Nomos AG
obolos 4 21 February 2016
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IONIA, Erythrai. Circa 550-500 BC. Hekte (Electrum, 10mm, 2.56 g). Head of Herakles to left, in lion skin headdress. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. BMC 7. BMFA 1805 ff. SNG von Aulock 1942. Nearly extremely fine.
Erythrai had an extensive coinage of hektai during the second half of the 6th century. All of them have a head of Herakles on the obverse and a simple incuse square on the reverse. The series starts with early heads that can be rather rude in style paired with rather rough incuses (like this one); then more carefully done heads paired with quadripartite incuse squares; finally, the same reverse is paired with more refined, late Archaic heads of Herakles. Erythrai was famous for its Herakleion, a sanctuary dedicated to the Tyrian Herakles and adorned with a cult statue of Egyptian type that, according to Pausanias (7.5.5-8 ), appeared off the shore of the city, carried on a wooden raft. As the story goes, both the Erythraians and the Chians (the island of Chios is off the coast, opposite Erythrai) tried to take the raft but were unable to do so. Finally an Erythraian fisherman had a dream in which he was told that only a rope made from women's hair could be used to tow the raft in to shore. The women of Erythrai refused to cut off all their hair, but the Thracian women who lived there, both free and slaves, agreed to do so; the rope was then made and the raft and its precious cargo brought to shore (the rope was still preserved in the sanctuary in the time of Pausanias). But as a result, however, only Thracian women were allowed to enter the sanctuary.
Erythrai had an extensive coinage of hektai during the second half of the 6th century. All of them have a head of Herakles on the obverse and a simple incuse square on the reverse. The series starts with early heads that can be rather rude in style paired with rather rough incuses (like this one); then more carefully done heads paired with quadripartite incuse squares; finally, the same reverse is paired with more refined, late Archaic heads of Herakles. Erythrai was famous for its Herakleion, a sanctuary dedicated to the Tyrian Herakles and adorned with a cult statue of Egyptian type that, according to Pausanias (7.5.5-8 ), appeared off the shore of the city, carried on a wooden raft. As the story goes, both the Erythraians and the Chians (the island of Chios is off the coast, opposite Erythrai) tried to take the raft but were unable to do so. Finally an Erythraian fisherman had a dream in which he was told that only a rope made from women's hair could be used to tow the raft in to shore. The women of Erythrai refused to cut off all their hair, but the Thracian women who lived there, both free and slaves, agreed to do so; the rope was then made and the raft and its precious cargo brought to shore (the rope was still preserved in the sanctuary in the time of Pausanias). But as a result, however, only Thracian women were allowed to enter the sanctuary.