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Showcase Auction 61288 18 Sep 2022
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PHOENICIA. Tyre. Trajan (AD 98-117). AR tetradrachm (28mm, 14.99 gm, 6h). NGC AU 5/5 - 3/5, Fine Style, light graffito, flan flaw. Tyre, AD 103-109. AYTOKP KAIC NEP TPAIANOC CЄB ΓEP ΔAK, laureate head of Trajan right, set on eagle; club to right / ΔHMAPX-EΞ YΠATЄ, laureate bust of Melkart-Hercules right, lion's skin tied around neck. Prieur 1495. RPC III (Antioch) 3528. Struck on a bright, lustrous flan. Lightly toned.
From the Historical Scholar Collection. Ex Antiqua Inc., private sale with old tag
The Romans held a certain respect for civilizations and religions more ancient than their own. They admired the ancient nature of the religions of the Eastern lands they conquered, such as Judaism and the deities of Syria and Phoenicia. One of the prominent figures in the Phoenician pantheon was Melkart (or Melqart), the patron deity of the city of Tyre. Melkart was the son of Ba'al, the omnipotent Ruler of the Universe, and he served as protector of the world and lord of the underworld. As Phoenician traders spread their culture across the Mediterranean, Melkart became a popular subject of worship, particularly in Tyre's greatest colony, Carthage.
As the Romans moved East, they tended to amalgamate figures from their own pantheon with local deities. For example, the Egyptian goddess Isis was celebrated in Mysteries reminiscent of the rites celebrating the Greek goddesses Persephone and Demeter. The cult of Serapis, a fusion between Egyptian and Greek deities, was extremely popular in Rome from the first century through the Christian period.
Romans viewed the Phoenician god Melkart as sharing much in common with the Greco-Roman Hercules, and Melkart was in fact often referred to as "Tyrian Hercules" by the Romans. Emperor Septimius Severus was a native of Leptis Magna, Libya, a formerly Phoenician city where Melkart was widely worshipped. Upon becoming emperor, he built a temple in Rome to Liber and Hercules, with Liber serving as a Romanized stand-in for Melkart, the patron deity of his city.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-provincial/ancients-phoenicia-tyre-trajan-ad-98-117-ar-tetradrachm-28mm-1499-gm-6h-ngc-au-5-5-3-5-fine-style-ligh/a/61288-95154.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-61288-09182022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
PHOENICIA. Tyre. Trajan (AD 98-117). AR tetradrachm (28mm, 14.99 gm, 6h). NGC AU 5/5 - 3/5, Fine Style, light graffito, flan flaw. Tyre, AD 103-109. AYTOKP KAIC NEP TPAIANOC CЄB ΓEP ΔAK, laureate head of Trajan right, set on eagle; club to right / ΔHMAPX-EΞ YΠATЄ, laureate bust of Melkart-Hercules right, lion's skin tied around neck. Prieur 1495. RPC III (Antioch) 3528. Struck on a bright, lustrous flan. Lightly toned.
From the Historical Scholar Collection. Ex Antiqua Inc., private sale with old tag
The Romans held a certain respect for civilizations and religions more ancient than their own. They admired the ancient nature of the religions of the Eastern lands they conquered, such as Judaism and the deities of Syria and Phoenicia. One of the prominent figures in the Phoenician pantheon was Melkart (or Melqart), the patron deity of the city of Tyre. Melkart was the son of Ba'al, the omnipotent Ruler of the Universe, and he served as protector of the world and lord of the underworld. As Phoenician traders spread their culture across the Mediterranean, Melkart became a popular subject of worship, particularly in Tyre's greatest colony, Carthage.
As the Romans moved East, they tended to amalgamate figures from their own pantheon with local deities. For example, the Egyptian goddess Isis was celebrated in Mysteries reminiscent of the rites celebrating the Greek goddesses Persephone and Demeter. The cult of Serapis, a fusion between Egyptian and Greek deities, was extremely popular in Rome from the first century through the Christian period.
Romans viewed the Phoenician god Melkart as sharing much in common with the Greco-Roman Hercules, and Melkart was in fact often referred to as "Tyrian Hercules" by the Romans. Emperor Septimius Severus was a native of Leptis Magna, Libya, a formerly Phoenician city where Melkart was widely worshipped. Upon becoming emperor, he built a temple in Rome to Liber and Hercules, with Liber serving as a Romanized stand-in for Melkart, the patron deity of his city.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-provincial/ancients-phoenicia-tyre-trajan-ad-98-117-ar-tetradrachm-28mm-1499-gm-6h-ngc-au-5-5-3-5-fine-style-ligh/a/61288-95154.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-61288-09182022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved