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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Themes & Provenance| ▸ |Gods, Non-Olympian| ▸ |Tyche||View Options:   | | | Tyche (Greek for luck; the Roman equivalent was Fortuna) was the guardian deity that governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, its destiny. She is usually depicted veiled and wearing a mural crown (a crown like the walls of the city). The blind mistress of Fortune, Tyche was arbitrary and unreliable, distributing good and evil according to her caprice and without any regard to merit. The Greek historian Polybius believed that when no cause can be discovered for events such as floods, drought or frosts then the cause of these events could be fairly attributed to Tyche. |
RPC Online III notes of their specimen, "The date does seem to begin with E, even though one would expect ς with year 4 of the second era. Confirmation required. If correctly read, it might show that the Hadrianic era began at a different time of year from the normal city era, or it might just be a mistake, as commonly happened at Gaza." Our coin appears to have the expected date, but with a reversed ς.RP111379. Bronze AE 24, Unpublished variant, RPC Online III 4014A var. (EKC, the only known specimen), VF, attractive highlighting earthen deposits, rev. off center, weight 12.265 g, maximum diameter 23.5 mm, die axis 0o, Askalon (Ashqelon, Israel) mint, 132 - 133 A.D.; obverse CEBAC-TOC (starting counterclockwise on right, ending counterclockwise on left), laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind; reverse ACKΛAW upward on left, Tyche-Astarte standing half left on prow, head left, vexillum standard in right hand, aphlaston in left hand, LΔ (year 4 [of Hadrian]) over incense altar inner left; dove standing left over ΣKC ([year] 226 [of Ascalon], Σ reversed) lower right; extremely rare; $400.00 (€376.00)
Trajan, 25 January 98 - 8 or 9 August 117 A.D., Antioch, Seleucis and Pieria, Syria
| The Tyche of Antioch was a cult statue of the city goddess (fortune) of Antioch, venerated in a temple called the Tychaion. The statue was made by Eutychides of Sicyon (c. 335 - c. 275), a pupil of the great Lysippus. It was the best-known piece of Seleucid art, remarkable because it was sculpted to be viewed from all directions, unlike many statues from the period. Although the original has been lost, many copies exist, including the one in the photograph right, now at the Vatican. The goddess is seated on a rock (Mount Sipylus), has her right foot on a swimming figure (the river Orontes), wears a mural crown (the city's walls), and has grain in her right hand (the city's fertility). |  |
Hadrian, 11 August 117 - 10 July 138 A.D., Petra, Arabia
| Petra, the capital of the ancient Nabatean Kingdom, is a famous archaeological site in Jordan's southwestern desert. UNESCO describes Petra as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage." The BBC selected Petra as one of "the 40 places you have to see before you die." Accessed via a narrow canyon called Al Siq, it contains tombs and temples carved into pink sandstone cliffs, earning its nickname, the "Rose City." Perhaps its most famous structure is 45m-high Al Khazneh, a temple with an ornate, Greek-style facade, and known as The Treasury. After the last Nabataean king, Rabbel II, died in 106 A.D., Trajan incorporated Nabataea into the Roman province Arabia Petraea. One of the latest known Nabataean language inscriptions, from 191 A.D., records "...This in the year 85 of the Eparchy [Roman Rule], in which Arabs destroyed the land." It seems likely that raiding Arab tribes extinguished what remained of a weakened Nabataean culture. In 747 A.D. what was left of the Nabataean cities was destroyed in a major earthquake. |  |
Geta, 209 - c. 26 December 211 A.D., Apameia ad Maeandrum, Phrygia
Struck under the authority of Artemas, agonothetes (the organizer of public games). Apamea is mentioned in the Talmud (Ber. 62a, Niddah, 30b and Yeb. 115b). Christianity was very likely established early in the city. Saint Paul probably visited the place when he went throughout Phrygia.RP112206. Bronze AE 26, SNGvA 3503 var. (rev. leg. arrangement); SNG Cop 217 var. (same); BMC Phrygia p. 100, 174, VF, full legends, nice green deposits, earthen deposits, mild porosity, weight 8.253 g, maximum diameter 26.2 mm, die axis 180o, Phrygia, Apameia ad Maeandrum (Dinar, Turkey) mint, as caesar, 198 - 209 A.D.; obverse ΠO CEΠTI ΓETAC KAI, bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust right; reverse EΠI AΓΩNOΘETOV APTEMA AΠA/MEΩN (last four letters in fields), Tyche standing half left, holding rudder by tiller in right hand, cornucopia in left hand; $160.00 (€150.40)
Armenian Kingdom, Tigranes II the Great, 95 - 55 B.C.
Tigranes was called "Tigranes the Great" by Plutarch. The "King of Kings" never appeared in public without having four kings attending him. At its height, Tigranes' empire extended from the Pontic Alps to Mesopotamia and from the Caspian to the Mediterranean. In 83 B.C., the Syrians offered him the crown and after conquering Phoenicia and Cilicia, he effectively ended the Seleucid Empire. His southern border reached as far as Akko-Ptolemais. The first Armenian ruler to issue coins, he adopted the Seleucid tradition and struck coins at Antioch and Damascus during his occupation of Syria from 83 to 69 B.C. In 66 B.C., Pompey advanced into Armenia with Tigranes' own son as an ally. Tigranes, now almost 75 years old, surrendered. Pompey treated him generously and returned part of his kingdom in return for 6,000 talents of silver. His unfaithful son was sent back to Rome as a prisoner. Tigranes continued to rule Armenia as an ally of Rome until his death in 55 B.C. In reference to the titulature on Tigranes II's coinage, Jack Nurpetlian in his paper, "Ancient Armenian Coins: the Artaxiad Dynasty (189 BC - AD 6)" in Berytus Archaeological Studies 51–52, writes: "The consensus is that the coins bearing the imperial title – BAΣIΛEΩΣ BAΣIΛEIΩN TIΓPANOY – are from mints located within Armenian lands, whereas the coins with the royal title – BAΣIΛEΩΣ TIΓPANOY – come from mints in newly acquired territories."GY113387. Bronze chalkous, MDHRAC 24, Nercessian AC 51, Bedoukian CCA 92 (Nercessian and Bedoukian list as a tetrachalkon), VF/F, dark patina, earthen deposits, marks, weight 6.915 g, maximum diameter 21.3 mm, die axis 0o, 70 - 66 B.C.; obverse bust right wearing five-pointed Armenian tiara ornamented with star between two eagles, top extends outside of dotted circle; reverse Tyche seated right on rocks, turreted, holding palm frond in right, half-length figure of river-god Orontes swimming right at her feet below, BAΣIΛEΩΣ downward on right, BAΣIΛEIΩN / TIΓPANOY downward in two lines left, no letters or monograms in fields; $110.00 (€103.40)
Antioch, Seleukis and Pieria, Syria, 128 - 129 A.D.
Michael Molnar, an astronomer, believes this coin depicts Jupiter's occultation of Aries in 6 B.C., the most probable "Star of Bethlehem." We think it is unlikely; nevertheless, the type is very popular and somewhat expensive.RY114742. Bronze trichalkon, RPC Online III 3729, Butcher CRS 266, McAlee 125(d), SNG Hunterian II 2950, Choice VF, well centered, brown tone, highlighting reddish earthen deposits, weight 5.270 g, maximum diameter 18.4 mm, die axis 0o, Antioch (Antakya, Turkey) mint, reign of Hadrian, 128 - 129 A.D.; obverse ANTIOXEΩN THC MHTPOΠOΛEWC, veiled and turreted head of Tyche right; reverse ram leaping right, looking back, star within crescent above, ET ZOP (year 177 [of the Caesarean Era]) below; $110.00 (€103.40)
Caracalla, 28 January 198 - 8 April 217 A.D., Laodicea ad Mare, Syria
Laodicea ad Mar (Latakia, Syria) has been inhabited since the second millennium B.C. It was on the Via Maris, a coastal road that ran south from Antioch to Damascus and Beirut. The city was renamed by Seleucus I Nicator in honor of his mother, Laodice and was a major port for the Seleukid Kingdom. Laodicea flourished under Rome and was second only to Antioch in the region. Herod the Great, king of Judaea, furnished Laodicea with an aqueduct, the remains of which stand to the east of the town. The Legio VI Ferrata was probably based in Laodicea.
Eckhard Meyer was not able to read the full obverse legend on the present obverse die, but with the aid of an additional specimen unknown to Meyer, this cataloger was able to reconstruct it. What an incredibly blundered legend! Meyer notes that the depiction of Tyche here is a throwback to the reign of Trajan (e.g. RPC III 3795). Apparently, the meaning of the letters ΑΓ (or ΓΑ) in the field are still a mystery, although they may be related to the Howgego 581 countermark (CAΓ), the last two letters of which appear ligate and which mark is known only on Laodicea ad Mare coinage.RY114906. Bronze AE 22, Meyer 65 (3 spec.), Mionnet V, p. 257, 773 corr. (legends), cf. BMC Galatia, p. 259, 88 (AΓ in field); SNG Cop -, F, black patina on thick flan with red earthen highlights, minor edge splits, weight 6.408 g, maximum diameter 21.8 mm, die axis 0o, Laodicea ad Mare (Latakia, Syria) mint, c. 198 A.D.; obverse AYTO KΛICΛ M AYP ANTWNNONYON CEB (sic!; N's retrograde), laureate and bare bust right; reverse IOVΛ ΛAOΔIKEWN MHTPOΠOΛ/EWC (N retrograde; last three letters clockwise in inner left field), ΓA (downward inner right field), veiled and turreted head of Tyche right; ex Rönesans Salzgitter blue auction 1 (27 Aug 2023), lot 744 (sold unattributed); rare; $100.00 (€94.00)
Elagabalus, 16 May 218 - 11 March 222 A.D., Samosata, Commagene, Syria
Samosata was an ancient city on the right (west) bank of the Euphrates. Its ruins existed at the modern city of Samsat, Adiyaman Province, Turkey until the site was flooded by the Atatürk Dam. The unusual depiction of two Tyches suggests a link between Samosata and another city. The closest metropolis was Edessa in Mesopotamia, 20 miles to the east.RP112247. Bronze AE 21, RPC Online VI T7977 (6 spec.); BMC Galatia p. 120, 34 corr. (Caracalla); Butcher CRS 27 var. (no eagle); SNG Cop -, aVF, rough, porous, off center on a tight flan cutting off parts of legends, weight 5.201 g, maximum diameter 21.1 mm, die axis 0o, Samosata (site now flooded by the Atatürk Dam) mint, 16 Mar 218 - 11 Mar 222 A.D.; obverse AYT K M AY ANTWNINOC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from the front; reverse MHTPO KOMMA Φ CAMOCATEWN, two busts of Tyche, draped, turreted and veiled, facing one another, eagle standing facing with head right and wings open between them; rare; $90.00 (€84.60)
Alexandreia Troas, Troas, 3rd Century A.D.
Alexandria Troas (modern Eski Stambul) is on the Aegean Sea near the northern tip of the west coast of Anatolia, a little south of Tenedos (modern Bozcaada). The city was founded by Antigonus around 310 B.C. with the name Antigoneia and was populated with the inhabitants of Cebren, Colone, Hamaxitus, Neandria, and Scepsis. About 301 B.C., Lysimachus improved the city and re-named it Alexandreia. Among the few structure ruins remaining today are a bath, an odeon, a theater and gymnasium complex and a stadium. The circuit of the old walls can still be traced.GB113000. Bronze AE 21, SNG Canakkale 539; SNG Tüb IV 2534; cf. SNG Cop IV 114; SNGvA 7553; Bellinger Troy A490; BMC Troas p. 15, 56, VF, near centered, green patina, some porosity, weight 6.117 g, maximum diameter 20.8 mm, die axis 0o, Alexandria Troas (Eski Stambul, Turkey) mint, 3rd century A.D.; obverse CO-L TROA, turreted and draped bust of Tyche of Alexandria Troas right, vexillum behind inscribed CO / AV; reverse CO-L AVG TRO, eagle flying right, bull forepart right its talons; $90.00 (€84.60)
Maximinus II Daia, May 310 - 30 April 313 A.D., Antioch, Seleucis and Pieria, Syria, Civic Christian Persecution Issue
In 311, after the death of Galerius in late April or May, representatives from Nicomedia presented themselves before Maximinus, bringing images of their gods and requested that Christians not be allowed to live in their city. Late in 311, an embassy from Antioch, led by their curator Theotecnus, also requested permission to banish Christians from their city and its territory. Other cities followed with the same request. Maximinus support for Antioch's requests is advertised by this coin type. Fearing his co-emperors, however, Maximinus changed his mind. His edict in May 313 restored privileges and property to Christians. Later in 313, Licinius captured Antioch and executed Theotecnus.RT114686. Billon quarter follis, McAlee 170(b), Van Heesch 3(a), Vagi 2954, SRCV IV 14927, VF, near centered on a tight flan, highlighting earthen deposits, rev. weakly struck, weight 1.602 g, maximum diameter 15.2 mm, die axis 0o, 2nd officina, Antioch (Antakya, Turkey) mint, c. 312 A.D.; obverse GENIO ANTIOCHENI, Tyche of Antioch seated facing on rocks, turreted and veiled, stalks of grain in right; upper body of river-god Orontes below, standing facing in waist deep water, arms outstretched; reverse APOLLONI SANCTO, Apollo standing left, patera in right hand, kithara (lyre) in left hand, B right, SMA in exergue; $90.00 (€84.60)
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