Roma Numismatics Ltd
E-Sale 106 16 Feb 2023
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Thrace, Hadrianopolis Æ 16mm. Pseudo-autonomous issue, time of the Severans, AD 193-235. Diademed, veiled and draped bust of Olympias(?) to right / ΑΔΡΙ[Α]ΝΟΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ, Serpent coiled to right. Unpublished in the standard references, including Jurukova, Hadrianopolis. 2.05g, 16mm, 12h.
Extremely Fine; nice dark olive-green patina. Apparently unpublished and possibly unique.
From the inventory of a German dealer.
The identification of the figure is not recognisable as a goddess, such as Demeter, who can appear veiled but with identifying attributes such as a grain wreath or holding a poppy. Instead, she is likely to be Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great.
According to the so-called Alexander Romance (believed to have been recorded in the third century BC), Alexander was fathered by a refugee Egyptian Pharaoh, Nektanebo II, who was also a great magician. Whilst King Philip was absent on a campaign, the exiled Nektanebo succeeded in deceiving Olympias into receiving his advances by taking the form of a serpent.
As a follower of mystery religions, Olympias was famed - and feared - for her ability to handle snakes during religious ceremonies. According to Plutarch, the biographer of 1st century AD, she was a devout member of the orgiastic snake-worshiping cult of Dionysos, a group that worshipped the god of wine, fertility, and religious ecstasy.
A possible date for this coin is the time of the Severans, since it is known that Caracalla had mania for Alexander and mimicked him in his personal style.
Extremely Fine; nice dark olive-green patina. Apparently unpublished and possibly unique.
From the inventory of a German dealer.
The identification of the figure is not recognisable as a goddess, such as Demeter, who can appear veiled but with identifying attributes such as a grain wreath or holding a poppy. Instead, she is likely to be Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great.
According to the so-called Alexander Romance (believed to have been recorded in the third century BC), Alexander was fathered by a refugee Egyptian Pharaoh, Nektanebo II, who was also a great magician. Whilst King Philip was absent on a campaign, the exiled Nektanebo succeeded in deceiving Olympias into receiving his advances by taking the form of a serpent.
As a follower of mystery religions, Olympias was famed - and feared - for her ability to handle snakes during religious ceremonies. According to Plutarch, the biographer of 1st century AD, she was a devout member of the orgiastic snake-worshiping cult of Dionysos, a group that worshipped the god of wine, fertility, and religious ecstasy.
A possible date for this coin is the time of the Severans, since it is known that Caracalla had mania for Alexander and mimicked him in his personal style.