Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 96 14-15 February 2017
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Crete, Phaistos. Silver Stater (11.38 g), ca. 300-270 BC. T-AΛ-ΩN, winged figure of Talos standing facing, preparing to hurl stone and holding another. Reverse: ΦAIΣTIΩ[N], bull butting right. Svoronos 67 (same dies); De Luynes 2775 (same dies). Very Rare. Well struck and well centered on a slightly porous planchet. Natural iridescent toning. Nearly Extremely Fine. Estimate Value $3,000 - 4,000
The Hanbery Collection; Ex Leu 54 (28 April 1992), 112.
Talos is described in the Argonautika of Apollonios of Rhodes as a bronze giant fashioned by Hephaistos in order to protect Zeus' beloved Europa on Crete. He circled the island three times a day, throwing rocks at any ships that sailed too close. Jason and the Argonauts were only able to defeat him through the removal of a bronze plug in Talos' heel which released the molten ichor that served as his blood. However, the Talos depicted on this coin seems not to be a bronze automaton as described by Apollonios, but a winged deity, perhaps indicating he appears here as a local Cretan form of Zeus associated with the sun. According to the Greek grammarian Hesychius of Alexandria (ca. 5th-6th centuries AD) Talos was equivalent to Helios in the Cretan dialect. Thus it would seem that the myths of Talos told outside of Crete differed considerably from those told locally on the island.
The Hanbery Collection; Ex Leu 54 (28 April 1992), 112.
Talos is described in the Argonautika of Apollonios of Rhodes as a bronze giant fashioned by Hephaistos in order to protect Zeus' beloved Europa on Crete. He circled the island three times a day, throwing rocks at any ships that sailed too close. Jason and the Argonauts were only able to defeat him through the removal of a bronze plug in Talos' heel which released the molten ichor that served as his blood. However, the Talos depicted on this coin seems not to be a bronze automaton as described by Apollonios, but a winged deity, perhaps indicating he appears here as a local Cretan form of Zeus associated with the sun. According to the Greek grammarian Hesychius of Alexandria (ca. 5th-6th centuries AD) Talos was equivalent to Helios in the Cretan dialect. Thus it would seem that the myths of Talos told outside of Crete differed considerably from those told locally on the island.