Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXIII 24-25 Mar 2022
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Crete, Knossos AR Stater. Circa 320-270 BC. Wreathed female (Demeter or Persephone) head to right / The Labyrinth of King Minos in maeander pattern; star within centre. Traité III 1537, pl. CCL, 4; SNG Copenhagen 369; BMC 5-6; Svoronos 27; Le Rider 22. 11.08g, 26mm.
Extremely Fine; small test punch on rev., beautiful old cabinet tone. Previously NGC graded XF 5/5 - 2/5 (#4936363-013). Very Rare.
Ex Collection of a Gentleman;
Acquired from Stack's Bowers Galleries.
Knossos, a city of unparalleled Bronze Age splendours, was reconstructed by the Greeks slightly to the north of the destroyed Minoan palace and the city recovered a considerable degree of importance in the 1st millennium BC, never forgetting its glorious pre-Hellenic past. The frequent military conflicts with its neighbours Tylisos, Lyttos and Gortyna notwithstanding, the city thrived as 'the metropolis of Crete' (Strabo X.47). By the 5th century BC it established a mint and began to issue coins on the Aiginetan standard commemorating its legendary past, at first depicting the Minotaur and the Labyrinth, then later Ariadne and King Minos, and from about 300-270 BC an elegant head of Hera. Knossos continued to issue coins into Roman times as capital of the Roman province of Cyrenaica and Crete under a Cretarch named Kydas.
The fable of Theseus and the Minotaur needs little recounting; all are familiar with Theseus' feat of slaying the monstrous progeny of Pasiphaë and the white bull sent from the sea by Poseidon; navigating the Labyrinth with the help of Minos' daughter Ariadne who provided him with thread so he could find his way back out. The historical basis for the myth has long been sought by scholars and archaeologists: Sir Arthur Evans, the first to excavate the Minoan palace of Knossos is often credited for the idea that the Labyrinth of myth was in reality the palace of Minos, which had an enormous number of rooms, staircases and corridors, and heavily featured the double-axe (labrys) symbol within – thus being the "House of the Labrys". Though the notion is generally discredited today, the historical basis and etymology for the Labyrinth is sought still, with little agreement. Perhaps the most intriguing perspective on the Thesean myth is that of the widely-acclaimed author Mary Renault, whose vivid work of historical fiction, the Bildungsroman entitled "The King Must Die" (1958) sought to rationalise the fanciful and furnish a plausible basis for the story. Thus in her work the appointed 'sacrifice' from Athens of boys and girls are intended for the acrobatic bull-dancing rituals of which magnificent Minoan frescoes still survive, rather than the knife; the Labyrinth is indeed the palace of Minos, though its maze-like qualities are portrayed as subterranean grotto-like passageways of forgotten storerooms and ancient armouries incorporated into the foundations of the palace; the Minotaur meanwhile is the cruel and despotic heir of Minos named Asterion (a synonymous term also used by ancient writers referring to the monster, and in its literal meaning of 'starry' also figured on the coinage of Knossos in place of the monster).
Regardless of any historical basis for this myth, the fantastical story as it came to be told possessed layers of metaphor that were intended to be interpreted as didactic. The tale of Theseus is a coming of age story par excellence, that narrates the transition of a flawed boy from youth to adulthood and ascension to the throne of Athens; Theseus is at once the great hero who slays the Minotaur, thus rescuing his companions and delivering his city from the curse of their regularly-appointed sacrifice, but at the same time is the reprehensible cad who abandons Ariadne on Naxos and by celebrating his return to Athens too soon forgets to replace the black sail of his ship with a white one as he approaches, so causing the suicide of his father who believes him dead. Thus the Labyrinth of the story serves as a metaphor for potential transformation: despite Theseus accomplishing the seemingly impossible he retains his flaws and resists the chance to change and grow until he had that change (in the form of great responsibility and cares of state) forced upon him by his father the king's death that he himself was the cause of. The Labyrinth can furthermore be interpreted as a metaphor for life, requiring that one find one's thread and learn how to follow it, lest life's perplexities be insurmountable.
As a (much) later conclusion to the story of Theseus, the Athenian statesman Kimon of Athens, at the bidding of an oracle, having conquered the island of Skyros for the Athenians identified there "a coffin of a great corpse with a bronze spear-head by its side and a sword" as the mortal remains of Theseus (Plutarch, Life of Kimon VIII.6). The blurring of myth, religion and history inherent in the Greeks' cultural identity thus led to fables such as that of Theseus and the Labyrinth retaining their power for centuries, affording political capital to such as Kimon, and prestige to be leveraged and celebrated as in the case of Knossos.
Extremely Fine; small test punch on rev., beautiful old cabinet tone. Previously NGC graded XF 5/5 - 2/5 (#4936363-013). Very Rare.
Ex Collection of a Gentleman;
Acquired from Stack's Bowers Galleries.
Knossos, a city of unparalleled Bronze Age splendours, was reconstructed by the Greeks slightly to the north of the destroyed Minoan palace and the city recovered a considerable degree of importance in the 1st millennium BC, never forgetting its glorious pre-Hellenic past. The frequent military conflicts with its neighbours Tylisos, Lyttos and Gortyna notwithstanding, the city thrived as 'the metropolis of Crete' (Strabo X.47). By the 5th century BC it established a mint and began to issue coins on the Aiginetan standard commemorating its legendary past, at first depicting the Minotaur and the Labyrinth, then later Ariadne and King Minos, and from about 300-270 BC an elegant head of Hera. Knossos continued to issue coins into Roman times as capital of the Roman province of Cyrenaica and Crete under a Cretarch named Kydas.
The fable of Theseus and the Minotaur needs little recounting; all are familiar with Theseus' feat of slaying the monstrous progeny of Pasiphaë and the white bull sent from the sea by Poseidon; navigating the Labyrinth with the help of Minos' daughter Ariadne who provided him with thread so he could find his way back out. The historical basis for the myth has long been sought by scholars and archaeologists: Sir Arthur Evans, the first to excavate the Minoan palace of Knossos is often credited for the idea that the Labyrinth of myth was in reality the palace of Minos, which had an enormous number of rooms, staircases and corridors, and heavily featured the double-axe (labrys) symbol within – thus being the "House of the Labrys". Though the notion is generally discredited today, the historical basis and etymology for the Labyrinth is sought still, with little agreement. Perhaps the most intriguing perspective on the Thesean myth is that of the widely-acclaimed author Mary Renault, whose vivid work of historical fiction, the Bildungsroman entitled "The King Must Die" (1958) sought to rationalise the fanciful and furnish a plausible basis for the story. Thus in her work the appointed 'sacrifice' from Athens of boys and girls are intended for the acrobatic bull-dancing rituals of which magnificent Minoan frescoes still survive, rather than the knife; the Labyrinth is indeed the palace of Minos, though its maze-like qualities are portrayed as subterranean grotto-like passageways of forgotten storerooms and ancient armouries incorporated into the foundations of the palace; the Minotaur meanwhile is the cruel and despotic heir of Minos named Asterion (a synonymous term also used by ancient writers referring to the monster, and in its literal meaning of 'starry' also figured on the coinage of Knossos in place of the monster).
Regardless of any historical basis for this myth, the fantastical story as it came to be told possessed layers of metaphor that were intended to be interpreted as didactic. The tale of Theseus is a coming of age story par excellence, that narrates the transition of a flawed boy from youth to adulthood and ascension to the throne of Athens; Theseus is at once the great hero who slays the Minotaur, thus rescuing his companions and delivering his city from the curse of their regularly-appointed sacrifice, but at the same time is the reprehensible cad who abandons Ariadne on Naxos and by celebrating his return to Athens too soon forgets to replace the black sail of his ship with a white one as he approaches, so causing the suicide of his father who believes him dead. Thus the Labyrinth of the story serves as a metaphor for potential transformation: despite Theseus accomplishing the seemingly impossible he retains his flaws and resists the chance to change and grow until he had that change (in the form of great responsibility and cares of state) forced upon him by his father the king's death that he himself was the cause of. The Labyrinth can furthermore be interpreted as a metaphor for life, requiring that one find one's thread and learn how to follow it, lest life's perplexities be insurmountable.
As a (much) later conclusion to the story of Theseus, the Athenian statesman Kimon of Athens, at the bidding of an oracle, having conquered the island of Skyros for the Athenians identified there "a coffin of a great corpse with a bronze spear-head by its side and a sword" as the mortal remains of Theseus (Plutarch, Life of Kimon VIII.6). The blurring of myth, religion and history inherent in the Greeks' cultural identity thus led to fables such as that of Theseus and the Labyrinth retaining their power for centuries, affording political capital to such as Kimon, and prestige to be leveraged and celebrated as in the case of Knossos.