Nomos AG
obolos 23 12 Jun 2022
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MYSIA. Parion. 5th century BC. Drachm (Silver, 12.5 mm, 3.18 g). Facing gorgoneion with protruding tongue. Rev. Rough, quadripartite incuse square. SNG BN 1351-2. Struck from an obverse die that was larger than the flan, otherwise, good very fine.
The gorgoneion was an apotropaic artistic device used throughout the Greek world that was thought to ward off evil. Thus it is often found in mosaics near the front door of houses, on the exteriors of buildings, on amulets and weapons, and especially on coins were it served as a protector of the city issuing the coin. In fact, one of the earliest representations of a gorgoneion comes from an electrum stater discovered during excavations at Parion (see A. A. Potts, The World's Eye, 1982, pp. 26-8). Gorgoneia became so ubiquitous on coinage that they appear as the principal type on coins from no less than thirty-seven cities across the Greek world, from Etruria to the Black Sea region and beyond.
The gorgoneion was an apotropaic artistic device used throughout the Greek world that was thought to ward off evil. Thus it is often found in mosaics near the front door of houses, on the exteriors of buildings, on amulets and weapons, and especially on coins were it served as a protector of the city issuing the coin. In fact, one of the earliest representations of a gorgoneion comes from an electrum stater discovered during excavations at Parion (see A. A. Potts, The World's Eye, 1982, pp. 26-8). Gorgoneia became so ubiquitous on coinage that they appear as the principal type on coins from no less than thirty-seven cities across the Greek world, from Etruria to the Black Sea region and beyond.