Description:
This ancient coin was minted in the city of Ankyra in the Hellenistic region of Phrygia, which was located in modern-day central Turkey. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of the Phrygian King Midas, who turned whatever he touched to gold and according to Homer's Iliad, the Phrygians participated in the Trojan War as close allies of the Trojans.
In 333 BC, Alexander the Great liberated this area from the Persians and by 188 BC, most of Phrygia came under the control of the Attalid Dynasty of Pergamon. The Attalids were loyal supporters of Rome, ruling with intelligence and generosity and the Greek cities in this Kingdom maintained a level of independence. When the ruler Attalus III died without an heir in 133 BC, he bequeathed the whole of Pergamon to Rome in order to prevent a civil war.
This 2nd century BC coin features the head of Zeus, wearing a laurel wreath. In Greek mythology, Zeus 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, which Zeus used to defeat the Titans. The reverse side of this coin depicts one of his thunderbolts, within a wreath. Known for his escapades, Zeus fathered many godly and heroic children including Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Perseus and Hercules.
