ANCIENT AUTHENTIC COIN Greek city of Thessalians Larissa circa 196-146 bc Apollo

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ANCIENT AUTHENTIC COIN Greek city of Thessalians Larissa circa 196-146 bc Apollo:
$75.00

ANCIENT AUTHENTIC BRONZE GREEK COIN.Thessalonicamint, c. 187 - 31 B.C.;obversehead of Dionysos right, wreathed with ivy.

coin weight 6.44 grams, maximumdiameter18mm. GOOD CONDITION. SEE PHOTO. \"CHECK MY PHOTOS THEY ARE PART OF MY DESCRIPTION\"

Authentic Ancient Coin of:

Greek city of Larissa under Thessalian League
Bronze 18mm weight: 6.44 grams, Struck in the Thessalian League City
of Larissa circa 196-146 B.C.
Reference: Sear 2237; B.M.C. 7.50,51
Laureate head of Apollo right.
ΘΕΣΣΑ / ΛΩΝ - behind and before Athena Itonia advancing right, brandishing spear and
holding shield; monogram in field to right.

Following the great victory of the Roman general Flamininus over Philip V of Macedon, in 197 B.C., the freedom of the Greeks was proclaimed at Corinth and a number of new autonomous coinages were initiated. Those in the name of the Thessali were struck probably at Larissa. TheThessalian Leaguewas a loose confederacy of feudal-like city-states and tribes in the Thessalian valley in NorthernGreeceand was run by a few aristocratic Thessalian families (Aleuadaeand Skopadae). The seat of the Thessalian diet wasLarissa.

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Helmeted Athena with thecistaand Erichthonius in his serpent form. Roman, first century (Louvre Museum)

InGreek religionandmythology,AthenaorAthene, also referred to asPallas Athena/Athene, is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill.Minervais theRoman goddessidentified withAthena.

Marble Greek copy signed \"Antiokhos\", a first century BC variant of
Phidias\' fifth-centuryAthena Promachosthat stood on theAcropolis

Athena is also a shrewd companion ofheroesand is thegoddessof heroic endeavour. She is thevirginpatroness ofAthens. The Athenians founded theParthenonon the Acropolis of her namesake city, Athens (Athena Parthenos), in her honour.

Athena\'s veneration as the patron of Athens seems to have existed from the earliest times, and was so persistent that archaic myths about her were recast to adapt to cultural changes. In her role as a protector of the city (polis), many people throughout the Greek world worshiped Athena asAthena Polias(Ἀθηνᾶ Πολιάς \"Athena of the city\"). The city ofAthensand the goddess Athena essentially bear the same name, \"Athenai\" meaning \"[many] the goddess Athena

Athena as the goddess of philosophy became an aspect of the cult in Classical Greece during the late 5th century B.C. She is the patroness of various crafts, especially ofweaving, asAthena Ergane, and was honored as such at festivals such asChalceia. The metalwork of weapons also fell under her patronage. She led battles (Athena Promachosor the warrior maidenAthena Parthenos) as the disciplined, strategic side of war, in contrast to her brotherAres, the patron of violence, bloodlust and slaughter—\"the raw force of war\". Athena\'s wisdom includes the cunning intelligence (metis) of such figures asOdysseus. Not only was this version of Athena the opposite of Ares in combat, it was also the polar opposite of the serene earth goddess version of the deity,Athena Polias.

Athena appears in Greek mythology as the patron and helper of many heroes, includingOdysseus,Jason, andHeracles. InClassical Greekmyths, she never consorts with a lover, nor does she ever marry,earning the titleAthena Parthenos. A remnant of archaic myth depicts her as the adoptive mother ofErechtheus/Erichthoniusthrough the foiled rape byHephaestus. Other variants relate that Erichthonius, the serpent that accompanied Athena, was born toGaia: when the rape failed, the semen landed on Gaia and impregnated her. After Erechthonius was born, Gaia gave him to Athena.

Though Athena is a goddess of war strategy, she disliked fighting without purpose and preferred to use wisdom to settle predicaments.The goddess only encouraged fighting for a reasonable cause or to resolve conflict. As patron of Athens she fought in the Trojan war on the side of the Achaeans.

Lady of Athens

Athena competed withPoseidonto be the patron deity of Athens, which was yet unnamed, in a version of onefounding myth. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and that the Athenians would choose the gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with histridentand a salt water spring sprang up; this gave them a means of trade and water—Athens at its height was a significant sea power, defeating thePersianfleet at theBattle of Salamis—but the water was salty and not very good for drinking.

Athena, however, offered them the first domesticatedolive tree. The Athenians (or their king,Cecrops) accepted the olive tree and with it the patronage of Athena, for the olive tree brought wood, oil, and food.Robert Graveswas of the opinion that \"Poseidon\'s attempts to take possession of certain cities are political myths\" which reflect the conflict between matriarchal and patriarchal religions.

Other sites of cult

Athena also was the patron goddess of several other Greek cities, notably Sparta, where the archaic cult ofAthena Aleahad its sanctuaries in the surrounding villages ofMantineiaand, notably,Tegea. In Sparta itself, the temple of AthenaKhalkíoikos(Athena \"of the Brazen House\", oftenlatinizedasChalcioecus) was the grandest and located on the Spartan acropolis; presumably it had a roof of bronze. The forecourt of the Brazen House was the place where the most solemn religious functions in Sparta took place.

Tegea was an important religious center of ancient Greece, containing the Temple ofAthena Alea. Thetemenoswas founded byAleus,Pausaniaswas informed. Votive bronzes at the site from the Geometric and Archaic periods take the forms of horses and deer; there aresealstoneandfibulae. In the Archaic period the nine villages that underlie Tegea banded together in asynoecismto form one city. Tegea was listed inHomer\'sCatalogue of Shipsas one of the cities that contributed ships and men for theAchaean assault on Troy.

Judgment of ParisAphrodite is being surveyed by Paris, while Athena (the leftmost figure) and Hera stand nearby.El Juicio de ParisbyEnrique Simonet, ca. 1904

All the gods and goddesses as well as various mortals were invited to the marriage ofPeleusandThetis(the eventual parents ofAchilles). OnlyEris, goddess of discord, was not invited. She was annoyed at this, so she arrived with a golden apple inscribed with the word καλλίστῃ (kallistēi, \"for the fairest\"), which she threw among the goddesses. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all claimed to be the fairest, and thus the rightful owner of the apple.

The goddesses chose to place the matter before Zeus, who, not wanting to favor one of the goddesses, put the choice into the hands of Paris, aTrojanprince. After bathing in the spring ofMount Ida(where Troy was situated), the goddesses appeared before Paris. The goddesses undressed and presented themselves to Paris naked, either at his request or for the sake of winning.

Paris is awarding the apple to Aphrodite, while Athena makes a face.Urteil des ParisbyAnton Raphael Mengs, ca. 1757

Still, Paris could not decide, as all three were ideally beautiful, so they resorted to bribes. Hera tried to bribe Paris with control over allAsiaandEurope, while Athena offered wisdom, fame and glory in battle, but Aphrodite came forth and whispered to Paris that if he were to choose her as the fairest he would have the most beautiful mortal woman in the world as a wife, and he accordingly chose her. This woman wasHelen, who was, unfortunately for Paris, already married to KingMenelausofSparta. The other two goddesses were enraged by this and through Helen\'s abduction by Paris they brought about theTrojan War.

The Parthenon, Temple of Athena ParthenosMasculinity and feminism

Athena had an \"androgynous compromise\" that allowed her traits and what she stood for to be attributed to male and female rulers alike over the course of history (such as Marie de\' Medici, Anne of Austria, Christina of Sweden, and Catherine the Great)

J.J. Bachofen advocated that Athena was originally a maternal figure stable in her security and poise but was caught up and perverted by a patriarchal society; this was especially the case in Athens. The goddess adapted but could very easily be seen as a god. He viewed it as \"motherless paternity in the place of fatherless maternity\" where once altered, Athena\'s character was to be crystallized as that of a patriarch.

Whereas Bachofen saw the switch to paternity on Athena\'s behalf as an increase of power, Freud on the contrary perceived Athena as an \"original mother goddess divested of her power\". In this interpretation, Athena was demoted to be only Zeus\'s daughter, never allowed the expression of motherhood. Still more different from Bachofen\'s perspective is the lack of role permanency in Freud\'s view: Freud held that time and differing cultures would mold Athena to stand for what was necessary to them.

Apollo is one of the most important and complex of theOlympian deitiesinancient GreekandRoman religion,GreekandRoman mythology, andGreco–RomanNeopaganism. The ideal of thekouros(a beardless, athletic youth), Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun, truth and prophecy, healing, plague, music, poetry, and more. Apollo is the son ofZeusandLeto, and has a twin sister, the chaste huntressArtemis. Apollo is known in Greek-influencedEtruscan mythologyasApulu.

As the patron ofDelphi(Pythian Apollo), Apollo was anoraculargod—the prophetic deity of theDelphic Oracle. Medicine and healing are associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his sonAsclepius, yet Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill-health and deadlyplague. Amongst the god\'s custodial charges, Apollo became associated with dominion overcolonists, and as the patron defender of herds and flocks. As the leader of theMuses(Apollon Musegetes) and director of their choir, Apollo functioned as the patron god of music and poetry.Hermescreated thelyrefor him, and the instrument became a commonattribute of Apollo. Hymns sung to Apollo were calledpaeans.

Apollo (left) andArtemis.Brygos(potter signed), Tondo of an Attic red-figure cup c. 470 BC,Musée du Louvre.

In Hellenistic times, especially during the 3rd century BCE, asApollo Helioshe became identified among Greeks withHelios,Titangod of the sun, and his sister Artemis similarly equated withSelene, Titangoddess of the moonIn Latin texts, on the other hand,Joseph Fontenrosedeclared himself unable to find any conflation of Apollo withSolamong theAugustan poetsof the 1st century, not even in the conjurations ofAeneasandLatinusinAeneidXII (161–215). Apollo and Helios/Sol remained separate beings in literary and mythological texts until the 3rd century CE.

OriginsTheOmphalosin the Museum ofDelphi.

The cult centers of Apollo in Greece,DelphiandDelos, date from the 8th century BCE. The Delos sanctuary was primarily dedicated toArtemis, Apollo\'s twin sister. At Delphi, Apollo was venerated as the slayer ofPytho. For the Greeks, Apollo was all the Gods in one and through the centuries he acquired different functions which could originate from different gods. Inarchaic Greecehe was theprophet, the oracular god who in older times was connected with \"healing\". Inclassical Greecehe was the god of light and of music, but in popular religion he had a strong function to keep away evil.

From his Eastern-origin Apollo brought the art of inspection from \"symbols andomina\" (σημεία και τέρατα:semeia kai terata), and of the observation of theomensof the days. The inspiration oracular-cult was probably introduced fromAnatolia. Theritualismbelonged to Apollo from the beginning. The Greeks created thelegalism, the supervision of the orders of the gods, and the demand for moderation and harmony. Apollo became the god of shining youth, the protector of music, spiritual-life, moderation and perceptible order. The improvement of the oldAnatoliangod, and his elevation to an intellectual sphere, may be considered an achievement of theGreekpeople.

Healer and god-protector from evil

The function of Apollo as a \"healer\" is connected withPaean, the physician of the Gods in theIliad, who seems to come from a more primitive religion. Paeοn is probably connected with theMyceneanPa-ja-wo, but the etymology is the only evidence. He did not have a separate cult, but he was the personification of the holy magic-song sung by the magicians that was supposed to cure disease. Later the Greeks knew the original meaning of the relevant song \"paean\". The magicians were also called \"seer-doctors\", and they used an ecstatic prophetic art which was used exactly by the god Apollo at the oracles.

In theIliad, Apollo is the healer under the gods, but he is also the bringer of disease and death with his arrows, similar to the function of the terribleVedicgod of diseaseRudra.He sends a terrible plague to theAchaeans. The god who sends a disease can also prevent from it, therefore when it stops they make a purifying ceremony and offer him an \"hecatomb\" to ward off evil. When the oath of his priest appeases, they pray and with a song they call their own god, the beautifulPaean.

Some common epithets of Apollo as a healer are \"paion\" , \"epikourios\", \"oulios\", and \"loimios\" . In classical times, his strong function in popular religion was to keep away evil, and was therefore called \"apotropaios\" and \"alexikakos\" , throw away the evil).In later writers, the word, usually spelled \"Paean\", becomes a mere epithet of Apollo in his capacity as a god ofhealing.

Homer illustrated Paeon the god, and the song both ofapotropaicThanksgiving or triumph. Such songs were originally addressed to Apollo, and afterwards to other gods: toDionysus, to ApolloHelios, to Apollo\'s sonAsclepiusthe healer. About the 4th century BCE, the paean became merely a formula of adulation; its object was either to implore protection against disease and misfortune, or to offer thanks after such protection had been rendered. It was in this way that Apollo had become recognised as the god of music. Apollo\'s role as the slayer of thePythonled to his association with battle and victory; hence it became theRomancustom for a paean to be sung by an army on the march and before entering into battle, when a fleet left the harbour, and also after a victory had been won.

Oracular cultColumns of theTemple of Apolloat Delphi, Greece.

Unusually among the Olympic deities, Apollo had two cult sites that had widespread influence:DelosandDelphi. In cult practice,Delian ApolloandPythian Apollo(the Apollo of Delphi) were so distinct that they might both have shrines in the same locality.Apollo\'scultwas already fully established when written sources commenced, about 650 BCE. Apollo became extremely important to the Greek world as an oracular deity in thearchaic period, and the frequency oftheophoric namessuch asApollodorusorApolloniosand cities namedApolloniatestify to his popularity. Oracular sanctuaries to Apollo were established in other sites. In the 2nd and 3rd century CE, those atDidymaandClaruspronounced the so-called \"theological oracles\", in which Apollo confirms that all deities are aspects or servants of anall-encompassing, highest deity. \"In the 3rd century, Apollo fell silent.Julian the Apostate(359 - 61) tried to revive the Delphic oracle, but failed

As the patron ofDelphi(Pythian Apollo), Apollo was anoraculargod — the prophetic deity of theDelphic Oracle. Medicine and healing were associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his sonAsclepius, yet Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill-health and deadlyplagueas well as one who had the ability to cure. Amongst the god\'s custodial charges, Apollo became associated with dominion overcolonists, and as the patron defender of herds and flocks. As the leader of theMuses(Apollon Musagetes) and director of their choir, Apollo functioned as the patron god of music andpoetry.Hermescreated thelyrefor him, and the instrument became a commonattributeof Apollo. Hymns sung to Apollo were calledpaeans.

In Hellenistic times, especially during the third century BCE, asApollo Helioshe became identified among Greeks withHelios,god of the sun, and his sister Artemis similarly equated withSelene,goddess of the moon. In Latin texts, on the other hand, Joseph Fontenrose declared himself unable to find any conflation of Apollo withSolamong theAugustan poetsof the first century, not even in the conjurations ofAeneasandLatinusinAeneidXII (161–215). Apollo and Helios/Sol remained separate beings in literary and mythological texts until the third century CE.

Larissa,sometimes written Larisa on ancient coins and inscriptions, is near the site of the Homeric Argissa. It appears in early times, whenThessalywas mainly governed by a few aristocratic families, as an important city under the rule of theAleuadae, whose authority extended over the whole district ofPelasgiotis. This powerful family possessed for many generations before 369 BC the privilege of furnishing thetagus, the local term for thestrategosof the combined Thessalian forces. The principal rivals of the Aleuadae were theScopadacofCrannon, the remains of which (called by the Turks Old Larissa) are about 14 miles south west. The inhabitants sided withAthensduring the Peloponnesian War.

As the chief city of ancient Thessaly, Larissa was directly annexed by Philip II of Macedon in 344, and from then on Larissa was under Macedonian control; in 196 B.C. Larissa became an ally of Rome and was the headquarters of theThessalian League.

Thessaly was home to an extensiveNeolithicculture around2500 BC.Mycenaeansettlements have also been discovered, for example at the sites ofIolcos,DiminiandSesklo(nearVolos). Later, inancient Greektimes, the lowlands of Thessaly became the home of baronial families, such as theAleuadaeofLarissaor the Scopads of Crannon. These baronial families organized a federation across the Thessaly region, later went on to control theAmphictyonic Leaguein northern Greece. TheThessalianswere renowned for their cavalry.

In the summer of480 BC, the Persians invaded Thessaly. The Greek army that guarded theVale of Tempe, evacuated the road before the enemy arrived. Not much later, Thessaly surrendered. The Thessalian family ofAleuadaejoined the Persians. In thePeloponnesian Warthe Thessalians tended to side with Athens and usually prevented Spartan troops from crossing through their territory with the exception of the army of Brasidas.Jason of Pheraebriefly transformed the country into a significant military power, though he was assassinated before any lasting achievements were made. In the4th century BCThessaly became dependent onMacedonand many served as vassals. In148 BCthe Romans formally incorporated Thessaly into the province ofMacedonia, though in 300 AD Thessaly was made a separate province with its capital atLarissa.

It was part of the Byzantine Empire and suffered many invasions. In 977 it was occupied by the Bulgarians, who remained there until 1014. In 1204 he was assigned toBoniface of Montferratand in 1225 toTheodore Komnenos Doukas, despot ofEpirus. From 1271 to 1318 he was an independent despotate that extended toAcarnaniaandAetolia, run by John III Angelos Komneno. In 1309 settled there theAlmogavarsorCatalan Companyof the East (Societas Catalanorum Magna), which in 1310, after lifting the siege of Thessalonica, withdrew as mercenaries in the pay of thesebastocrátorJohn II, and took over the country organized in a democracy. From there went to theDuchy of Athenscalled by the duke Walter I. In 1318, with the extinction of the dynasty of Angelos, the Almogavars occupied Siderocastron and southern Thessaly (1319) and formed theduchy of Neopatria.

Later it was occupied by theSerbsuntil 1393, after being dominated by theOttomans. In 1821 participated in theGreek War of Independence, but was not recognized as part ofGreeceuntil 1881