Description:
This bronze coin was minted in the ancient city of Amorion, in the Hellenistic region of Phrygia, which was located in modern-day west-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.
Amorion was an important city on a strategic road and the legendary birthplace of Aesop, the famous Greek fable writer. In 333 BC, Alexander the Great liberated this area from the Persians and by 133 BC, this region was under the control of the Romans. This was a prosperous time for the city of Amorion and they began minting their own coinage in the 2nd century BC.
The obverse side of this ancient coin shows a lion leaping over a caduceus, which is a staff entwined by two serpents, that was a symbol of commerce. The lion was not indigenous to Greek lands, however the lion was still a popular beast renowned for its power and hunting prowess. Lions have been depicted in Greek art for centuries before coins were minted.
The reverse side shows the turreted and draped bust of Tyche. In Classical Greek mythology, she is the daughter of the Titans Tethys and Oceanus and her Roman equivalent was Fortuna. Tyche was the goddess who governed the fortune, prosperity and destiny of a city. The people believed that when no cause can be discovered to events such as floods, droughts, frosts, or even in politics, then the cause of these events may be fairly attributed to Tyche.
