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Stratonikeia, Caria
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circa 100 BC
AE 20 (20mm, 6.38g)
O: Lareate head of Hekate right, wearing crescent moon crown.
R: Nike advancing right, holding palm and wreath; ΣTPATO above, [NIK]EΩN below.
cf SNG Cop 489; cf Sear 4942; BMC 151,31
Scarce
ex Aegean Numismatics
Stratonikeia was located in SW Asia Minor, about 11km from Lagina, the largest known sanctuary of the goddess Hekate, "whom Zeus honored above all others" (Hesiod). It is likely that the cult of Hekate originated in this area a millennium or more before Her introduction into Greek religion at the conclusion of the Titanomachy, the legendary battle between the Titans and Olympians.
During an annual ritual the Priestess would lead a procession from the polis to Lagina where she would open the sanctuary with a sacred key. This key would eventually become one of the attributes depicted on later images of Hekate.
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