Abstract
The article observes the representation of the cult of the king by the coins of a number of rulers of the pre-Hellenism and Hellenism. The coin becomes one of the main means of propaganda of the royal cult after Alexander the Great, who created a new coin type, which was widely used in the subsequent time in coin typology, based on traditional motifs in the coinage of Amyntas III, Perdiccas III, and Philip II. While at the time of Alexander there was a religious ban on the lifetime image of the ruler on coins, then the Diadochi finally overcame it, expanding the practice of the Persian satraps and Lycian dynasts. The image of Alexander the Great became associated with the portrait of the king ruling at that time. Alexander was immortalized by the Hellenistic rulers, and his images became even more widespread than during his lifetime. The Diadochi turned the coin into a vivid means of promoting the cult of the ruler as a charismatic personality and glorifying his political and military achievements. The fusion of the image of the reigning ruler with Zeus, Hercules and other heroes and deities, accompanied by depictions of the attributes of deities, became widespread in the coinage of the Diadochi, who initially used the revered image of Alexander to legitimize the continuity of their power and emphasize its divine character. Gradually, the Hellenistic rulers replaced the image of Alexander on the coins with their own, while maintaining a common iconography. However, subsequently the idealized style of the portrait of the ruler on the coins replaced the realistic style, which made the propaganda of the cult of the king and his successes even more effective.
Keywords
Pre-Hellenism, Hellenism, coinage, royal cult, coins, Alexander the Great, Diadochi.
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