Abstract
The paper is a part of a larger overview dedicated to the iconographical analysis of the Ancient Greek pantheon as presented in the coinage of the Northern Black Sea region. Author’s special attention is drawn to the evolution of the image of Athena in a complicated period of the 3rd century BC crisis. The goddess’s head is to be seen on the coins of fi ve cities: those are Panticapaeum, Theodosia, Olbia, Chersonese, and Tyras, that were the only cities to mint coins of their own. Mintage of each of these cities is studied taking into consideration the historical and political context, i. e. inner disturbance, the Chersonese plunder, Theodosia’s pursuit for independence etc. A typological catalogue is proposed. Critically summarizing the hypotheses of the predecessors, the author considers the coin countermarks that had either fallen out of view of scholars or been underestimated before to be of great importance for better understanding of Athena’s hypostasis in the coinage of the Northern Black Sea region. Despite the traditional treatment of Athena as the patroness of polis, the Soteria, the author argues that Athena, as the goddess of wisdom, represents a guarantee for fi nancial prosperity.
Keywords
Ancient numismatics, Greek coinage, Northern Black Sea, Athena.
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