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Who was that I saw riding your horse last night?

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Enodia:
To address some of Altamura's doubt here is an ambiguous example which seems contradict my theory, with the crowned boy in this case carrying a shield and dismounting, although the 'crown here could be flowing hair (suggestive of water perhaps?).
This early coin seems to straddle the description of the boy Taras and the ephebe (which will be dealt with shortly). However this crossover is rare and I believe only appears during this early period...

Meepzorp:
Hi Enodia,

Excellent posts. I enjoyed reading them.

You make some strong arguments, and you may be right. However, Altamura raised a good point when he stated that perhaps the horse rider is not the same person on different issues and different time periods.

I have about a dozen of these types of coins. Most of them depict a boy riding the horse, but a few depict an adult riding the horse (usually holding a shield or weapon, as Altamura pointed out).

Here are my examples:

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/meepzorp/gi_calb_taras_pt01.htm
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/meepzorp/gi_calb_taras_pt02.htm

Meepzorp

Meepzorp:
Hi Enodia,

You wrote that, in the your opinion, the nymph types are "erroneously" described as "Campano-Tarentine" issues.

That is interesting.

Aren't there mint records or some other type of documents that have survived from antiquity that have described this monetary alliance between Neapolis and Taras? If not, then what was the original theory for this alliance based on?

Here are my examples of this type:

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/meepzorp/gi_calb_taras_pt02.htm

Meepzorp

Enodia:
As has been mentioned above, there most definitely are different types of horsemen shown on Tarentine didrachms, and so far we have only dealt with the 'nude boy' types. The others are the warriors and the 'ephebes'.
Ephebe in the ancient Greek context is defined as a young man of 18-20 years undergoing military training, and we can see this young man on both the horse and the dolphin.
The ephebe can be difficult to distinguish from the warrior, but one common difference is the lack of armor. The trainee might hold a shield or even wear a helmet, but I don't belive they are ever depicted wearing full body armor.
In the first image below we see the naked ephebe holding a buckler and dismounting his horse, probably while participating in marshall games such as those celebrated at Taras in honor of Hyakanthian Apollo.
The following images show warriors in various armory,  from merely holding spears or javelin to full body armor including helmets and breastplates.

Enodia:
In an earlier post I showed a young boy dismounting his horse, an image which could be confused with the ephebe. However the rider in that case obviously does not fall into the 18-20 year old category. Is he still Taras son of Poseidon? Sure, why not?
The rider is symbolic, and the eponymous devine child symbolizes the city state as well as any other image. And this is key, whether the rider is depicted alone, with a wreath, or in company with Nike, etc, the boy Taras represents the polis which bears his name.

~ Peter

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