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Phocis

British Museum Catalog of Greek Coins, Central Greece, by B. V. Head, 1884.

Langton, N. Notes on some Phocian Obols, Num. Chron., 1903, pp. 197 sqq.

Svoronos, J. N. Nomismatikae ton Delphon, Νομισματικη των Δελφων, Bull. Corr. Hell., 1896, pp. 1 sqq.]


The coinage of Phocis begins at a very early period, probably not
much later than the middle of the sixth century. Like the archaic money
of Arcadia it is distinctly federal in character.


The twenty-two confederate Phocian towns held their periodical
synedrion (assembly) in a building called Phokikon, near Daulis (Paus. x. 5. 1), and
here, perhaps, rather than at any one of the Phocian towns, the federal
mint may have been established. Money would be issued at this mint
only on the occasions of the meetings of the synedrion (συνεδριον), when it may be
supposed that a concourse of people from all parts of the Phocian territory
was gathered together, and that a fair or market was held for the
exchange and purchase of commodities, as at Delphi during the Pythian
festivals.


The weight-standard of the Phocian money is the Aeginetic, of which
Triobols (48 grs.), Trihemiobols (24 grs.), Obols (16 grs.), and Hemiobols
(8 grs.), occur.


The inscription on the archaic coins is Ο, ΟΚΙ, or ΦΟΚΙ.


Circ. B.C. 550-421.




Bull’s head facing.

[B. M. C., Cent. Gr., Pl. III. 3-14.]
Female head in incuse square.
AR Triobols.

Id. or in profile.

[Ibid., Pl. III. 11-15.]
Forepart of boar in incuse square, sometimes with mark of value Ο for obolosοβολος
[N. C., 1895, 269]. AR Obols.

Bull’s head in profile.

[Ibid., Pl. III. 16.]
Helmet in incuse square.
AR Hemiobols.



»WW
»SNG B
»ANS


The bull’s head, sometimes bound with a sacrificial fillet, is perhaps symbolical of some special sacrifice in honour of the national eponymous
hero, Phokos, to whom there was a temple called the Heroön of the hero
Archagetas, where sacrifices were offered daily throughout the year; and,
presumably at certain stated times, a great sacrifice on behalf of the
whole people, when a prize bull may have been the victim (cf. Boeckh,
C. I. G., 1688, where, in an Amphictyonic inscription, one particular bull
sacrificed to the hero Neoptolemos is called o bous tou aeroosο βουσ του ηρωος). The head
of the goddess on the reverse is probably intended for Artemis, to whom
the boar may also allude (terpomenae kaproisiτερπομενη καπροισι, Od. vi. 104). Judging by
style it would seem that no silver coins were issued in the name of the
Phocians between the Peace of Nicias and the third Sacred War, B.C. 357.


339


It is possible, however, that a few bronze coins may have been struck in
this interval.


Circ. B.C. 371-357.


In this period of Theban supremacy in Central Greece bronze coins
make their first appearance.





Head of Athena, facing.

[B. M. C., Cent. Gr., Pl. III. 17.]
Φ or ΦΩ in olive-wreath. Æ .6



Circ. B.C. 357-346.


This is the period of the third Sacred War, during which the Phocians,
under their successive strategi, Philomelus (357-354), Onymarchus (354-352), Phayllus (352-351), and Phalaecus (351-346). held possession of the
oracle of Delphi, and turned its sacred treasures into coin.





Head of the Delphian Apollo, laur.

[Z. f. N., xv. 41, Pl. III. 7.]
Φ Ω Lyre, the whole in laurel-wreath.
AR Drachm, 73 grs.

Bull’s head, facing.

[B. M. C., Cent. Gr., Pl. III. 18-20.]
ΦΩ Head of the Delphian Apollo;
symbol, lyre or laurel-branch.
AR Triob. and Obol.

ΦΩΚΕΩΝ Three bulls’ heads.

[Ibid., Pl. III. 21.]
Τ in laurel-wreath. Æ Trichalkon .85

Bull’s head, facing.
ΦΩ in laurel-wreath. Æ .65

Id. [Ibid., Pl. III. 24.]
ΟΝΥΜΑΡΧΟΥ in wreath. Æ .6

Id.
ΦΑΛΑΙΚΟΥ in wreath. Æ .6



Of this period more coins would doubtless have been preserved had
not the Locrians at the end of the war collected the Phocian treasures and
melted them down to make a silver hydria for dedication to Apollo at
Delphi (Plut. De Pyth. Orac. xvi). The complete devastation of the
land by Philip in 346 (Demosth. Fals. Leg. p. 361) put an end to all
coinage in Phocis. On this subject see Hill, Hist. Gk. Coins, p. 90.


B.C. 339-146.


In B.C. 339 Athens and Thebes combined to reconstitute Phocis and to
rebuild some of the ruined towns. The few remaining bronze coins are
of careless execution:—





Bull’s head, facing.
ΦΩΚΕΩΝ Head of Apollo. Æ .8-.65



On some specimens over the bull’s head are the letters ΑΝ, ΕΛ. ΛΕ, or
ΛΙ, which may stand for the Phocian towns Anticyra, Elateia, Ledon,
and Lilaea (Imhoof, Mon. gr., 150).


Anticyra. On the Corinthian gulf, north-west of Medeon. Bronze
of the second century B.C. or later, with ΑΝ and ΦΩΚΕΩΝ as above, or
with local types.


»ANS





Head of Poseidon with trident at his
shoulder. [Zeit. f. Num., vi. 15.]
ΑΝΤΙΚΥΡΕΩΝ Artemis huntress.
Æ .9



Cirrha (?). The seaport of Delphi. Mr. Earle Fox (N. C. 1903, p. 205)
attributes to this town some rare obols with the ordinary Phocian types,


340

after circ. B.C. 480, but with Ι Κ instead of ΟΚΙ. The inscr. appears to
be complete, but the attribution cannot be accepted as certain.


Delphi. The chronology of the coinage of Delphi has been discussed
in detail by J. N. Svoronos in B. C. H., 1896, where, on Pls. XXV-XXX,
all the following coins are figured. He divides the autonomous issues
of silver coins into the following periods. They follow the Aeginetic
standard.


»WW
»SNG B
»ANS


Circ. B.C. 520-480.





Tripod.
Θ (phiale), in incuse square.
AR Obol.

Ram’s head.
Id. AR ½ Obol.

Ram’s head; beneath, dolphin.
Bust of goat in incuse square.
AR 1½ Obol.

Id.
Two dolphins, in incuse square.
AR 1½ Obol.

Id.
Goat’s head facing, between two dolphins, in incuse square. AR 1½ Obol.

Id.
Busts of two goats face to face, in
incuse square; above, sometimes, dolphin. AR 1½ Obol.

Head of negro (Delphos).
Ram’s head, beneath, dolphin; in incuse
square. AR ¾ Obol.

Id.
Two rams’ heads in juxtaposition, in
incuse square, as on tridrachm infra.
AR ¾ Obol.

Id.
D Α Goat’s head facing, in incuse
square. AR ¾ Obol.

Bull’s head facing.
D Α Similar. AR ¼ Obol.



Circ. B.C. 480.




FIG. 191.





DΑΛΙΚΟ Two rams’ heads in juxtaposition, faces downwards; above,
two dolphins (Fig. 191).
Four deep incuse squares resembling
lacunaria, in each of which a dolphin
and flower. AR Tridrachm, 279 grs.

Same inscr. Ram’s head; beneath, dolphin. [Babelon, Traité, Pl. XLII. 19.]
Similar; but stars in the four deep
squares. AR Didrachm, 191 grs.



Also Trihemiobols and Obols, as above, but the incuse squares more
regular in form.


Circ. B.C. 480-460.


Trihemiobols only, with ram’s and goat’s head in incuse square, as on
the earlier coins.


341


Circ. B.C. 460-448.


Trihemiobols as above, but with inscr. DΑΛ; also—





Head of negro (Delphos) in dotted circle.
in incuse square. AR ¾ Obol.



Circ. B.C. 448-421.


During this period Delphi, deprived of political autonomy, struck
no coins.


Circ. B.C. 421-355.


After the Peace of Nicias (B.C. 421) Delphi, once more independent,
resumed the issue of small silver coins in its own name.





Ram’s head; beneath, dolphin.

ΔΑΛ or ΔΕΛ Goat’s head facing, between two dolphins, in slightly incuse
circle. AR 1½ Obol.

Head of negro (Delphos) in dotted
circle.
in slightly incuse circle AR ¾ Obol.



The object represented on the earliest coins is probably the sacrificial
φαλη with a boss or ομφαλος in the centre (patera umbilicata), which is
especially appropriate on the coins of Delphi, as symbolical of the
libation and sacrifice to the Pythian Apollo (N. C., 1895, p. 320).


The ram’s head (καρνος) is a symbol of Apollo as the god of flocks and
herds, Καρνειος. The goats’ heads recall the story told by Diodorus
(xvi. 26), that some goats feeding on the brink of the chasm in the rock,
over which in after-times the oracular tripod was placed, became intoxicated by the fumes which issued from the opening, and by their strange
antics first made known the existence of the oracle to the herdsmen
ou charin aixi malista chraestaeriazontai mechri tou non oi Delphoi.ου χαριν αιξι μαλιστα χρηστηριαζονται μεχρι του νον οι Δελφοι.


The dolphins refer to the cultus of Apollo Delphinios, who assumed
the form of a dolphin (Homeric Hymn to Apollo, l. 390). Cf. Steph. Byz.
s. v. Delphoi:—eklaethaesan de Delphoi, oti Apollon sunepleuse delphini eikstheis.Δελφοι:—εκληθησαν δε Δελφοι, οτι Απολλον συνεπλευσε δελφινι εικσθεις.
The negro’s head has been supposed to represent the mythical founder
of Delphi, by name Delphos, the son of Poseidon by the nymph Melaine
(Panofka, Delphos und Melaine, p. 7).


Between B.C. 355 and 346 the Phocians held Delphi and struck money
there in their own name (see p. 339).


Circ. B.C. 346-339.




FIG. 192.


342





Head of Demeter of Anthela veiled
and crowned with corn (Fig. 192).
ΑΜΦΙΚΤΙΟΝΩΝ Apollo in long
chiton, with lyre and laurel-branch,
seated on Delphian omphalos, over
which hang fillets.
AR Stater 187.3 grs. and

AR Drachm 84 grs.

Id. [Rev. Num., 1860, Pl. XII. 8.]
ΑΜΦΙΚΤΙΟΝΩΝ Omphalos, round
which is coiled a serpent.
AR Triobol, 44 grs.

Horse prancing.
Large Θ (phiale). Æ size .6



These remarkable coins seem to have been first issued on the occasion of
the reassembling of the Amphictyonic Council at the close of the Phocian
war (B.C. 346). At each meeting (pulaiaπυλαια) of the Council markets or
fairs were held, called pulatides agoraiπυλατιδεσ αγοραι, for which such coins may have
been struck, but the great Pythian festival of B.C. 346 is by far the
most probable date of issue.


Imperial Times.


From this time until the reign of Hadrian there appears to have been
no mintage at Delphi. That emperor’s strenuous endeavours to reanimate
the ancient religion of the Greeks, together with the influence of Plutarch,
who was a member of the Amphictyonic Council, and held the office of
Priest of the Pythian Apollo at Chaeroneia, the duties of which must
have brought him into frequent relations with the neighbouring oracle
of Delphi, doubtless added much to the importance of Delphi about this
time. The right of coinage was now restored to the city, and numerous
pieces were struck, quasi-autonomous and Imperial, in honour of Hadrian
and the Antonines, among which two may be here selected as worthy of
special mention. Of these one bears the unusual inscription ΑΝΤΙΝΟΟΝ
ΗΡΩΑ ΠΡΟΠVΛΟΙ ΑΜΦΙΚΤΥΟΝΕC, rev. Tripod over omphalos and
legend, ΙΕΡΕΥC ΑΡΙCΤΟΤΙΜΟC ΑΝΕΘΗΚΕΝ (Zeit. f. N., xiii. Pl. IV. 3;
Photiades Cat., 365). The other, without the emperor’s name, may be
thus described :—





Apollo Kitharoedos.

[Millingen, Recueil, T. II. 11.]
ΠVΘΙΑ The three mountain-peaks of
Mt. Parnassus. Æ 1.0



For many other Imperial coins of Delphi see Svoronos (op. cit.) and
Imhoof-Blumer, Zeit. f. N., i. 115, especially with regard to the famous
Delphian ΕΙ. Cf. Plutarch, peri tou ΕΙ, tou en Delphoisπερι του ΕΙ, του εν Δελφοις. This mystic
word is represented on a coin by a large Ε placed within a temple.


Elateia. The authenticity of the following coin, assigned in the first
edition of this work to the unimportant Elateia in Thessaly, has been
questioned, and it must be acknowledged that its Thessalian origin is
inadmissible. It may, however, be accepted, on stylistic grounds, as
genuine, if removed to the far more important Elateia in Phocis, which,
like Delphi, may have asserted its independence of the Phocian league,
and, on the occasion of some local festival, struck coins in its own name
some time after the Peace of Nicias, B.C. 421.





Free horse. [Prokesch, Ined., 1854,
Pl. I. 25, now in the Berlin cabinet.]
ΕΛΑΤΕΟ round a female head within
an incuse square. AR Drachm.



343


The head of the goddess on the reverse is almost identical with that on
the coins of the Phocian League.


No other coins of Elateia are known until the second century B.C.


Among the noteworthy objects in this town Pausanias (x. 34. 7)
mentions an archaic bronze statue of Athena and a temple of Athena
Kranaea. The statue on one of the following coins is perhaps the one
referred to.


Second century B.C.




ΕΛ Bull’s head facing.

[B. M. C., Cent. Gr., p. 237.]
ΦΩΚΕΩΝ Head of Apollo. Æ .65

ΕΛ Bull’s head facing bound with
fillet. [N. C., 1898, Pl. XIX. 6.]
Athena charging. Æ .6

Bearded head.

[B. M. C., Cent. Gr., Pl. IV. 26.]
ΕΛΑΤΕΩΝ Stiff archaic statue of
Athena in fighting attitude; symbol,
bull’s head facing. Æ .75



»ANS


Ledon (see supra p. 339), Æ of second century B.C., with ΛΕ and
ΦΩΚΕΩΝ.


Lilaea, about a day’s journey from Delphi, seems to have struck obols
and diobols, circ. B.C. 480-421, with Phocian types; but reading Λ Ι in
place of Ο (N. C., 1844, p. 124, and 1903, p. 200); and in the second
century B.C. some bronze coins with ΛΙ and ΦΩΚΕΩΝ (p. 339 and
Num. Zeit., 1870, p. 268).


»ANS


Neon. Silver of archaic style.




Ο Bull’s head facing.

[Imhoof, Mon. gr., p. 150.]

NΕ Forepart of boar in incuse square.
AR Obol.
































Phocis

British Museum Catalog of Greek Coins, Central Greece, by B. V. Head, 1884.

Langton, N. Notes on some Phocian Obols, Num. Chron., 1903, pp. 197 sqq.

Svoronos, J. N. Nomismatikae ton Delphon, Νομισματικη των Δελφων, Bull. Corr. Hell., 1896, pp. 1 sqq.]


The coinage of Phocis begins at a very early period, probably not
much later than the middle of the sixth century. Like the archaic money
of Arcadia it is distinctly federal in character.


The twenty-two confederate Phocian towns held their periodical
synedrion (assembly) in a building called Phokikon, near Daulis (Paus. x. 5. 1), and
here, perhaps, rather than at any one of the Phocian towns, the federal
mint may have been established. Money would be issued at this mint
only on the occasions of the meetings of the synedrion (συνεδριον), when it may be
supposed that a concourse of people from all parts of the Phocian territory
was gathered together, and that a fair or market was held for the
exchange and purchase of commodities, as at Delphi during the Pythian
festivals.


The weight-standard of the Phocian money is the Aeginetic, of which
Triobols (48 grs.), Trihemiobols (24 grs.), Obols (16 grs.), and Hemiobols
(8 grs.), occur.


The inscription on the archaic coins is Ο, ΟΚΙ, or ΦΟΚΙ.


Circ. B.C. 550-421.




Bull’s head facing.

[B. M. C., Cent. Gr., Pl. III. 3-14.]
Female head in incuse square.
AR Triobols.

Id. or in profile.

[Ibid., Pl. III. 11-15.]
Forepart of boar in incuse square, sometimes with mark of value Ο for obolosοβολος
[N. C., 1895, 269]. AR Obols.

Bull’s head in profile.

[Ibid., Pl. III. 16.]
Helmet in incuse square.
AR Hemiobols.
The bull’s head, sometimes bound with a sacrificial fillet, is perhaps symbolical of some special sacrifice in honour of the national eponymous
hero, Phokos, to whom there was a temple called the Heroön of the hero
Archagetas, where sacrifices were offered daily throughout the year; and,
presumably at certain stated times, a great sacrifice on behalf of the
whole people, when a prize bull may have been the victim (cf. Boeckh,
C. I. G., 1688, where, in an Amphictyonic inscription, one particular bull
sacrificed to the hero Neoptolemos is called o bous tou aeroosο βουσ του ηρωος). The head
of the goddess on the reverse is probably intended for Artemis, to whom
the boar may also allude (terpomenae kaproisiτερπομενη καπροισι, Od. vi. 104). Judging by
style it would seem that no silver coins were issued in the name of the
Phocians between the Peace of Nicias and the third Sacred War, B.C. 357.


339


It is possible, however, that a few bronze coins may have been struck in
this interval.


Circ. B.C. 371-357.


In this period of Theban supremacy in Central Greece bronze coins
make their first appearance.





Head of Athena, facing.

[B. M. C., Cent. Gr., Pl. III. 17.]
Φ or ΦΩ in olive-wreath. Æ .6



Circ. B.C. 357-346.


This is the period of the third Sacred War, during which the Phocians,
under their successive strategi, Philomelus (357-354), Onymarchus (354-352), Phayllus (352-351), and Phalaecus (351-346). held possession of the
oracle of Delphi, and turned its sacred treasures into coin.





Head of the Delphian Apollo, laur.

[Z. f. N., xv. 41, Pl. III. 7.]
Φ Ω Lyre, the whole in laurel-wreath.
AR Drachm, 73 grs.

Bull’s head, facing.

[B. M. C., Cent. Gr., Pl. III. 18-20.]
ΦΩ Head of the Delphian Apollo;
symbol, lyre or laurel-branch.
AR Triob. and Obol.

ΦΩΚΕΩΝ Three bulls’ heads.

[Ibid., Pl. III. 21.]
Τ in laurel-wreath. Æ Trichalkon .85

Bull’s head, facing.
ΦΩ in laurel-wreath. Æ .65

Id. [Ibid., Pl. III. 24.]
ΟΝΥΜΑΡΧΟΥ in wreath. Æ .6

Id.
ΦΑΛΑΙΚΟΥ in wreath. Æ .6



Of this period more coins would doubtless have been preserved had
not the Locrians at the end of the war collected the Phocian treasures and
melted them down to make a silver hydria for dedication to Apollo at
Delphi (Plut. De Pyth. Orac. xvi). The complete devastation of the
land by Philip in 346 (Demosth. Fals. Leg. p. 361) put an end to all
coinage in Phocis. On this subject see Hill, Hist. Gk. Coins, p. 90.


B.C. 339-146.


In B.C. 339 Athens and Thebes combined to reconstitute Phocis and to
rebuild some of the ruined towns. The few remaining bronze coins are
of careless execution:—





Bull’s head, facing.
ΦΩΚΕΩΝ Head of Apollo. Æ .8-.65



On some specimens over the bull’s head are the letters ΑΝ, ΕΛ. ΛΕ, or
ΛΙ, which may stand for the Phocian towns Anticyra, Elateia, Ledon,
and Lilaea (Imhoof, Mon. gr., 150).


Anticyra. On the Corinthian gulf, north-west of Medeon. Bronze
of the second century B.C. or later, with ΑΝ and ΦΩΚΕΩΝ as above, or
with local types.



 


Head of Poseidon with trident at his
shoulder. [Zeit. f. Num., vi. 15.]
ΑΝΤΙΚΥΡΕΩΝ Artemis huntress.
Æ .9



Cirrha (?). The seaport of Delphi. Mr. Earle Fox (N. C. 1903, p. 205)
attributes to this town some rare obols with the ordinary Phocian types,


340

after circ. B.C. 480, but with Ι Κ instead of ΟΚΙ. The inscr. appears to
be complete, but the attribution cannot be accepted as certain.


Delphi. The chronology of the coinage of Delphi has been discussed
in detail by J. N. Svoronos in B. C. H., 1896, where, on Pls. XXV-XXX,
all the following coins are figured. He divides the autonomous issues
of silver coins into the following periods. They follow the Aeginetic
standard.

Circ. B.C. 520-480.





Tripod.
Θ (phiale), in incuse square.
AR Obol.

Ram’s head.
Id. AR ½ Obol.

Ram’s head; beneath, dolphin.
Bust of goat in incuse square.
AR 1½ Obol.

Id.
Two dolphins, in incuse square.
AR 1½ Obol.

Id.
Goat’s head facing, between two dolphins, in incuse square. AR 1½ Obol.

Id.
Busts of two goats face to face, in
incuse square; above, sometimes, dolphin. AR 1½ Obol.

Head of negro (Delphos).
Ram’s head, beneath, dolphin; in incuse
square. AR ¾ Obol.

Id.
Two rams’ heads in juxtaposition, in
incuse square, as on tridrachm infra.
AR ¾ Obol.

Id.
D Α Goat’s head facing, in incuse
square. AR ¾ Obol.

Bull’s head facing.
D Α Similar. AR ¼ Obol.



Circ. B.C. 480.




FIG. 191.





DΑΛΙΚΟ Two rams’ heads in juxtaposition, faces downwards; above,
two dolphins (Fig. 191).
Four deep incuse squares resembling
lacunaria, in each of which a dolphin
and flower. AR Tridrachm, 279 grs.

Same inscr. Ram’s head; beneath, dolphin. [Babelon, Traité, Pl. XLII. 19.]
Similar; but stars in the four deep
squares. AR Didrachm, 191 grs.



Also Trihemiobols and Obols, as above, but the incuse squares more
regular in form.


Circ. B.C. 480-460.


Trihemiobols only, with ram’s and goat’s head in incuse square, as on
the earlier coins.


341


Circ. B.C. 460-448.


Trihemiobols as above, but with inscr. DΑΛ; also—





Head of negro (Delphos) in dotted circle.
in incuse square. AR ¾ Obol.



Circ. B.C. 448-421.


During this period Delphi, deprived of political autonomy, struck
no coins.


Circ. B.C. 421-355.


After the Peace of Nicias (B.C. 421) Delphi, once more independent,
resumed the issue of small silver coins in its own name.


Ram’s head; beneath, dolphin.

ΔΑΛ or ΔΕΛ Goat’s head facing, between two dolphins, in slightly incuse
circle. AR 1½ Obol.

Head of negro (Delphos) in dotted
circle.
in slightly incuse circle AR ¾ Obol.



The object represented on the earliest coins is probably the sacrificial
φαλη with a boss or ομφαλος in the centre (patera umbilicata), which is
especially appropriate on the coins of Delphi, as symbolical of the
libation and sacrifice to the Pythian Apollo (N. C., 1895, p. 320).


The ram’s head (καρνος) is a symbol of Apollo as the god of flocks and
herds, Καρνειος. The goats’ heads recall the story told by Diodorus
(xvi. 26), that some goats feeding on the brink of the chasm in the rock,
over which in after-times the oracular tripod was placed, became intoxicated by the fumes which issued from the opening, and by their strange
antics first made known the existence of the oracle to the herdsmen
ou charin aixi malista chraestaeriazontai mechri tou non oi Delphoi.ου χαριν αιξι μαλιστα χρηστηριαζονται μεχρι του νον οι Δελφοι.


The dolphins refer to the cultus of Apollo Delphinios, who assumed
the form of a dolphin (Homeric Hymn to Apollo, l. 390). Cf. Steph. Byz.
s. v. Delphoi:—eklaethaesan de Delphoi, oti Apollon sunepleuse delphini eikstheis.Δελφοι:—εκληθησαν δε Δελφοι, οτι Απολλον συνεπλευσε δελφινι εικσθεις.
The negro’s head has been supposed to represent the mythical founder
of Delphi, by name Delphos, the son of Poseidon by the nymph Melaine
(Panofka, Delphos und Melaine, p. 7).


Between B.C. 355 and 346 the Phocians held Delphi and struck money
there in their own name (see p. 339).


Circ. B.C. 346-339.




FIG. 192.


342





Head of Demeter of Anthela veiled
and crowned with corn (Fig. 192).
ΑΜΦΙΚΤΙΟΝΩΝ Apollo in long
chiton, with lyre and laurel-branch,
seated on Delphian omphalos, over
which hang fillets.
AR Stater 187.3 grs. and

AR Drachm 84 grs.

Id. [Rev. Num., 1860, Pl. XII. 8.]
ΑΜΦΙΚΤΙΟΝΩΝ Omphalos, round
which is coiled a serpent.
AR Triobol, 44 grs.

Horse prancing.
Large Θ (phiale). Æ size .6



These remarkable coins seem to have been first issued on the occasion of
the reassembling of the Amphictyonic Council at the close of the Phocian
war (B.C. 346). At each meeting (pulaiaπυλαια) of the Council markets or
fairs were held, called pulatides agoraiπυλατιδεσ αγοραι, for which such coins may have
been struck, but the great Pythian festival of B.C. 346 is by far the
most probable date of issue.


Imperial Times.


From this time until the reign of Hadrian there appears to have been
no mintage at Delphi. That emperor’s strenuous endeavours to reanimate
the ancient religion of the Greeks, together with the influence of Plutarch,
who was a member of the Amphictyonic Council, and held the office of
Priest of the Pythian Apollo at Chaeroneia, the duties of which must
have brought him into frequent relations with the neighbouring oracle
of Delphi, doubtless added much to the importance of Delphi about this
time. The right of coinage was now restored to the city, and numerous
pieces were struck, quasi-autonomous and Imperial, in honour of Hadrian
and the Antonines, among which two may be here selected as worthy of
special mention. Of these one bears the unusual inscription ΑΝΤΙΝΟΟΝ
ΗΡΩΑ ΠΡΟΠVΛΟΙ ΑΜΦΙΚΤΥΟΝΕC, rev. Tripod over omphalos and
legend, ΙΕΡΕΥC ΑΡΙCΤΟΤΙΜΟC ΑΝΕΘΗΚΕΝ (Zeit. f. N., xiii. Pl. IV. 3;
Photiades Cat., 365). The other, without the emperor’s name, may be
thus described :—


Apollo Kitharoedos.

[Millingen, Recueil, T. II. 11.]
ΠVΘΙΑ The three mountain-peaks of
Mt. Parnassus. Æ 1.0



For many other Imperial coins of Delphi see Svoronos (op. cit.) and
Imhoof-Blumer, Zeit. f. N., i. 115, especially with regard to the famous
Delphian ΕΙ. Cf. Plutarch, peri tou ΕΙ, tou en Delphoisπερι του ΕΙ, του εν Δελφοις. This mystic
word is represented on a coin by a large Ε placed within a temple.


Elateia. The authenticity of the following coin, assigned in the first
edition of this work to the unimportant Elateia in Thessaly, has been
questioned, and it must be acknowledged that its Thessalian origin is
inadmissible. It may, however, be accepted, on stylistic grounds, as
genuine, if removed to the far more important Elateia in Phocis, which,
like Delphi, may have asserted its independence of the Phocian league,
and, on the occasion of some local festival, struck coins in its own name
some time after the Peace of Nicias, B.C. 421.





Free horse. [Prokesch, Ined., 1854,
Pl. I. 25, now in the Berlin cabinet.]
ΕΛΑΤΕΟ round a female head within
an incuse square. AR Drachm.



343


The head of the goddess on the reverse is almost identical with that on
the coins of the Phocian League.


No other coins of Elateia are known until the second century B.C.


Among the noteworthy objects in this town Pausanias (x. 34. 7)
mentions an archaic bronze statue of Athena and a temple of Athena
Kranaea. The statue on one of the following coins is perhaps the one
referred to.


Second century B.C.


ΕΛ Bull’s head facing.

[B. M. C., Cent. Gr., p. 237.]
ΦΩΚΕΩΝ Head of Apollo. Æ .65

ΕΛ Bull’s head facing bound with
fillet. [N. C., 1898, Pl. XIX. 6.]
Athena charging. Æ .6

Bearded head.

[B. M. C., Cent. Gr., Pl. IV. 26.]
ΕΛΑΤΕΩΝ Stiff archaic statue of
Athena in fighting attitude; symbol,
bull’s head facing. Æ .75


Ledon (see supra p. 339), Æ of second century B.C., with ΛΕ and
ΦΩΚΕΩΝ.


Lilaea, about a day’s journey from Delphi, seems to have struck obols
and diobols, circ. B.C. 480-421, with Phocian types; but reading Λ Ι in
place of Ο (N. C., 1844, p. 124, and 1903, p. 200); and in the second
century B.C. some bronze coins with ΛΙ and ΦΩΚΕΩΝ (p. 339 and
Num. Zeit., 1870, p. 268).

Neon. Silver of archaic style.




Ο Bull’s head facing.

[Imhoof, Mon. gr., p. 150.]

NΕ Forepart of boar in incuse square.
AR Obol.