Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 536 12 Apr 2023
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ISLANDS off IONIA, Chios. Time of Trajan-Hadrian. AD 98-117. Æ Triassarion (31mm, 17.53 g, 6h). Sphinx crouching left, right forepaw raised; at feet, prow of galley / Apollo, holding patera and bow; Dionysos, holding kantharos and thyrsos, standing facing. Mavrogordato 108a; RPC III 1900. Brown surfaces, roughness, pierced. Fine. Rare.
The sphinx served as the badge of Chios. Of Egyptian or Mesopotamian origin, the Sphinx, or "strangler" was a winged hybrid monster with the body of a lioness and a female head. She figured prominently in one of the myths connected with Oedipus, and the the aphorism "riddle of the Sphinx" came to define any seemingly unanswerable question. The reverse shows Dionysus, the god of wine, with Apollo, who had a close relationship with the Chian royal family.
The sphinx served as the badge of Chios. Of Egyptian or Mesopotamian origin, the Sphinx, or "strangler" was a winged hybrid monster with the body of a lioness and a female head. She figured prominently in one of the myths connected with Oedipus, and the the aphorism "riddle of the Sphinx" came to define any seemingly unanswerable question. The reverse shows Dionysus, the god of wine, with Apollo, who had a close relationship with the Chian royal family.