TEOS in IONIA Archaic Ancient 520BC Silver Stater GREEK Coin GRIFFIN NGC i66671

Description

Item:
i66671
Authentic Ancient Coin of:
Greek city of
Teos
in
Ionia
Silver Stater 23mm (11.71 grams) Struck circa 520-475 B.C.
Reference: Balcer, SNR 47, 103. BMC 19
Certification:
NGC Ancients
Ch XF  Strike: 4/5 Surface: 4/5  3759990-004
T-HI-O-N (N retrograde), griffin seated right, raising left forepaw over panther head.
Quadripartite incuse square.
A coastal city north-west of Ephesus, Teos was abandoned circa 544 B.C. when the Persians became masters of Ionia and the Teians migrated to Thrace, where they founded Abdera. After several years many of the settlers returned to the mother-city and Teos remained a place of some importance through to Roman times. The city boasted a splendid temple of Dionysos, in the Ionic style, by Hermogenes.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
The
griffin
,
griffon
, or
gryphon
(Greek: γρύφων,
grýphōn
, or γρύπων,
grýpōn
, early form
γρύψ
,
grýps
; Latin:
gryphus
) is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. The griffin was also thought of as king of
the creatures. Griffins are known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions. Adrienne Mayor, a classical folklorist, proposes that the griffin was an ancient misconception derived from the fossilized remains of the
Protoceratops
found in gold mines in the Altai mountains of Scythia, in present day southeastern Kazakhstan. In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine. Some have suggested that the word
griffin
is cognate with
Cherub
.
Teos
(Greek: Τέως) or
Teo
was a maritime city of Ionia, on a peninsula between Chytrium and Myonnesus, colonized by Orchomenian Minyans, Ionians, and Boeotians. The city is situated on a low hilly narrow strip of land connecting two larger areas of land (isthmus). Teos ranked among twelve cities comprising the Ionian League. It was a member of the Lydian group of the Ionian League, one of the four groups defined by Herodotus, based on the particular dialects of the cities. It was the birthplace of Anacreon the poet, Hecateus the historian, Protagoras the sophist, Scythinus the poet, Andron the geographer, and Apellicon, the preserver of the works of Aristotle.
Teos was a flourishing seaport with two fine harbours until Cyrus the Great invaded Lydia and Ionia (ca. 540 BC). The Teans found it prudent to retire overseas, to the newly founded colonies of Abdera in Thrace and Phanagoria on the Asian side of the Cimmerian Bosporus. The port was revived by Antigonus Cyclops; and Epicurus reportedly studied there under Nausiphanes, a disciple of Democritus. During the times of the Roman emperors, the town was noted for its wine, a theatre and Temple of Dionysus. These are positioned near the acropolis, which is situated on a low hill and had fortifications by the sixth century.
A shipwreck near Tektaş, a small rock outcrop near Teos harbour, dates from the Classical period (around the sixth to the fourth centuries BC) and implies trading connections by sea with eastern Aegean islands.
The modern village of Sığacık is situated close to the ruins of Teos. The interior of what was previously the city has now been intensively farmed, which makes it difficult to excavate the site. Through ploughing, pottery has been brought to the surface of the earth, which has been collected through archaeological survey.
Vitruvius (vii, introduction) notes Hermogenes of Priene as the architect of the monopteral temple for Father Bacchus at Teos.
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