Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 116 1 Oct 2019
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Pherae
Stater circa 369-358, AR 11.55 g. Facing head of Ennodia, three-quarters r., wearing pearl-diadem, grape-cluster earrings and necklace: in l. field, torch. Rev. Α – Λ – E – ΞΑ – Ν – ΔΡΟΥ Warrior on horseback galloping r., holding spear. Below the horse, double axe. Traité IV, 612. Jameson 1106 (this reverse die). BCD Thessaly I, 1309 (this coin). BCD Thessaly II, –.
Extremely rare. An exquisite portrait of lovely style struck in high relief.
Delightful light iridescent tone and extremely fine
Ex Nomos sale 4, 2001, BCD, 1309.
Pherae was one of the oldest cities of Thessaly situated in the region of Pelasgiotis. It's fame stretched back to the age of myth, when Herakles aided Admetos, the king of Pherai in rescuing his wife Alcestis from Hades. In a selfless act of love, Alcestis had volunteered to take the place of Admetos in death in order that her husband might live forever. Herakles, seeing what a grievous blow the loss of his wife was to Admetos and desiring to repay the past hospitality of the king of Pherai, undertook the dangerous journey to return Alcestis from the Underworld. In the fifth century B.C. Pherai was often allied with Athens, but as the Peloponnesian War (441-404 B.C.) drew to a close the government of the city was seized by a certain Lykophron, who established himself as tyrant (ca. 406-390 B.C.) and embarked on a series of struggles with Larissa for dominance in Thessaly. His successor, Jason of Pherai (390-370 B.C.), was powerful enough to influence the peace settlement between Thebes and Sparta following the Battle of Leuktra (371 B.C.) and his mercenary army was poised to exert Thessalian hegemony over all of mainland Greece when Jason was assassinated. The tyrants who followed lacked the gifts and vision of Jason, and Pherai, with the rest of Thessaly, ultimately fell under the domination of Philip II of Macedon. Although this stater was struck after the end of the great tyrants of Pherai and Thessalian independence, its types represent traditional deities of the city. The obverse depicts Ennodia, a specifically Pheraian deity. Ennodia, whose name literally means "by the roadside" was a terrifying goddess of the roadside and the dead, whose power was regularly invoked by witches and necromancers. The cult of Ennodia spread throughout Thessaly under Jason of Pherae until she was recognized as a national Thessalian deity as much as a local Pheraian one.
Stater circa 369-358, AR 11.55 g. Facing head of Ennodia, three-quarters r., wearing pearl-diadem, grape-cluster earrings and necklace: in l. field, torch. Rev. Α – Λ – E – ΞΑ – Ν – ΔΡΟΥ Warrior on horseback galloping r., holding spear. Below the horse, double axe. Traité IV, 612. Jameson 1106 (this reverse die). BCD Thessaly I, 1309 (this coin). BCD Thessaly II, –.
Extremely rare. An exquisite portrait of lovely style struck in high relief.
Delightful light iridescent tone and extremely fine
Ex Nomos sale 4, 2001, BCD, 1309.
Pherae was one of the oldest cities of Thessaly situated in the region of Pelasgiotis. It's fame stretched back to the age of myth, when Herakles aided Admetos, the king of Pherai in rescuing his wife Alcestis from Hades. In a selfless act of love, Alcestis had volunteered to take the place of Admetos in death in order that her husband might live forever. Herakles, seeing what a grievous blow the loss of his wife was to Admetos and desiring to repay the past hospitality of the king of Pherai, undertook the dangerous journey to return Alcestis from the Underworld. In the fifth century B.C. Pherai was often allied with Athens, but as the Peloponnesian War (441-404 B.C.) drew to a close the government of the city was seized by a certain Lykophron, who established himself as tyrant (ca. 406-390 B.C.) and embarked on a series of struggles with Larissa for dominance in Thessaly. His successor, Jason of Pherai (390-370 B.C.), was powerful enough to influence the peace settlement between Thebes and Sparta following the Battle of Leuktra (371 B.C.) and his mercenary army was poised to exert Thessalian hegemony over all of mainland Greece when Jason was assassinated. The tyrants who followed lacked the gifts and vision of Jason, and Pherai, with the rest of Thessaly, ultimately fell under the domination of Philip II of Macedon. Although this stater was struck after the end of the great tyrants of Pherai and Thessalian independence, its types represent traditional deities of the city. The obverse depicts Ennodia, a specifically Pheraian deity. Ennodia, whose name literally means "by the roadside" was a terrifying goddess of the roadside and the dead, whose power was regularly invoked by witches and necromancers. The cult of Ennodia spread throughout Thessaly under Jason of Pherae until she was recognized as a national Thessalian deity as much as a local Pheraian one.