Archaios | Mysia Kings of Pergamon Philetairos Serpent | AE

Description: Archaios Numismatics Description: Ancient Autonomous Bronze Coin of the Pergamon in Mysia, Asia Minor, circa 4th to 3rd century B.C. Obverse: Helmeted Head of Athena Right Reverse: Coiled Serpent rising as if to attack with ethnic to right [ΦIΛETAPOY] Mint: Pergamon, Mysia Size: 15 mm Weight: 4.53 g Ref: SNG Cop. 343 Inventory: 1905.24.16; LPG 363x Condition: F/G. Worn Interesting coin type. As always, Please use the Pictures as your judge as grading is subjective. Notes: Philetairos (Philetaerus) (c. 343 –263 BC) was the founder of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon in Anatolia. He was born in Tieium, a small town which is situated in the geographical region of Pontus on the Black Sea coast between Bithynia to the west and Paphlagonia to the east. His father Attalus was Greek (and perhaps from Macedon) and his mother Boa was Paphlagonian. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC,Philetairos became embroiled in the struggle for supremacy, called the Wars of the Diadochi among Alexander's former regional governors/generals. Philetairos served first under Antigonus. He then shifted his allegiance to Lysimachus (ruler of Pergamon from 323 BC to 281 BC), who, after Antigonus was killed at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, made Philetaerus commander of Pergamon, where Lysimachus kept a treasury of nine thousand talents of silver. He finally left service of Lysimachos in 282 BC to offer his fortifications along with its treasury to Seleukos at which time Seleukos defeated and killed Lysimachos. Although nominally under Seleucid control, Philetairos, had considerable autonomy and used his considerable wealth to increase his power and influence beyond Pergamon. There are numerous records of his work as benefactor to neighboring cities and temples, including the temples at Delphi and Delos. He also contributed troops, money and food to the city of Cyzicus for defense against the invading Gauls. As a result, Philetaerus gained prestige and goodwill for himself and his family. During his nearly forty year rule, he constructed the temple of Demeter on the acropolis of Pergamon, and the temple of Athena (Pergamon's patron deity), and Pergamon's first palace, and he added considerably to the city's fortifications. Philetairos never married and, since he was a eunuch, had no children. He adopted his nephew Eumenes I (the son of Philetaerus' brother also named Eumenes), who succeeded him as ruler of Pergamon, upon his death in 263 BC. With the exception of Eumenes II, all future Attalid rulers depicted the bust of Philetaerus on their coins, paying tribute to the founder of their dynasty. Ancient Pergamon in Asia Minor was one of the prominent locations which had a dedicated asclepeion (or healing temple) according to the geographer of the 1st century BC, Strabo. From the fifth century BC onwards, the cult of Asclepius grew very popular and pilgrims flocked to his healing temples (Asclepieia) to be cured of their ills. In honor of Asclepius, a particular type of non-venomous snake was often used in healing rituals, and these snakes — the Aesculapian Snakes — slithered around freely on the floor in dormitories where the sick and injured slept. These snakes were introduced at the founding of each new temple of Asclepius throughout the classical world. Asclepios (Asclepius) was a greek god of medicine representing the healing arts and his daughters were Hygieia ("Hygiene", the goddess/personification of health, cleanliness, and sanitation), Iaso (the goddess of recuperation from illness), Aceso (the goddess of the healing process), Aglæa/Ægle (the goddess of the glow of good health), and Panacea (the goddess of universal remedy). The rod of Asclepius, a snake-entwined staff, remains a symbol of medicine today. Some Excerpts From Head, Hist. Num., and Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia We Thank You for stopping in and taking time to look at and bid on our listings. Good Luck Bidding or Buying ! We encourage you to click the "See other items" link above in the "Seller Information" area of the listing as well to check out our other items posted. We have a variety of great classical and other ancient numismatic items available. We will be regularly continuing to post for sale and auction a wide variety of Ancient Roman, Greek, and Eastern coins as well as Medieval, Byzantine, and some Modern coins as well. We do combine shipping if buying or winning multiple items. Just contact us before you pay and let us know and we will gladly send an updated invoice with the combined shipping amount. You can also follow us to be notified when new listings are posted. With over 20 years in the numismatics hobby we continue to revel in the excitement that comes from holding each new small piece of history in our hands. We enjoy the enduring sense of history both of the prior uses and users as well as the creativity and necessity that surround the time and place at which these coins were minted and used in circulation. Our aim is to cater not just to the high end collector but also to the hobbyist and the newly initiated and those on a limited budget. Everyone starts the hobby somewhere and where we can share our knowledge to help inform or jumpstart your collecting pleasure we will aim to do so. We want you to love every purchase you make with us and we always stand by the quality and authenticity of all the coins we are selling.

Price: 16.99 USD

Location: Seattle, Washington

End Time: 2024-04-11T20:28:13.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0.68 USD