Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 106 9-10 May 2018
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Stasoikos II, 400 – 380. Siglos circa 400-380, AR 10.80 g. pa si le o se sa a si o i ko in Cypriot characters Laureate head of Apollo r. Rev. pa si lo wo se sa ta si wo i ko ne in Cypriot characters Aphrodite on bull galloping r. Traité II 1328, pl. CXXXV, 10 (these dies). BMC 1 and pl. VI, 9 (these dies). Tziambazis 51. SilCoinCy 1229 (these dies) (Timocharis).
Extremely rare, only very few specimens known. Good very fine
Privately purchased from Spink & Son in September 1979.
The site of Marion on northern Cyprus had been inhabited since the Neolithic Period, but grew into an important city-kingdom in the late Bronze Age. The city and its kings grew wealthy from the gold and copper mines that they controlled and through maritime trade in metal and timber. The details of the history of Marion in the Classical period is poorly known, beyond that it was freed from Persian influence by the Athenian general, Kimon, following the decisive battle of Salamis (480 B.C.). Stasoikos I was one of the Greek kings of Marion who rose to power in the second half of the fifth century B.C. Little is known about his reign beyond that he issued silver coins inscribed in the native Cypriot syllabic script. The types of this stater depict the head of Apollo on the obverse and a goddess riding a bull on the reverse. In almost any other context the reverse type would be described as Europa riding on the back of Zeus in the form of a bull, but at Marion the rider is often thought to represent a Cypriot Aphrodite. The type might also indicate a degree of Phoenician cultural influence at Marion and in the dynasty of Stasoikos I, for Europa was generally equated with the Phoenician goddess Astarte at Sidon. Cypriot syllabic script was a writing system derived from Minoan Linear A that survived on Cyprus until the Hellenistic period. The script was essentially a throwback to the Bronze Age that managed to survive for centuries despite competition from both Greek and Phoenician alphabetic scripts on the island in the Classical period. This stater features the same long syllabic legend on both obverse and reverse naming "King Stasoikos."
Extremely rare, only very few specimens known. Good very fine
Privately purchased from Spink & Son in September 1979.
The site of Marion on northern Cyprus had been inhabited since the Neolithic Period, but grew into an important city-kingdom in the late Bronze Age. The city and its kings grew wealthy from the gold and copper mines that they controlled and through maritime trade in metal and timber. The details of the history of Marion in the Classical period is poorly known, beyond that it was freed from Persian influence by the Athenian general, Kimon, following the decisive battle of Salamis (480 B.C.). Stasoikos I was one of the Greek kings of Marion who rose to power in the second half of the fifth century B.C. Little is known about his reign beyond that he issued silver coins inscribed in the native Cypriot syllabic script. The types of this stater depict the head of Apollo on the obverse and a goddess riding a bull on the reverse. In almost any other context the reverse type would be described as Europa riding on the back of Zeus in the form of a bull, but at Marion the rider is often thought to represent a Cypriot Aphrodite. The type might also indicate a degree of Phoenician cultural influence at Marion and in the dynasty of Stasoikos I, for Europa was generally equated with the Phoenician goddess Astarte at Sidon. Cypriot syllabic script was a writing system derived from Minoan Linear A that survived on Cyprus until the Hellenistic period. The script was essentially a throwback to the Bronze Age that managed to survive for centuries despite competition from both Greek and Phoenician alphabetic scripts on the island in the Classical period. This stater features the same long syllabic legend on both obverse and reverse naming "King Stasoikos."