Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 133 21 Nov 2022
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Greek Coins. Uncertain mint.
Tetradrachm circa 520-480, AR 14.19 g. Sphinx springing l. Rev. Irregular incuse square. Svoronos, Hellénisme Primitif –. Boston, MFA –. BMC –. AMNG –. Coin Hoards VIII, 37, pl. III, 23 (this coin).
Exceedingly rare, only very few specimens known. A very interesting and fascinating issue
of fine Archaic style struck in high relief. Old cabinet tone and about extremely fine
Ex New York sale XXVII, 2012, Prospero, 260. From the Yerakini hoard (1982).
The sphinx entered Greek mythological tradition in the Bronze Age by way of the economic and cultural powerhouse of Pharaonic Egypt, but with several important modifications. In Egypt, sphinxes were normally represented as lions with a male human heads-usually depicting the pharaoh-or, less commonly, the heads of rams or hawks. Regardless of the specific appearance, these sphinxes always had the character of protective guardians, usually associated with important funerary or sacred buildings. However, once the ancient Greeks took hold of the basic Egyptian sphinx iconography, they reimagined it for their own purposes. Whereas multiple sphinxes were possible in Egyptian custom, for the Greeks there was only one and this creature was composed of the body of a lion and the head of a human woman. They also threw in a pair of wings and sometimes horns (both visible on the present coin) for good measure although these are not usual features of Egyptian sphinxes. Taking it that extra step, the Greeks also determined that their sphinx was not a figure of protection as in Egypt, but that she was an evil spirit responsible for disease. Indeed, even the name that they gave to her is rather off-putting. The Greek word "sphinx" literally means "throttler."
A Greek myth evolved in which the sphinx was sent to Boeotian Thebes by Hera as a curse on the city. The sphinx waited on the crossroads outside the city gate and posed a riddle to passers-by. If they failed to solve the riddle correctly, she killed and devoured them. The sphinx was only defeated upon the arrival of Oedipus, who knew that answer to the question, "What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night?" was "man." In the earliest stage of human life, a child crawls on hands and feet ("four feet"), as an older child and adult he walks on two feet, and in old age he adopts a cane to serve as a steadying third foot. When Oedipus answered correctly, the sphinx was overcome with such rage and despair that the threw herself off a cliff and died.
Sphinxes were not an entirely uncommon type for archaic coinages, particularly those of Samothrace, Chios and Kyzikos. The present very rare tetradrachm may have been struck in western Asia Minor since its weight of 14.19g is very close to the Milesian weight standard of ca. 14.1 g. A Thracian origin is probably less likely although Abdera is known to have employed a standard of ca. 14.7 g, which is also fairly close to the weight of the coin.
Tetradrachm circa 520-480, AR 14.19 g. Sphinx springing l. Rev. Irregular incuse square. Svoronos, Hellénisme Primitif –. Boston, MFA –. BMC –. AMNG –. Coin Hoards VIII, 37, pl. III, 23 (this coin).
Exceedingly rare, only very few specimens known. A very interesting and fascinating issue
of fine Archaic style struck in high relief. Old cabinet tone and about extremely fine
Ex New York sale XXVII, 2012, Prospero, 260. From the Yerakini hoard (1982).
The sphinx entered Greek mythological tradition in the Bronze Age by way of the economic and cultural powerhouse of Pharaonic Egypt, but with several important modifications. In Egypt, sphinxes were normally represented as lions with a male human heads-usually depicting the pharaoh-or, less commonly, the heads of rams or hawks. Regardless of the specific appearance, these sphinxes always had the character of protective guardians, usually associated with important funerary or sacred buildings. However, once the ancient Greeks took hold of the basic Egyptian sphinx iconography, they reimagined it for their own purposes. Whereas multiple sphinxes were possible in Egyptian custom, for the Greeks there was only one and this creature was composed of the body of a lion and the head of a human woman. They also threw in a pair of wings and sometimes horns (both visible on the present coin) for good measure although these are not usual features of Egyptian sphinxes. Taking it that extra step, the Greeks also determined that their sphinx was not a figure of protection as in Egypt, but that she was an evil spirit responsible for disease. Indeed, even the name that they gave to her is rather off-putting. The Greek word "sphinx" literally means "throttler."
A Greek myth evolved in which the sphinx was sent to Boeotian Thebes by Hera as a curse on the city. The sphinx waited on the crossroads outside the city gate and posed a riddle to passers-by. If they failed to solve the riddle correctly, she killed and devoured them. The sphinx was only defeated upon the arrival of Oedipus, who knew that answer to the question, "What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night?" was "man." In the earliest stage of human life, a child crawls on hands and feet ("four feet"), as an older child and adult he walks on two feet, and in old age he adopts a cane to serve as a steadying third foot. When Oedipus answered correctly, the sphinx was overcome with such rage and despair that the threw herself off a cliff and died.
Sphinxes were not an entirely uncommon type for archaic coinages, particularly those of Samothrace, Chios and Kyzikos. The present very rare tetradrachm may have been struck in western Asia Minor since its weight of 14.19g is very close to the Milesian weight standard of ca. 14.1 g. A Thracian origin is probably less likely although Abdera is known to have employed a standard of ca. 14.7 g, which is also fairly close to the weight of the coin.