AIGAI in AEOLIS 2-1CenBC Hermes Goat Genuine Authentic Ancient Greek Coin i56298

Item: i56298

Authentic Ancient Coin of:

Greek city of Aigai in Aeolis
Bronze 13mm (2.20 grams) Struck circa 2nd-1st centuries B.C.
Reference: SNG München -; SNG Copenhagen 14; SNG von Aulock –
Head of Hermes right, wearing petasos.
Forepart of goat right; monograms above and to right, ΑΙΓΑΕΩN in exergue.

An inland town on the river Pythikos, south-east of Myrina

Symbols of Hermes were the palm tree, turtle, rooster, goat, the number four, several kinds of fish, incense. Sacrifices involved honey, cakes, pigs, goats, and lambs.

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Statue of Hermes wearing the petasos ,  a voyager’s cloak, the caduceus and a purse. Roman copy after a Greek  original (Vatican  Museums).

Hermes is the great 
messenger of the gods in
Greek mythology
and additionally as a
guide to the Underworld
. Hermes was born on
Mount Cyllene
in Arcadia. An
Olympian god
, he is also the patron of 
boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of
shepherds
and
cowherds
, of the cunning of thieves and liars, 
of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics and sports, of weights 
and measures, of invention, and of commerce in general. His symbols include the 
tortoise, the rooster, the winged sandals, the winged hat, and the
caduceus
(given to him by Apollo in exchange 
for the lyre).

Symbols of Hermes were the palm tree, turtle, rooster, goat, the number four, 
several kinds of fish, incense. Sacrifices involved honey, cakes, pigs, goats, 
and lambs.

In the Roman adaptation of the Greek religion (see
interpretatio romana
), Hermes was 
identified with the Roman god 
Mercury
, who, though inherited from the
Etruscans
, developed many similar 
characteristics, such as being the patron of commerce.

The
Homeric hymn
to Hermes invokes him as the one 
“of many shifts (polytropos), blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, 
a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon 
to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods.”

He protects and takes care of all the travelers, miscreants, harlots, old
crones
and thieves that pray to him or cross 
his path. He is athletic and is always looking out for runners, or any athletes 
with injuries who need his help.

Hermes is a messenger from the gods to humans, sharing this role with
Iris
. An interpreter who bridges the boundaries 
with strangers is a hermeneus. Hermes gives us our word “hermeneutics“, 
the study and theory of interpretation. In Greek a lucky find was a hermaion. 
Hermes delivered messages from Olympus to the mortal world. He wears shoes with 
wings on them and uses them to fly freely between the mortal and immortal world. 
Hermes was the second youngest of the
Olympian gods
, being born before
Dionysus
.

Hermes, as an inventor of fire, is a parallel of the
Titan
,
Prometheus
. In addition to the

lyre, Hermes was believed to have invented many types of racing and 
the sports of wrestling and boxing, and therefore was a patron of athletes.

According to prominent
folklorist

Yeleazar Meletinsky
, Hermes is a deified
trickster
. Hermes also served as a
psychopomp
, or an escort for the dead to help 
them find their way to the
afterlife
(the
Underworld
in the Greek myths). In many Greek 
myths, Hermes was depicted as the only god besides
Hades
,
Persephone
,
Hecate
, and
Thanatos
who could enter and leave the 
Underworld without hindrance.

Hermes often helped travelers have a safe and easy journey. Many Greeks would 
sacrifice to Hermes before any trip.

In the fully-developed Olympian pantheon, Hermes was the son of

Zeus and the
Pleiade

Maia
, a daughter of the Titan
Atlas
. Hermes’ symbols were the
cock
and the
tortoise
, and he can be recognized by his purse 
or pouch, winged sandals
,
winged cap
, and the herald’s staff, the
kerykeion
. The night he was born he slipped 
away from Maia and stole his elder brother 

Apollo

Aigai, also Aigaiai (Ancient Greek:
Αἰγαί or
Αἰγαῖαι;
Latin
: Aegae or
Aegaeae;
Turkish
: Nemrutkale or
Nemrut Kalesi) was an
ancient Greek
city in
Aeolis
. Aegae 
is mentioned by both
Herodotus
 
and Strabo
 
as being a member of the Aeolian dodecapolis. It was also an important sanctuary 
of Apollo
. 
Aigai had its brightest period under the
Attalid dynasty
that ruled from nearby
Pergamon
in 
the 3rd and 2nd century BC.

The remains of the city are located near the modern village of
Yuntdağı Köseler
in
Manisa Province
,
Turkey
. The 
archaeological site is situated at a rather high altitude almost on top of
Mount Gün
(Dağı), part of the mountain chain of
Yunt
(Dağları).

History

 

Initially the city was a possession of the
Lydian Empire
and later the
Achaemenid Empire
when it conquered the former. In the early fourth century 
BC it became part of the Kingdom of Pergamon. It changed hands from Pergamon to 
the
Seleucid Empire
, but was recaptured by
Attalus I
 
of Pergamon in 218 BC. In the war between
Bithynia
 
and Pergamon it was destroyed by
Prusias II of Bithynia
in 156 BC. After a peace was brokered by the
Romans
the city was compensated with hundred
talents
. Under the rule of Pergamon a market building and a temple to Apollo 
were constructed.

In 129 BC the Kingdom of Pergamon became part of the Roman Empire. The city 
was destroyed by an earthquake in 17 AD and received aid for reconstruction from 
emperor Tiberius
.

Layout

The city is situated on a plateau at the summit of the steep Gün Dağı 
mountain, which can be climbed from the north. The plateau is surrounded by a 
wall with a length of 1.5 kilometers. On the eastern side are the remains of the 
three-story indoor market with a height of 11 meters and a length of 82 meters. 
The upper floor of the Hellenistic building was renovated in Roman times. The 
partially overgrown remains of many other buildings are scattered over the site. 
These include the
acropolis
 
which is laid out in terraces, an
odeon
, a
gymnasium
, a
bouleuterion
and the foundations of three temples.

About five kilometers to the east the foundations of a sanctuary of Apollo 
are found on the banks of the river which flows around the ruins. It was an 
Ionic 
order
peripteros
temple from the first century BC. A
cella
which is 
six meters high and three

monoliths

Excavation historyy

The first western visitors of Aigai were
William Mitchell Ramsay
and
Salomon Reinach
in 1880. They reported about their visit in the
Journal of Hellenic Studies
 
and the Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique. They were followed by
Richard 
Bohn
and
Carl Schuchhardt
, who examined the site as a part of the excavations in 
Pergamon.

Since 2004 the site is being excavated by Ersin Doğer of
Ege 
University
in
Izmir
. By 2010 the access road, the bouleuterion, the odeon, shops, numerous 
water pipes and large parts of the market hall were uncovered. For the coming 
years it is planned to re-erect the market hall’s facade with the original 
stones.