Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XVII 28 Mar 2019
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Bruttium, Rhegion AR Tetradrachm. Circa 425-420 BC. Facing lion's head, on brows, two circular elements each containing three pellets; retrograde K to left, laurel sprig to right / Male figure (Iokastos, or Aristaios) seated to left, holding sceptre in right hand, left hand resting behind on drapery tied around waist, serpent below seat; all within laurel wreath. Herzfelder 60 (D35/R49); de Luynes 790; SNG Lloyd 684; SNG Lockett 650; HN Italy 2491. 17.31g, 26mm, 3h.
Near Extremely Fine; old cabinet tone.
From a private European collection;
Privately purchased from Spink & Son Ltd., 2005.
The lion on the obverse of Rhegion's coinage is the sacred animal of Apollo, patron god of colonisation. The seated figure on the reverse has no distinctive attributes that aid identification, however current interpretations attribute him as being Iokastos, son of Aiolos, and who was king over much of the toe of Italy. That he died from the effects of a snake-bite we learn from Heraclides, a pupil of Plato: "Rhegion was founded by Chalcidians who had left Euripas on account of a pestilence; they were aided by Messenians, who settled down first near the grave of Iokastos, one of the sons of Aiolus, whom they say died from the bite of a snake." The fact that his brothers Pheraimon and Agathurnos were commemorated on coins of Messana and Tyndaris renders it likely that Iokastos should likewise be made the subject of a type. This identification is complicated however given the lack of any identifying legend or otherwise distinctive features; the small snake that appears on this reverse die and a few others seems to be the primary reason for the identification of the figure as Iokastos, but its absence on other dies or replacement by other seemingly unrelated symbols makes this link tenuous at best. Indeed, the themes of youth and old age, along with the subsidiary imagery of kantharos, grapes, dog, and crow, all point to a Dionysiac figure, more fitting for the myth of Aristaios, who protected Dionysos as a child, and was the lover of Eurydike, who died of a snakebite.
Near Extremely Fine; old cabinet tone.
From a private European collection;
Privately purchased from Spink & Son Ltd., 2005.
The lion on the obverse of Rhegion's coinage is the sacred animal of Apollo, patron god of colonisation. The seated figure on the reverse has no distinctive attributes that aid identification, however current interpretations attribute him as being Iokastos, son of Aiolos, and who was king over much of the toe of Italy. That he died from the effects of a snake-bite we learn from Heraclides, a pupil of Plato: "Rhegion was founded by Chalcidians who had left Euripas on account of a pestilence; they were aided by Messenians, who settled down first near the grave of Iokastos, one of the sons of Aiolus, whom they say died from the bite of a snake." The fact that his brothers Pheraimon and Agathurnos were commemorated on coins of Messana and Tyndaris renders it likely that Iokastos should likewise be made the subject of a type. This identification is complicated however given the lack of any identifying legend or otherwise distinctive features; the small snake that appears on this reverse die and a few others seems to be the primary reason for the identification of the figure as Iokastos, but its absence on other dies or replacement by other seemingly unrelated symbols makes this link tenuous at best. Indeed, the themes of youth and old age, along with the subsidiary imagery of kantharos, grapes, dog, and crow, all point to a Dionysiac figure, more fitting for the myth of Aristaios, who protected Dionysos as a child, and was the lover of Eurydike, who died of a snakebite.