Description:
This ancient coin features the laureate head of Zeus, who in Greek mythology oversaw the universe and was the "Father of gods and men." He ruled as king of the gods on Mount Olympus and as god of the sky and thunder with the power to hurl lightning bolts as a weapon. Known for his escapades, Zeus fathered many godly and heroic children including Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Perseus and Hercules. One of the symbols of Zeus was the eagle and on the reverse of this coin an eagle is shown standing on a thunderbolt.
This bronze coin was minted in Dia, an ancient port city located on the Black Sea coast in the region of Bithynia, which was in present-day northwest Turkey. Bithynia was an independent Greek Kingdom that was founded in the 4th century BC and over the centuries, it rose to great prosperity. However, in 120 BC, Mithridates VI ascended to the throne of the nearby Kingdom of Pontus and he began expanding his Kingdom around the Black Sea and into Greece and Asia Minor. This territory included Bithynia and Roman client states, which led to the 1st Mithridatic War against Rome in 89 BC. The war lasted five years and ended in a Roman victory, which forced Mithridates to abandon all his conquests and return to Pontus. However, the conflict would continue in two further wars and Mithridates, who is remembered as the last great Hellenistic ruler, would rule until 63 BC when he was finally defeated by the Romans.
