneath ΠΟ.
[Ashburnham Cat., 101.]
ΦΑΛΑΝΝΑΙΩΝ Hunter with flying
chlamys, wielding javelin, running,
r., with hound beside him.
AR 1½ Obol., 24 grs.
Young male head.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. VIII. 15, 16.]
ΦΑΛΑΝΝΑΙΩΝ Head of Nymph
Phalanna; hair in bag.
Æ .8
Helmeted head. [Imhoof Coll.]
ΦΑΛΑΝΝΑΙΩΝ Horse.
Æ .5
....ΟΡΙΣ Head of Zeus (?), r.
[Leake, Num Hell., p. 88.]
ΦΑΛΑΝΝΑ Nymph Phalanna seated,
with left hand extended towards a stork.
Pharsalus (Thessaliotis), on the left bank of the Enipeus, about
twenty-five miles south of Larissa, one of the most important cities of
Thessaly, and famous as the scene of the great victory of Caesar over
Pompey. Pharsalus began to strike money about the time of the Persian
wars, and continued to do so, perhaps without intermission, down to the
reign of Philip of Macedon.
Circ. B.C. 480-344.
Head of Athena of archaic style.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. IX. 6-8.]
Head of Athena of fine style in closefitting crested helmet (Fig. 175).
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. IX. 9-12.]
ΦΑΡΣ or ΦΑΡ Horseman holding over
shoulder, or brandishing weapon; or,
on ½ Dr., Horse’s head.
AR Dr., ½ Dr., &c. and Æ .7
During the period of finest art the silver coins frequently bear
abbreviated names of magistrates, ΤΗ, ΙΠ, ΤΕΛΕΑΝΤΟ (retrogr.), &c.
Head of Athena facing, in triple crested
helmet, between spear and shield.
[B. M. C., Thes., p. 45.]
ΦΑΡΣΑ or ΦΑΡΣΑΛΙΩΝ Horseman
brandishing weapon; behind him,
sometimes, a foot soldier carrying a
second weapon over his shoulder, and
in front an enemy facing him on foot.
Æ .85
The weapon on these coins resembles a crooked club (pedum) and is
called by Th. Reinach (Corolla Num., p. 270) a ‘mace of arms'.
Pherae (Pelasgiotis). Next to Larissa, Pherae was the foremost town
in Thessaly, and one of the most ancient. It was situated a little to the
west of Mt. Pelion. From a rocky height on the northern side of the city
gushed forth the famous fountain Hypereia, which is represented on the
coins as a stream of water flowing from the mouth of a lion’s head, and
perhaps also, under the form of the horse of Poseidon, issuing from the
face of a rock, or bounding along with loose rein; but as such horse-types are frequent throughout Thessaly it is safer to regard them at
Pherae also as referring directly to the worship of Poseidon, who, by
striking the rock with his trident, created the first horse (Lucan,
Phars. vi. 396), or to the games held in his honour.
The following archaic coins, with a few others of Methydrium (?),
Larissa, and Scotussa (Babelon, Traité, Pl. XLIII. 7, 15, 21-4, 26-8), form
together a distinct group, differentiated from other Thessalian coins by
the transposition of the incuse square, which is placed diagonally in relation to the types. It is somewhat doubtful whether the coins of this
gruop, reading Ε, with the addition of another syllable ΘΑ, ΤΑ, &c.
(see Babelon, Traité, p. 1030), are rightly assigned to Pherae.
Forepart of horse springing from rock;
or horse’s head.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. X. 4-7.]
Ε, Ε ΘΑ, or Ε ΤΑ, Corn-grain
with its husk, in deep incuse square.
Head of Hekate facing, her r. hand
holding torch.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. X. 16. Æ.]
ΦΕΡΑΙΩΝ Hekate holding torch, riding
on galloping horse; to l., lion’s head
fountain.
AR ½ Dr. (B. M.) Æ .85
No coins are known with the name of the famous Jason of Pherae,
but of the tyrant Alexander, who obtained the supreme power soon after
Jason’s death, we possess valuable numismatic records.
308
Alexander of Pherae. B.C. 369-357.
FIG. 176.
Head of Hekate, facing, her r. hand
holding torch.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. X. 11.]
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ or ΑΛΕΞΑΝΑΡΕΙΟΣ Armed horseman prancing;
beneath, and on horse’s flank, a
bipennis (Fig. 176).
AR Didrachm.
Head of Hekate in profile; in front,
her hand holding torch.
[Ibid., Pl. X. 12.]
With regard to the various forms of the inscr. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ,
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΕΙΟΣ, ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΕΙΑ, and ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΕΙΟΝ, see Macdonald, Coin Types, p. 127. In these instances the denominations of
the coins are probably to be understood, e.g. στατηρ, δραχημ, ημιδραχμον or τριοβολον, &c.
BRONZE.
Young male head, in petasos. [B. M.]
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ Leg and foot of horse.
Æ .5
Forepart of rushing bull.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. X. 14.]
„ Forepart of horse.
Æ .5
The cultus of Artemis Ennodia was connected with that of Hekate.
Under this name she was worshipped as the goddess of the wayside or the
cross-roads (Regling, Journ. Int., 1905, 175). The bipennis as an adjunct
on the reverse reminds us of the special worship paid by Alexander of
Pherae to the Dionysos of Pagasae, who was surnamed Πελεκυς, from the
sacrificial axe used in sacrificing to him. Cf. Simonides (apud Athen. 10,
84), who calls the axe Διωνυσοιο ανακτος βουφονον θεραποντα. See the
Schol. on Hom. Il. xxiv. 428 Θεοπομπος φησιν Αλεξανδρον Φεραιον Διονυσον τον εν Παγασαις ος εκαλειτο Πελεκυς ευσεβειν διαφορως. The double-axe also occurs as an adjunct symbol on early coins of Larissa (p. 298supra).
Teisiphonus. B.C. 357-352 (?).
This tyrant was one of the brothers of Thebe, the wife of Alexander,
who usurped the tyranny after Alexander’s assassination.
309
Forepart of rushing bull.
[Rev. Num., 1853, Pl. XIV. 10.]
ΤΕΙΣΙΦΟΝΟΥ Forepart of horse.
Æ .5
Proërna. (Thessaliotis).
Circ. B.C. 300-200 (?).
Female head facing.
[B. M. and Imhoof Coll.]
ΠΡΩΕΡΝΙΩΝ Demeter standing, holding ears of corn (?) and torch (?)
Rhizus (Magnesia ?). This place is mentioned by Strabo (ix. pp. 436,
443) and Steph. Byz. :— Ριζους πολις Θεσσαλιας το εθνικον Ριζουντιος.
According to Strabo it was one of eight neighbouring πολιχναι, whose
inhabitants were removed by Demetrius Poliorcetes (B.C. 290) to his new
foundation Demetrias. Judging from the following coins, Rhizus must
have been of greater importance in the fourth century B.C.
Before circ. B.C. 344.
Head of Zeus laur., resembling in style
the coins of Philip of Macedon.
[N. C., 1896, Pl. VII. 4.]
ΡΙΖΟΥΣ Vine-branch with grapes and
letter Λ: almost identical with coin of
Eurea.
Thebae (Phthiotis). There are no early coins of this town; all those
that are known certainly belong to the time of Demetrius.
Circ. B.C. 302-286.
Head of Demeter, crowned with corn
and, usually, veiled.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. XI. 3.]
ΘΗΒΑΙΩΝ and (on AE) mon. ΑΧ.
Protesilaos leaping ashore from prow
of galley.
AR ½ Dr., and Æ .85 and .55
Similar. [B. M.]
ΘΗΒΑΙΩΝ Free horse walking r.,
beneath ΑΧ.
Æ .7
Protesilaos was a native of this part of Thessaly, and at the neighbouring Phylace there was a temple sacred to him, mentioned by Pindar
(Isthm. i. 84):—
Πρωτεσιλα το τεον δ’ ανδρων Αχαιον
εν Φυλακα τεμενος ουμβαλλομαι.
Tricca (Histiaeotis) was named after the fountain-nymph Trikka, a
daughter of the river-god Peneios, on the left bank of whose stream the
city stood. The town is mentioned by Homer as subject to Podaleirios
and Machaon, sons of Asklepios, who led the Triccaeans in the Trojan
war. At Tricca was the most ancient and illustrious of all the temples
of Asklepios in Greece, and to this sacred place the sick had recourse
from all parts (Strab. viii. 374; ix. 437).
Circ. B.C. 480-400.
Thessalian subduing bull or forepart
of bull.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. XI. 7, 12.]
ΤΡΙΚΚΑ, ΤΡΙΚΚΑΙΟΝ, later ΤΡΙΚΚΑΙΩΝ Incuse square containing
forepart of horse.
AR ½ Dr.
Horseman. [B. M.]
ΤΡΙΚΚΑΙΟ Nymph Trikka seated,
holding phiale and mirror.
AR Trihemiobol.
Horse.
[B. M. C., Thes., Pl. XI. 8, 10, 11.]
ΤΡΙΚΚΑΙΟΝ Nymph playing ball, or
leaning on column and extending
hand towards swan, or opening cista,
or sacrificing at altar.
Thessali. In B.C. 196, after the battle of Cynoscephalae, the Thessali,
the Perrhaebi, and the Magnetes, were proclaimed free by Flamininus,
whereupon the Thessali instituted a federal currency, probably striking
their coins at Larissa.
The Magnetes at the same time began to issue silver and bronze at
their capital Demetrias, as did also the Perrhaebi at Oloosson. All these
coinages came to an end in B.C. 146, when Thessaly was incorporated in
the Roman province of Macedon.
B.C. 196-146.
FIG. 177.
Head of Zeus crowned with oak.
Behind, sometimes, the name of the
Strategos of the League in the
genitive case. (Among the names
of Strategi whose dates are known
are Androsthenes, B.C. 187, and
Nicocrates, B.C. 182.)
ΘΕΣΣΑΛΩΝ The Thessalian Athena
Itonia (Paus. x. 1. 10) in fighting
attitude, usually accompanied by the
names of two magistrates, of which
one is often in the genitive (Fig. 177).
AR Double Victoriatus = 1½ Denarii,
wt. 100-86 grs.
The bronze coins resemble the Drachms, having on the obverse a head
of Apollo or Athena, and on the reverseAthena fighting, or a horse (R.
Weil, Zeit. f. N., i. 177 sqq.). There are, however, a few exceptional types
among which the following may be mentioned:—
312
Head of Zeus.
[N. C., 1898, Pl. XIX. 1.]
ΘΕΣΣΑΛΩΝ and magistrate’s name
....ΤΡ..... ΕΥΒΙΟΤΟΥ Centaur
with bull’s tail galloping and seizing
by the bridle a rearing horse.
Æ 1.
Head of Artemis with quiver at shoulder.
[Ibid., Pl. XIX. 2.]
[ΘΕΣΣΑ] ΛΩΝ ΝΙΚΟΚΡΑΤΗ[Σ]
ΕΥΒΙΟΤΟΥ Demeter running with
two torches.
Æ .85
Imperial Times.
Caesar, after the battle of Pharsalia, conferred liberty once more on
the Thessalians, and henceforth Thessaly, even after its incorporation in
the Roman province of Achaia, B.C. 27, was treated as a separate κοινον,
headed by a strategos, and with a concilium which met at Larissa. The
Imperial coins from Augustus to Hadrian bear the name of the strategos,
and in the reign of Augustus usually the inscr ΣΕΒΑΣΤΗΩΝ SΕΣΣΑΛΩΝ.
From M. Aurelius to Gallienus the coins read ΚΟΙΝΟΝ ΘΕCCΑΛΩΝ, the
name of the strategos being omitted, and marks of value usually added,
Γ, or Δ (= 3 or 4 assaria) (B. M. C., Thes., pp. 6-9). Among the types
may be mentioned—Head of Achilles, with inscr. ΑΧΙΛΛΕΥC (see Th.
Reinach, in Corolla Num., pp. 266 fr.), Apollo Kitharoedos, Athena Itonia,
Nike, Asklepios, &c.
ΙΚΙΩΝ Trident and dolphins. [Imhoof,
Mon. gr., p. 134]
Æ .65
Peparethus (Scopelos), an island lying off the coast of the Thessalian
Magnesia, widely known for its excellent wine (Pliny, H. N. xiv. 7. 76),
was said to have been colonized by Staphylos, son of Dionysos and
Ariadne. There were three towns in the island, Peparethus, Selinus,
and Panormus, with probably a single mint at Peparethus. Wroth
(J. H. S., 1907, 90 sqq.) has proved that, circ. B.C. 500 to 480, Peparethus
struck the tetradrachms of Euboïc weight, some of which were formerly
attributed by me to Cyrene. The types are as follows, and their variety
suggests trade relations with other cities, chiefly perhaps in Chalcidice
and Cos, where some of them have been found.
Large bunch of grapes.
[J. H. S., 1907, Pl. IV. 1.]
Dionysos or Staphylos seated l., holding
kantharos and thyrsos in incuse square.
Æ (plated with AR) 220.3 grs.
During the greater part of the fifth century B.C. Peparethus seems to
have been subordinate to Athens, and no coins were issued in the island;
but the following bronze pieces show that in the fourth century B.C.
Dionysos was still the chief divinity of the Peparethians.
After circ. B.C. 350.
Head of young or bearded Dionysos in
ivy-wreath. [B. M. C., Thes., Pl. XI.
14, 15.]
Svoronos (Journ. int. d'arch. num., I. p. 86) also gives to Peparethus
the uncertain coins, Obv. Young male head in ivy-wreath, Rev.
ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣ Amphora, assigned by Imhoof (Mon. gr., 65) to Apollonia
Mygdoniae (see supra, p. 204). With these he would also class the coins,
Obv. Head of Apollo laur., Rev. ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣΙΑΤΡΟΥ Apollo standing
with branch and bow, attributed by Pick, Jahrb. arch. Inst., xiii. 169,
to Apollonia Pontica.
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ΕRΑΙ, 
in centre, in