THESSALONICA Macedonia 187BC Ancient Greek Coin Poseidon Sea God Galley i40626

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Item: i40626Authentic Ancient Coin of:Greek city of Thessalonica in MacedoniaBronze 22mm (12.82 grams) Struck circa 187-167 B.C.Diademed head of Poseidon right.ΘEΣΣAΛO / NIKHΣ above and below prow of galley right.* Numismatic Note: This is a very rare, possibly unpublished type. Notice it's heavy weight. A must-have for anyone collecting the coins of Thessalonica or of very rare, possibly unpublished types.You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.A galley is a type of ship propelled by rowers that originated in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and was used for warfare , trade and piracy from the first millennium BC. Galleys dominated naval warfare in the Mediterranean from the 8th century BC until development of advanced sailing warships in the 17th century. Galleys fought in the wars of Assyria , ancient Phoenicia , Greece , Carthage and Rome until the 4th century AD. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire galleys formed the mainstay of the Byzantine navy and other navies of successors of the Roman Empire, as well as new Muslim navies. Medieval Mediterranean states, notably the Italian maritime republics, including Venice , Pisa , Genoa and the Ottoman Empire relied on them as the primary warships of their fleets until the 17th century, when they were gradually replaced by sailing warships. Galleys continued to be applied in minor roles in the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea even after the introduction of steam propelled ships in the early 19th century.The galley engagements at Actium and Lepanto are among the greatest naval battles in history.Poseidon or Posidon ( Greek : Ποσειδῶν , gen: Ποσειδῶνος ) is one of the twelve Olympian deities of the pantheon in Greek mythology . His main domain is the ocean , and he is called the "God of the Sea". Additionally, he is referred to as "Earth-Shaker" due to his role in causing earthquakes , and has been called the "tamer of horses". He is usually depicted as an older male with curly hair and beard.The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology ; both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon. Linear B tablets show that Poseidon was venerated at Pylos and Thebes in pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece as a chief deity, but he was integrated into the Olympian gods as the brother of Zeus and Hades . According to some folklore, he was saved by his mother Rhea, who concealed him among a flock of lambs and pretended to have given birth to a colt, which was devoured by Cronos.There is a Homeric hymn to Poseidon, who was the protector of many Hellenic cities, although he lost the contest for Athens to Athena . According to the references from Plato in his dialogue Timaeus and Critias , the island of Atlantis was the chosen domain of Poseidon.EtymologyThe earliest attested occurrence of the name, written in Linear B , is Po-se-da-o or Po-se-da-wo-ne , which correspond to Poseidaōn and Poseidawonos in Mycenean Greek ; in Homeric Greek it appears as Ποσειδάων ( Poseidaōn ); in Aeolic as Ποτειδάων ( Poteidaōn ); and in Doric as Ποτειδάν ( Poteidan ), ( Poteidaōn ), and ( Poteidas ). A common epithet of Poseidon is Γαιήοχος Gaiēochos , "Earth-shaker," an epithet which is also identified in Linear B tablets.The origins of the name "Poseidon" are unclear. One theory breaks it down into an element meaning "husband" or "lord" (Greek πόσις ( posis ), from PIE *pótis ) and another element meaning "earth" ( δᾶ ( da ), Doric for γῆ ( gē )), producing something like lord or spouse of Da , i.e. of the earth; this would link him with Demeter , "Earth-mother." [10] Walter Burkert finds that "the second element da- remains hopelessly ambiguous" and finds a "husband of Earth" reading "quite impossible to prove."Another theory interprets the second element as related to the word *δᾶϝον dâwon , "water"; this would make * Posei-dawōn into the master of waters. There is also the possibility that the word has Pre-Greek origin. [12] Plato in his dialogue Cratylus gives two alternative etymologies: either the sea restrained Poseidon when walking as a foot-bond (ποσί-δεσμον), or he knew many things (πολλά εἰδότος or πολλά εἰδῶν).Bronze Age Greece Poseidon, Paella MuseumIf surviving Linear B clay tablets can be trusted, the name po-se-da-wo-ne ("Poseidon") occurs with greater frequency than does di-u-ja ("Zeus"). A feminine variant, po-se-de-ia , is also found, indicating a lost consort goddess, in effect a precursor of Amphitrite . Tablets from Pylos record sacrificial goods destined for "the Two Queens and Poseidon" and to "the Two Queens and the King". The most obvious identification for the "Two Queens" is with Demeter and Persephone , or their precursors, goddesses who were not associated with Poseidon in later periods. The illuminating exception is the archaic and localised myth of the stallion Poseidon and mare Demeter at Phigalia in isolated and conservative Arcadia, noted by Pausanias (2nd century AD) as having fallen into desuetude; the violated Demeter was Demeter Erinys . In Mycenaean Knossos , Poseidon is already identified as "Earth-Shaker" ( e-ne-si-da-o-ne ), a powerful attribute (earthquakes had accompanied the collapse of the Minoan palace-culture ). In the heavily sea-dependent Mycenaean culture, no connection between Poseidon and the sea has yet surfaced. [ citation needed ] Homer and Hesiod suggest that Poseidon became lord of the sea following the defeat of his father Kronos , when the world was divided by lot among his three sons; Zeus was given the sky, Hades the underworld, and Poseidon the sea, with the Earth and Mount Olympus belonging to all three.Demeter and Poseidon's names are linked in one Pylos tablet, where they appear as po-se-da-wo-ne and da-ma-te , in the context of sacralized lot-casting. [ citation needed ]Given Poseidon's connection with horses as well as the sea, and the landlocked situation of the likely Indo-European homeland, Nobuo Komita has proposed that Poseidon was originally an aristocratic Indo-European horse-god who was then assimilated to Near Eastern aquatic deities when the basis of the Greek livelihood shifted from the land to the sea, or a god of fresh waters who was assigned a secondary role as god of the sea, where he overwhelmed the original Aegean sea deities such as Proteus and Nereus . Conversely, Walter Burkert suggests that the Hellene cult worship of Poseidon as a horse god may be connected to the introduction of the horse and war-chariot from Anatolia to Greece around 1600 BC.In any case, the early importance of Poseidon can still be glimpsed in Homer 's Odyssey , where Poseidon rather than Zeus is the major mover of events.Poseidon in mythology Andrea Doria as Neptune , by Angelo Bronzino . BirthPoseidon was a son of Cronus and Rhea . In most accounts he is swallowed by Cronus at birth but later saved , with his other brothers and sisters, by Zeus . However in some versions of the story, he, like his brother Zeus, did not share the fate of his other brother and sisters who were eaten by Cronus. He was saved by his mother Rhea, who concealed him among a flock of lambs and pretended to have given birth to a colt, which she gave to Cronus to devour.According to John Tzetzes the kourotrophos , or nurse of Poseidon was Arne , who denied knowing where he was, when Cronus came searching; according to Diodorus Siculus Poseidon was raised by the Telchines on Rhodes , just as Zeus was raised by the Korybantes on Crete .According to a single reference in the Iliad , when the world was divided by lot in three, Zeus received the sky, Hades the underworld and Poseidon the sea. In the Odyssey (v.398), Poseidon has a home in Aegae .The foundation of AthensAthena became the patron goddess of the city of Athens after a competition with Poseidon. Yet Poseidon remained a numinous presence on the Acropolis in the form of his surrogate, Erechtheus . At the dissolution festival at the end of the year in the Athenian calendar, the Skira , the priests of Athena and the priest of Poseidon would process under canopies to Eleusis . They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and the Athenians would choose whichever gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprang up; the water was salty and not very useful, whereas Athena offered them an olive tree.Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion , ca 440 BCThe Athenians or their king, Cecrops , accepted the olive tree and along with it Athena as their patron, for the olive tree brought wood , oil and food. After the fight, infuriated at his loss, Poseidon sent a monstrous flood to the Attic Plain, to punish the Athenians for not choosing him. The depression made by Poseidon's trident and filled with salt water was surrounded by the northern hall of the Erechtheum , remaining open to the air. "In cult , Poseidon was identified with Erechtheus," Walter Burkert noted; "the myth turns this into a temporal-causal sequence: in his anger at losing, Poseidon led his son Eumolpus against Athens and killed Erectheus."The contest of Athena and Poseidon was the subject of the reliefs on the western pediment of the Parthenon , the first sight that greeted the arriving visitor.This myth is construed by Robert Graves and others as reflecting a clash between the inhabitants during Mycenaean times and newer immigrants. It is interesting to note that Athens at its height was a significant sea power, at one point defeating the Persian fleet at Salamis Island in a sea battle.The walls of TroyPoseidon and Apollo, having offended Zeus by their rebellion in Hera's scheme, were temporarily stripped of their divine authority and sent to serve King Laomedon of Troy. He had them build huge walls around the city and promised to reward them well, a promise he then refused to fulfill. In vengeance, before the Trojan War , Poseidon sent a sea monster to attack Troy. The monster was later killed by Heracles .Consorts and children Poseidon on an Attic kalyx krater (detail), first half of the 5th century BC.Poseidon was said to have had many lovers of both sexes (see expandable list below). His consort was Amphitrite , a nymph and ancient sea-goddess, daughter of Nereus and Doris .Poseidon was the father of many heroes. He is thought to have fathered the famed Theseus .A mortal woman named Tyro was married to Cretheus (with whom she had one son, Aeson ) but loved Enipeus , a river god . She pursued Enipeus, who refused her advances. One day, Poseidon, filled with lust for Tyro, disguised himself as Enipeus, and from their union were born the heroes Pelias and Neleus , twin boys. Poseidon also had an affair with Alope , his granddaughter through Cercyon , his son and King of Eleusis , begetting the Attic hero Hippothoon . Cercyon had his daughter buried alive but Poseidon turned her into the spring, Alope, near Eleusis.Poseidon rescued Amymone from a lecherous satyr and then fathered a child, Nauplius , by her.After having raped Caeneus , Poseidon fulfilled her request and changed her into a male warrior .A mortal woman named Cleito once lived on an isolated island; Poseidon fell in love with the human mortal and created a dwelling sanctuary at the top of a hill near the middle of the island and surrounded the dwelling with rings of water and land to protect her. She gave birth to five sets of twin boys(the firstborn who being named Atlas ) became the first rulers of Atlantis .Not all of Poseidon's children were human. In an archaic myth, Poseidon once pursued Demeter . She spurned his advances, turning herself into a mare so that she could hide in a herd of horses; he saw through the deception and became a stallion and captured her. Their child was a horse , Arion , which was capable of human speech. Poseidon also had sexual intercourse with Medusa on the floor of a temple to Athena .Medusa was then changed into a monster by Athena . When she was later beheaded by the hero Perseus , Chrysaor and Pegasus emerged from her neck. There is also Triton (the merman ), Polyphemus (the cyclops ) and, finally, Alebion and Bergion and Otos and Ephialtae (the giants ).Male lovers of Poseidon Nerites Pelops Patroclus Worship of Poseidon Poseidon holding a trident . Corinthian plaque, 550-525 BC. From Penteskouphia.Poseidon was a major civic god of several cities: in Athens , he was second only to Athena in importance, while in Corinth and many cities of Magna Graecia he was the chief god of the polis .In his benign aspect, Poseidon was seen as creating new islands and offering calm seas. When offended or ignored, he supposedly struck the ground with his trident and caused chaotic springs, earthquakes , drownings and shipwrecks . Sailors prayed to Poseidon for a safe voyage, sometimes drowning horses as a sacrifice; in this way, according to a fragmentary papyrus , Alexander the Great paused at the Syrian seashore before the climactic battle of Issus , and resorted to prayers, "invoking Poseidon the sea-god, for whom he ordered a four-horse chariot to be cast into the waves."According to Pausanias , Poseidon was one of the caretakers of the oracle at Delphi before Olympian Apollo took it over. Apollo and Poseidon worked closely in many realms: in colonization, for example, Delphic Apollo provided the authorization to go out and settle, while Poseidon watched over the colonists on their way, and provided the lustral water for the foundation-sacrifice. Xenophon 's Anabasis describes a group of Spartan soldiers in 400-399 BC singing to Poseidon a paean --a kind of hymn normally sung for Apollo.Like Dionysus , who inflamed the maenads , Poseidon also caused certain forms of mental disturbance. A Hippocratic text of ca 400 BC, On the Sacred Disease says that he was blamed for certain types of epilepsy.EpithetsPoseidon was known in various guises, denoted by epithets. In the town of Aegae in Euboea , he was known as Poseidon Aegaeus and had a magnificent temple upon a hill.Poseidon also had a close association with horses, known under the epithet Poseidon Hippios . He is more often regarded as the tamer of horses, but in some myths he is their father, either by spilling his seed upon a rock or by mating with a creature who then gave birth to the first horse.In the historical period, Poseidon was often referred to by the epithets Enosichthon , Seischthon and Ennosigaios , all meaning "earth-shaker" and referring to his role in causing earthquakes.Poseidon in literature and art Jacob de Gheyn II : Poseidon and Amphitrite.In Greek art , Poseidon rides a chariot that was pulled by a hippocampus or by horses that could ride on the sea. He was associated with dolphins and three-pronged fish spears ( tridents ). He lived in a palace on the ocean floor, made of coral and gems .In the Iliad Poseidon favors the Greeks, and on several occasion takes an active part in the battle against the Trojan forces. However, in Book XX he rescues Aeneas after the Trojan prince is laid low by Achilles .In the Odyssey , Poseidon is notable for his hatred of Odysseus who blinded the god's son, the cyclops Polyphemus . The enmity of Poseidon prevents Odysseus's return home to Ithaca for many years. Odysseus is even told, notwithstanding his ultimate safe return, that to placate the wrath of Poseidon will require one more voyage on his part.In the Aeneid , Neptune is still resentful of the wandering Trojans, but is not as vindictive as Juno , and in Book I he rescues the Trojan fleet from the goddess's attempts to wreck it, although his primary motivation for doing this is his annoyance at Juno's having intruded into his domain.A hymn to Poseidon included among the Homeric Hymns is a brief invocation, a seven-line introduction that addresses the god as both "mover of the earth and barren sea, god of the deep who is also lord of Helicon and wide Aegae , [61] and specificies his twofold nature as an Olympian: "a tamer of horses and a saviour of ships."Poseidon appears in Percy Jackson and the Olympians as the father of Percy Jackson and Tyson the Cyclops .The city Thessalonica in Macedonia was founded around 315 BC by the King Cassander of Macedon , on or near the site of the ancient town of Therma and twenty-six other local villages. He named it after his wife Thessalonike , a half-sister of Alexander the Great . She gained her name ("victory of Thessalians": Gk nikē "victory") from her father, Philip II , to commemorate her birth on the day of his gaining a victory over the Phocians , who were defeated with the help of Thessalian horsemen, the best in Greece at that time. Thessaloniki developed rapidly and as early as the 2nd century BC the first walls were built, forming a large square. It was an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Macedon , with its own parliament where the King was represented and could interfere in the city's domestic affairs.Roman eraAfter the fall of the kingdom of Macedon in 168 BC , Thessalonica became a city of the Roman Republic . It grew to be an important trade-hub located on the Via Egnatia , the Roman road connecting Byzantium (later Constantinople ), with Dyrrhachium (now Durrës in Albania ), and facilitating trade between Europe and Asia. The city became the capital of one of the four Roman districts of Macedonia; it kept its privileges but was ruled by a praetor and had a Roman garrison, while for a short time in the 1st century BC , all the Greek provinces came under Thessalonica (the Latin form of the name). Due to the city's key commercial importance, a spacious harbour was built by the Romans, the famous Burrowed Harbour (Σκαπτός Λιμήν) that accommodated the town's trade up to the eighteenth century; later, with the help of silt deposits from the river Axios , it was reclaimed as land and the port built beyond it. Remnants of the old harbour's docks can be found in the present day under Odos Frangon Street, near the Catholic Church.Thessaloniki's acropolis , located in the northern hills, was built in 55 BC after Thracian raids in the city's outskirts, for security reasons.The city had a Jewish colony, established during the first century , and was to be an early centre of Christianity . On his second missionary journey, Paul of Tarsus , born a Hellenized Israelite, preached in the city's synagogue, the chief synagogue of the Jews in that part of Thessaloniki, and laid the foundations of a church. Other Jews opposed to Paul drove him from the city, and he fled to Veroia . Paul wrote two of his epistles to the Christian community at Thessalonica, the First Epistle to the Thessalonians and the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians .Thessaloníki acquired a patron saint, St. Demetrius , in 306. He is credited with a number of miracles that saved the city, and was the Roman Proconsul of Greece under the anti-Christian emperor Maximian , later martyred at a Roman prison where today lies the Church of St. Demetrius , first built by the Roman sub-prefect of Illyricum Leontios in 463. Other important remains from this period include the Arch and Tomb of Galerius , located near the centre of the modern city.Frequently Asked QuestionsHow long until my order is shipped?:Depending on the volume of sales, it may take up to 5 business days for shipment of your order after the receipt of payment.How will I know when the order was shipped?:After your order has shipped, you will be left positive feedback, and that date should be used as a basis of estimating an arrival date.After you shipped the order, how long will the mail take?USPS First Class mail takes about 3-5 business days to arrive in the U.S., international shipping times cannot be estimated as they vary from country to country. 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