|
GREEK, Italy, Campania - Neapolis
|
AR Nomus, Neapolis (Naples) mint, c. 300 - 275 B.C.
Obverse: Diademed head of nymph right, wearing triple-pendant earring, grape bunch behind.
Reverse: Man-faced bull standing right, head facing, being crowned by Nike flying right, NEOΠOΛITΩ[N] below.
Weight 7.25 g, Maximum Diameter 21.9 mm, Die Axis 315o.
SNG ANS 317, HN Italy 579, Ex CNG e-auction 92 lot 3;
Neapolis (modern day Naples) was an early Rhodian colony, originally named Parthenope. Its name was changed to Neapolis in ca. 450 BC. The obverse of this issue represents the Siren Parthenope who was the local goddess of Neapolis. The man-headed bull reverse was a type shared by a number of Campanian cities and may have generally been understood as representing Acheloös, the father of Sirens. The name of Acheloös appears in cults throughout the Greek world and in mythology as the archetypal river-god and may have been used in this context in Campania.
|
|