| SEA CREATURES |
Leaping dolphins, cast bronze coins of Olbia, ca. 3rd c. BC
| DOLPHIN |
 Respected
and loved today, this intelligent marine mammal had a venerable treatment
in the Hellenic antiquity as well - as reflected in artifacts, mythology,
and finally - coinage. In some sense, Aesop's well-known fable where the
duplicitious monkey is juxtaposed to the honest, yet not gullible dolphin,
summarizes ancient views of this noble sea animal. Tales of dophins' rescues
of humans in distress abound, and some of them - like that of the poet-singer
Arion, and particularly the one of Taras, the founder of Tarentum in Sicily
- have found artistically impressive expression on coinage. Other times,
dolphins appear in less obvious contexts (like the impressive "eagle
attacking dolphin" composition of two Black Sea cities), as attributes
of Poseidon, or perhaps just as an apparent symbol of grace in the marine
world. |
| OCTOPUS |
 Just
as dolphins seem to appear as the standard marine "good guy",
the opposite roles had to be cast in the sea depths as well. Tales of giant
squids and octopuses harassing mariners seem to abound through all ages
- and they are also quite present in antiquity. (Perhaps that's not unfair,
given that in turn, smaller versions of these mollusks have always been
a delicacy and thus hunting target for humans.) Some conjecture that certain
mythological sea monsters - like the despicable Skylla - were derived from
various such accounts. We might never know for sure, but these animals
do make their appearance on coinage, although in this case they might be
more a symbol of the reversed roles mentioned parenthetically above. |
| CRAB |
 The
crab also figured prominently with ancients, who identified a star constellation
(Cancer) in its shape along the sun's annual sky path, or ecliptic. Of
the eventual 88 constellations these 12 had a special significance, being
considered the "twelve monthly residences of Apollo", and as
signs of the Zodiac were to further propel astrology. (The "uneven
development" of astronomy and astrology over the last two millenia
resulted in the sun residing now in Gemini during the sign of Cancer, but
that's another story...) Some Greek city-states had a particular propensity
for showing crabs on coins, the two classical examples being Akragas (later
Roman Agrigentum) in Sicily, and the southeast Aegean island of Kos. Akragas
- "the fairest of mortal cities" according to the famous 5th
c. BC lyricist Pindar, and home of the famous scientist and philosooher
Empedokles - lay actually on a plateau and cliff two miles inland, leaving
apparently the impression of being "halfway between the sky and sea".
This is might be one explanation for the eagle/crab design combination
on many of its splendid coins, with the two symbolizing the divine rulers
of these realms - Zeus and Poseidon, respectively. On the other hand, it
is harder to decipher the crab's presence for Kos, in comparison to other
themes popular on its coinage - those related to the veneration of Herakles,
and later to that of the god of healing Asklepios, whose cult bloomed after
the work of the native son Hippocrates. |
| LOBSTER |
 While
lobsters appear today in marine wildlife books and fancy restaurant menus
about as often as crabs, that was not the case on ancient coinage. In fact,
it is hard to identify with certainty any such appearances. One notable
exception are some small bronze issues of Priapos in the region og Mysia
in northwestern Asia Minor. Numismatic catalogs usually refer to these
as crayfish, though they reside in fresh waters, and the claws visible
on some of them would also seem to rule out their shrimp relatives. For
resolution, one might also turn to documentary evidence. Priapos, however,
seldom appears in that context - but its neighboring city on the Sea of
Marmara southern coast, Parion, does. Specifically, in his entertaining
3rd century work entitled Dining Scholars, the Greek writer Athenaios from
Naukratis, when discussing gastronomy, claims that "big mussels come
from Ainos, oysters from Abidos, Parion has crabs, and Mytilene scallops...".
And so that brings us back to crabs once again... |