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Seleukid Kindom
Antiochos I, Soter – King:
281-261 B.C.
Bronze 13mm (2.22 grams) Magnesia under Mt. Sipylos mint
Reference: HGC 9, 193 Rare
R1-R2; SC 320
Head of Athena in Attic helmet facing.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ANTIOXOY, Nike advancing left, holding
wreath and palm branch; monogram in field to left.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,
provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.
Athena
or Athene (Latin:
Minerva
),
also referred to as Pallas Athena, is the goddess of war, civilization,
wisdom, strength, strategy, crafts, justice and skill in
Greek mythology
.
Minerva
,
Athena’s Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is also a shrewd
companion of heroes
and the goddess
of heroic
endeavour. She is the
virgin
patron of Athens
.
The Athenians built the
Parthenon
on the Acropolis of her namesake city, Athens, in her honour (Athena Parthenos).
Athena’s cult as the patron of Athens seems to have existed from the earliest
times and was so persistent that archaic myths about her were recast to adapt to
cultural changes. In her role as a protector of the city (polis),
many people throughout the Greek world worshiped Athena as Athena Polias
(“Athena of the city”).
Athens
and Athena bear etymologically connected names.
In
Greek mythology
,
Nike
was a
goddess
who personified
victory
, also known as the Winged Goddess of
Victory. The Roman equivalent was
Victoria
. Depending upon the time of various
myths, she was described as the daughter of
Pallas
(Titan) and
Styx (Water) and the sister of
Kratos
(Strength),
Bia
(Force), and
Zelus
(Zeal). Nike and her siblings were close
companions of Zeus
, the dominant deity of the
Greek pantheon
. According to classical (later)
myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when the god was assembling allies for the
Titan War
against the older deities. Nike
assumed the role of the divine
charioteer
, a role in which she often is
portrayed in Classical Greek art. Nike flew around battlefields rewarding the
victors with glory and fame.
Nike is seen with wings in most statues and paintings. Most other winged
deities in the Greek pantheon had shed their wings by Classical times. Nike is
the goddess of strength, speed, and victory. Nike was a very close acquaintance
of Athena
, and is thought to have stood in
Athena’s outstretched hand in the statue of Athena located in the Parthenon.
Nike is one of the most commonly portrayed figures on Greek coins.
Names stemming from Nike include amongst others:
Nicholas
, Nicola, Nick, Nikolai, Nils, Klaas,
Nicole, Ike, Niki, Nikita, Nika, Niketas, and Nico.
Antiochus I Soter (Greek:
Ἀντίοχος Α΄ ὁ Σωτήρ;
epithet
means “the Saviour”; c. 324/3 – 261
BC), was a king of the
Hellenistic
Seleucid Empire
. He reigned in 281–261 BC.
Antiochus I was half
Persian
, his mother
Apama
being one of the eastern princesses whom
Alexander the Great
had given as wives to his
generals in 324 BC. In 294 BC, prior to the death of his father
Seleucus I
, Antiochus married his stepmother,
Stratonice
, daughter of
Demetrius Poliorcetes
. His elderly father
reportedly instigated the marriage after discovering that his son was in danger
of dying of lovesickness. Stratonice bore five children to Antiochus: Seleucus
(he was executed for rebellion), Laodice,
Apama II
,
Stratonice of Macedon
and
Antiochus II Theos
, who succeeded his father as
king.
On the assassination of his father in 281 BC, the task of holding together
the empire was a formidable one. A revolt in
Syria
broke out almost immediately. Antiochus
was soon compelled to make peace with his father’s murderer,
Ptolemy Keraunos
, apparently abandoning
Macedonia
and
Thrace
. In
Anatolia
he was unable to reduce
Bithynia
or the Persian dynasties that ruled in
Cappadocia
.
In 278 BC the Gauls
broke into Anatolia, and a victory that
Antiochus won over these Gauls by using Indian
war elephants
(275 BC) is said to have been the
origin of his title of Soter (Gr.
for “saviour”).
At the end of 275 BC the question of
Coele-Syria
, which had been open between the
houses of Seleucus and
Ptolemy
since the partition of 301 BC, led to
hostilities (the
First Syrian War
). It had been continuously in
Ptolemaic
occupation, but the
house of Seleucus
maintained its claim. War did
not materially change the outlines of the two kingdoms, though frontier cities
like Damascus
and the coast districts of Asia Minor
might change hands.
On March 27 268 BC Antiochus I laid the foundation for the Ezida Temple in
Borsippa
.[1]
His eldest son Seleucus had ruled in the east as viceroy from 275 BC(?) till
268/267 BC; Antiochus put his son to death in the latter year on the charge of
rebellion. Circa 262 BC Antiochus tried to break the growing power of
Pergamum
by force of arms, but suffered defeat
near Sardis
and died soon afterwards. He was
succeeded in 261 BC by his second son
Antiochus II Theos
.
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