Antiochos III the Great 223BC RARE Ancient Greek Coin Elephant i46037

Item: i46037

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Greek Seleucid Kingdom
King Antiochos III the Great – King: 223-187 B.C.

Bronze 11mm (1.36 grams) Sardes mint: 223-187 B.C.
Reference: SC 979; Newell, WSM 1114; SNG Spaer 615
Laureate head of Apollo right.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ANTIOXOY above and below Elephant advancing left; upturned anchor
before.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

Apollo Belvedere
,
ca. 120–140 CE

Apollo  is one of the most important and complex of the
Olympian deities
in
ancient Greek
and
Roman religion
,
Greek
and
Roman mythology
, and
Greco
–Roman
Neopaganism
. The ideal of the
kouros
(a beardless, athletic youth),
Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun, truth and
prophecy, healing, plague, music, poetry, and more. Apollo is the son of

Zeus and Leto
, and has a twin sister, the chaste
huntress Artemis
. Apollo is known in Greek-influenced
Etruscan mythology
as Apulu.

As the patron of Delphi
(Pythian Apollo), Apollo was an
oracular
god—the prophetic deity of the
Delphic Oracle
. Medicine and healing are
associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his
son Asclepius
, yet Apollo was also seen as a god
who could bring ill-health and deadly
plague
. Amongst the god’s custodial charges,
Apollo became associated with dominion over
colonists
, and as the patron defender of herds
and flocks. As the leader of the

Muses (Apollon Musegetes) and director of their choir, Apollo
functioned as the patron god of music and poetry.
Hermes
created the

lyre for him, and the instrument became a common
attribute of Apollo
. Hymns sung to Apollo were
called paeans
.

 

Apollo (left) and
Artemis
.
Brygos
(potter signed), Tondo of an
Attic red-figure cup c. 470 BC,
Musée du Louvre
.

In Hellenistic times, especially during the 3rd century BCE, as Apollo
Helios he became identified among Greeks with
Helios
,
Titan

god of the sun
, and his sister Artemis
similarly equated with
Selene
, Titan
goddess of the moon
In Latin texts, on the
other hand,
Joseph Fontenrose
declared himself unable to
find any conflation of Apollo with
Sol
among the
Augustan poets
of the 1st century, not even in
the conjurations of Aeneas
and
Latinus
in
Aeneid
XII (161–215). Apollo and Helios/Sol
remained separate beings in literary and mythological texts until the 3rd
century CE.

Etymology

Statuette of the Apollo Lykeios type,
Museum of the Ancient Agora of Athens

(inv. BI 236).

Apollo was worshipped throughout the
Roman Empire
. In the traditionally
Celtic
lands he was most often seen as a
healing and sun god. He was often equated with
Celtic gods
of similar character.

• 
  Apollo Atepomarus
  (“the great horseman”
  or “possessing a great horse”). Apollo was worshipped at
  Mauvières
  (Indre).
  Horses were, in the Celtic world, closely linked to the sun.
• 
  Apollo Belenus
  (‘bright’ or
  ‘brilliant’). This epithet was given to Apollo in parts of
  Gaul
  , Northern Italy and
  Noricum
  (part of modern Austria). Apollo
  Belenus was a healing and sun god.
• 
  Apollo Cunomaglus
  (‘hound lord’). A
  title given to Apollo at a shrine in
  Wiltshire
  . Apollo Cunomaglus may have been
  a god of healing. Cunomaglus himself may originally have been an independent
  healing god.
• 
  Apollo Grannus
  . Grannus was a healing
  spring god, later equated with Apollo.
• Apollo Maponus. A god known from inscriptions in Britain. This
  may be a local fusion of Apollo and
  Maponus
  .
• 
  Apollo Moritasgus
  (‘masses of sea
  water’). An epithet for Apollo at Alesia, where he was worshipped as god of
  healing and, possibly, of physicians.
• 
  Apollo Vindonnus
  (‘clear light’).
  Apollo Vindonnus had a temple at
  Essarois
  , near
  Châtillon-sur-Seine
  in
  Burgundy
  . He was a god of healing,
  especially of the eyes.
• 
  Apollo Virotutis
  (‘benefactor of
  mankind?’). Apollo Virotutis was worshipped, among other places, at Fins
  d’Annecy (Haute-Savoie)
  and at Jublains
  (Maine-et-Loire).

Origins

The Omphalos
in the Museum of
Delphi
.

The cult centers of Apollo in Greece,
Delphi
and
Delos
, date from the 8th century BCE. The Delos
sanctuary was primarily dedicated to
Artemis
, Apollo’s twin sister. At Delphi,
Apollo was venerated as the slayer of
Pytho
. For the Greeks, Apollo was all the Gods
in one and through the centuries he acquired different functions which could
originate from different gods. In
archaic Greece
he was the
prophet
, the oracular god who in older times
was connected with “healing”. In
classical Greece
he was the god of light and of
music, but in popular religion he had a strong function to keep away evil.

From his eastern-origin Apollo brought the art of inspection from “symbols
and omina
” (σημεία και τέρατα : semeia kai
terata), and of the observation of the

omens of the days. The inspiration oracular-cult was probably
introduced from Anatolia
. The
ritualism
belonged to Apollo from the
beginning. The Greeks created the
legalism
, the supervision of the orders of the
gods, and the demand for moderation and harmony. Apollo became the god of
shining youth, the protector of music, spiritual-life, moderation and
perceptible order. The improvement of the old
Anatolian
god, and his elevation to an
intellectual sphere, may be considered an achievement of the
Greek
people.

Healer and
god-protector from evil

The function of Apollo as a “healer” is connected with
Paean
, the physician of the Gods in the
Iliad
, who seems to come from a more
primitive religion. Paeοn is probably connected with the
Mycenean
Pa-ja-wo, but the etymology is the
only evidence. He did not have a separate cult, but he was the personification
of the holy magic-song sung by the magicians that was supposed to cure disease.
Later the Greeks knew the original meaning of the relevant song “paean”. The
magicians were also called “seer-doctors”, and they used an ecstatic prophetic
art which was used exactly by the god Apollo at the oracles.

In the Iliad, Apollo is the healer under the gods, but he is also the
bringer of disease and death with his arrows, similar to the function of the
terrible
Vedic
god of disease
Rudra
.He sends a terrible plague to the
Achaeans
. The god who sends a disease can also
prevent from it, therefore when it stops they make a purifying ceremony and
offer him an “hecatomb” to ward off evil. When the oath of his priest appeases,
they pray and with a song they call their own god, the beautiful Paean.

Some common epithets of Apollo as a healer are “paion” , “epikourios”,
“oulios”, and “loimios” . In classical times, his strong function in popular
religion was to keep away evil, and was therefore called “apotropaios”  and
“alexikakos” , throw away the evil).
In later writers, the word, usually spelled “Paean”, becomes a
mere epithet of Apollo in his capacity as a god of
healing
.

Homer illustrated Paeon the god, and the song both of
apotropaic
thanksgiving or triumph. Such songs
were originally addressed to Apollo, and afterwards to other gods: to
Dionysus
, to Apollo
Helios
, to Apollo’s son
Asclepius
the healer. About the 4th century
BCE, the paean became merely a formula of adulation; its object was either to
implore protection against disease and misfortune, or to offer thanks after such
protection had been rendered. It was in this way that Apollo had become
recognised as the god of music. Apollo’s role as the slayer of the
Python
led to his association with battle and
victory; hence it became the
Roman
custom for a paean to be sung by an army
on the march and before entering into battle, when a fleet left the harbour, and
also after a victory had been won.

Dorian origin

The connection with Dorians and their initiation festival
apellai
is reinforced by the month
Apellaios in northwest Greek calendars, but it can explain only the Doric
type of the name, which is connected with the
Ancient Macedonian
word “pella” (Pella),
stone. Stones played an important part in the cult of the god, especially
in the oracular shrine of Delphi (Omphalos).
The “Homeric hymn” represents Apollo as a Northern intruder. His arrival must
have occurred during the “dark ages” that followed the destruction of the
Mycenaean civilization
, and his conflict with
Gaia
(Mother Earth) was represented by the
legend of his slaying her daughter the serpent
Python
.

The earth deity had power over the ghostly world, and it is believed that she
was the deity behind the oracle. The older tales mentioned two dragons who were
perhaps intentionally conflated. A female dragon named
Delphyne
who is obviously connected with Delphi
and Apollo Delphinios, and a male serpent
Typhon
, the adversary of

Zeus in the
Titanomachy
, who the narrators confused with
Python
. Python was the good daemon of the
temple as it appears in
Minoan
religion, but she was represented as a
dragon, as often happens in Northern European folklore as well as in the East.

Apollo and his sister
Artemis
can bring death with their arrows. The
conception that diseases and death come from invisible shots sent by
supernatural beings, or magicians is common in
Germanic
and
Norse
mythology.^[35]
In
Greek mythology
Artemis was the leader of the
nymphs
, who had similar functions with the
Nordic

Elves.The “elf-shot” originally indicated disease or death attributed
to the elves, but it was later attested denoting
arrow
-heads which were used by witches to harm
people, and also for healing rituals.

The
Vedic
Rudra has some similar functions with
Apollo. The terrible god is called “The Archer”, and the bow is also an
attribute of Shiva
. Rudra could bring diseases with his
arrows, but he was able to free people of them, and his alternative Shiba, is a
healer physician god. However the
Indo-European
component of Apollo, does not
explain his strong relation with omens, exorcisms, and with the oracular cult.

Minoan origin

It seems an oracular cult existed in Delphi from the
Mycenaean
ages. In historical times, the
priests of Delphi were called
Labryaden
, “the double-axe men”, which
indicates
Minoan
origin. The double-axe (λάβρυς:labrys)
was the holy symbol of the
Cretan

labyrinth
. The Homeric hymn adds that Apollo
appeared as a dolphin and carried Cretan priests to Delphi, where they evidently
transferred their religious practices. Apollo Delphinios was a sea-god
especially worshiped in Crete and in the islands, and his name indicates his
connection with Delphi and the holy serpent
Delphyne
(womb). Apollo’s sister
Artemis
, who was the Greek goddess of hunting,
is identified with
Britomartis
(Diktynna),
the
Minoan
“Mistress of the animals”. In her
earliest depictions she is accompanied by the “Mister of the animals”, a male
god of hunting who had the bow as his attribute. We don’t know his original
name, but it seems that he was absorbed by the more powerful Apollo, who stood
by the “Mistress of the animals”, becoming her brother.

The old oracles in Delphi seem to be connected with a local tradition of the
priesthood, and there is not clear evidence that a kind of inspiration-prophecy
existed in the temple. This led some scholars to the conclusion that Pythia
carried on the rituals in a consistent procedure through many centuries,
according to the local tradition. In that regard, the mythical seeress
Sibyl
of
Anatolian
origin, with her ecstatic art, looks
unrelated to the oracle itself.However, the Greek tradition is referring to the
existence of vapours and chewing of laurel-leaves, which seem to be confirmed by
recent studies.

Plato
describes the priestesses of Delphi and
Dodona
as frenzied women, obsessed by “mania” (μανία:frenzy),
a Greek word connected with “mantis” (μάντις:prophet). Frenzied women like
Sibyls from whose lips the god speaks are recorded in the
Near East
as
Mari
in the second millennium BC.Although Crete
had contacts with Mari from 2000 BC, there is no evidence that the ecstatic
prophetic art existed during the Minoan and Mycenean ages. It is more probable
that this art was introduced later from
Anatolia
and regenerated an existing oracular
cult that was local to Delphi and dormant in several areas of Greece.

Anatolian origin

A non-Greek origin of Apollo has long been assumed in scholarship.The name of
Apollo’s mother Leto
has
Lydian
origin, and she was worshipped on the
coasts of
Asia Minor
. The inspiration oracular cult was
probably introduced into Greece from
Anatolia
, which is the origin of
Sibyl
, and where existed some of the oldest
oracular shrines. Omens, symbols, purifications, and exorcisms appear in old
Assyro
–Babylonian
texts, and these rituals were spread into the empire of the
Hittites
. In a Hittite text is mentioned that
the king invited a Babylonian priestess for a certain “purification”.

A similar story is mentioned by
Plutarch
. He writes that the
Cretan
–
seer

Epimenides
, purified
Athens
after the pollution brought by the
Alcmeonidae
, and that the seer’s expertise in
sacrifices
and reform of funeral practices were
of great help to Solon
in his reform of the Athenian state. The
story indicates that Epimenides was probably heir to the shamanic religions of
Asia, and proves together with the
Homeric
hymn, that Crete had a resisting
religion up to the historical times. It seems that these rituals were dormant in
Greece, and they were reinforced when the Greeks migrated to
Anatolia
.

Homer
pictures Apollo on the side of the

Trojans, fighting against the
Achaeans
, during the
Trojan War
. He is pictured as a terrible god,
less trusted by the Greeks than other gods. The god seems to be related to
Appaliunas, a tutelary god of
Wilusa
(Troy)
in Asia Minor, but the word is not complete. The stones found in front of the
gates of Homeric
Troy were the symbols of Apollo. The
Greeks gave to him the name αγυιεύς
agyieus
as the protector god of public places
and houses who wards off evil, and his symbol was a tapered stone or column.
However, while usually Greek festivals were celebrated at the
full moon
, all the feasts of Apollo were
celebrated at the seventh day of the month, and the emphasis given to that day (sibutu)
indicates a
Babylonian
origin.

The
Late Bronze Age
(from 1700 to 1200 BCE)
Hittite
and
Hurrian
Aplu was a god of
plague
, invoked during plague years. Here we
have an
apotropaic
situation, where a god originally
bringing the plague was invoked to end it. Aplu, meaning the son of, was
a title given to the god
Nergal
, who was linked to the
Babylonian
god of the sun
Shamash
. Homer interprets Apollo as a terrible
god (δεινός θεός) who brings death and disease with his arrows, but who can also
heal, possessing a magic art that separates him from the other Greek gods. In
Iliad
, his priest prays to Apollo
Smintheus, the mouse god who retains an older agricultural function as the
protector from field rats. All these functions, including the function of the
healer-god
Paean
, who seems to have Mycenean origin, are
fused in the cult of Apollo.

Oracular cult

 

Columns of the
Temple of Apollo
at Delphi, Greece.

Unusually among the Olympic deities, Apollo had two cult sites that had
widespread influence: Delos
and
Delphi
. In cult practice,
Delian Apollo
and
Pythian Apollo
(the Apollo of Delphi) were so
distinct that they might both have shrines in the same locality.Apollo’s
cult
was already fully established when written
sources commenced, about 650 BCE. Apollo became extremely important to the Greek
world as an oracular deity in the
archaic period
, and the frequency of
theophoric names
such as Apollodorus or
Apollonios and cities named Apollonia testify to his popularity.
Oracular sanctuaries to Apollo were established in other sites. In the 2nd and
3rd century CE, those at
Didyma
and
Clarus
pronounced the so-called “theological
oracles”, in which Apollo confirms that all deities are aspects or servants of
an
all-encompassing, highest deity
. “In the 3rd
century, Apollo fell silent.
Julian the Apostate
(359 – 61) tried to revive
the Delphic oracle, but failed

In

Greek

and

Roman mythology

, Apollo
,

is one of the most important and diverse of the

Olympian deities

. The ideal of the

kouros
(a

beardless youth), Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the

sun; truth and prophecy;

archery
;

medicine and healing; music, poetry, and the arts; and more. Apollo is the son

of Zeus
and

Leto, and has a

twin

sister, the chaste huntress

Artemis
.

Apollo is known in Greek-influenced

Etruscan mythology

as Apulu. Apollo was worshiped in both

ancient Greek

and

Roman religion

, as well as in the modern

Greco

–Roman

Neopaganism

.

As the patron of Delphi

(Pythian Apollo), Apollo was an

oracular

god — the prophetic deity of the

Delphic Oracle
.

Medicine and healing were associated with Apollo, whether through the god

himself or mediated through his son

Asclepius
,

yet Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill-health and deadly

plague

as well as one who had the ability to cure. Amongst the god’s

custodial charges, Apollo became associated with dominion over

colonists

, and as the patron defender of herds and flocks. As the leader of

the Muses
(Apollon

Musagetes) and director of their choir, Apollo functioned as the patron god

of music and poetry
.

Hermes
created

the lyre
for him,

and the instrument became a common

attribute

of Apollo. Hymns sung to Apollo were called

paeans
.

In Hellenistic times, especially during the third century BCE, as Apollo

Helios he became identified among Greeks with

Helios
,

god of

the sun
, and his sister Artemis similarly equated with

Selene
,

goddess

of the moon
.

In Latin texts, on the other hand, Joseph Fontenrose declared himself unable to

find any conflation of Apollo with

Sol

among the

Augustan poets

of the first century, not even in the conjurations of

Aeneas
and

Latinus
in

Aeneid
XII

(161–215).

Apollo and Helios/Sol remained separate beings in literary and mythological

texts until the third century CE.

Antiochus III the Great, (Greek

Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας; ca. 241–187 BC,

ruled 222–187 BC), younger son of

Seleucus II Callinicus

, became the 6th ruler of the

Seleucid Empire

as a youth of about eighteen in 223 BC. Ascending the throne

at young age, Antiochus was an ambitious ruler. Although his early attempts in

war against the

Ptolemaic Kingdom

were unsuccessful, in the following years of conquest

Antiochus proved himself as the most successful Seleucid King after

Seleucus I

himself. His traditional designation, the Great, reflects

an epithet he briefly assumed after his Eastern Campaign (it appears in regnal

formulas at Amyzon in 203 and 202 BC, but not later). Antiochos also assumed the

title “Basileus Megas” (which is

Greek

for Great King), the

traditional title of

the Persian kings, which he adopted after his conquest of Koile Syria.

//

 Early years

Antiochus III inherited a disorganized state. Not only had

Asia Minor

become detached, but the farther eastern provinces had broken away,

Bactria
under

the Greek

Diodotus of Bactria

, and

Parthia
under

the nomad chieftain

Arsaces

. Soon after Antiochus’s accession,

Media
and

Persis

revolted under their governors, the brothers

Molon
and

Alexander

.

The young king, under the baneful influence of the minister

Hermeias
,

authorised an attack on

Judea
instead of

going in person to face the rebels. The attack on Judea proved a fiasco, and the

generals sent against Molon and Alexander met with disaster. Only in Asia Minor,

where the king’s cousin, the able

Achaeus

represented the Seleucid cause, did its prestige recover, driving

the Pergamene power back to its earlier limits.

In 221 BC Antiochus at last went east, and the rebellion of Molon and

Alexander collapsed. The submission of Lesser Media, which had asserted its

independence under

Artabazanes

, followed. Antiochus rid himself of Hermeias by assassination

and returned to Syria

(220 BC). Meanwhile Achaeus himself had revolted and assumed the title of king

in Asia Minor. Since, however, his power was not well enough grounded to allow

of his attacking Syria, Antiochus considered that he might leave Achaeus for the

present and renew his attempt on Judea.

The campaigns of 219 BC and 218 BC carried the Seleucid armies almost to the

confines of

Ptolemaic Egypt

, but in 217 BC

Ptolemy IV

confronted Antiochus at the

battle of Raphia

and inflicted a defeat upon him which nullified all

Antiochus’s successes and compelled him to withdraw north of the

Lebanon
. In

216 BC Antiochus went north to deal with Achaeus, and had by 214 BC driven him

from the field into Sardis

. Antiochus contrived to get possession of the person of

Achaeus

(see

Polybius
),

but the citadel held out until 213 BC under Achaeus’ widow

Laodice

and then surrendered.

Having thus recovered the central part of Asia Minor – for the Seleucid

government had perforce to tolerate the dynasties in

Pergamon
,

Bithynia

and Cappadocia

 – Antiochus turned to recover the outlying provinces of the north

and east. He obliged

Xerxes of Armenia

to acknowledge his supremacy in 212 BC. In 209 BC

Antiochus invaded Parthia

, occupied the capital

Hecatompylus

and pushed forward into

Hyrcania
.

The Parthian king

Arsaces II

apparently successfully sued for peace.

 Bactrian

campaign and Indian expedition

Year 209 BC saw Antiochus in

Bactria
,

where the

Greco-Bactrian

king

Euthydemus I

had supplanted the original rebel. Antiochus again met with

success.

After sustaining a famous siege in his capital

Bactra

(Balkh), Euthydemus obtained an honourable peace by which

Antiochus promised Euthydemus’ son

Demetrius

the hand of one of his daughters.

Antiochus next, following in the steps of Alexander, crossed into the

Kabul
valley,

renewed his friendship with the

Indian
king

Sophagasenus

and returned west by way of

Seistan

and Kerman (206/5). According to

Polybius
:

“He crossed the Caucasus (Hindu

Kush) and descended into India; renewed his friendship with

Sophagasenus

(Subhashsena in Prakrit) the king of the Indians; received

more elephants, until he had a hundred and fifty altogether; and having once

more provisioned his troops, set out again personally with his army: leaving

Androsthenes of Cyzicus the duty of taking home the treasure which this king

had agreed to hand over to him.”

Polybius 11.39

 Persia and Koile

Syria campaigns

From

Seleucia on the Tigris

he led a short expedition down the

Persian

Gulf
against the

Gerrhaeans
of

the Arabian coast (205 BC/204 BC). Antiochus seemed to have restored the

Seleucid empire in the east, and the achievement brought him the title of “the

Great.” (Antiochos Megas). In 205 BC/204 BC the infant

Ptolemy V Epiphanes

succeeded to the Egyptian throne, and Antiochus is said

(notably by Polybios) to have concluded a secret pact with

Philip V of Macedon

for the partition of the Ptolemaic possessions. Under

the terms of this pact,

Macedon

were to receive Egypt’s around the Aegean Sea and

Cyrene

while Antiochus would take

Cyprus
and

Egypt.

Once more Antiochus attacked the Ptolemaic province of Koile Syria and

Phoenicia, and by 199 BC he seems to have had possession of it before the

Aetolian,

Scopas

, recovered it for Ptolemy. But that recovery proved brief, for in 198

BC Antiochus defeated Scopas at the

Battle of Panium

, near the sources of the

Jordan
,

a battle which marks the end of Ptolemaic rule in Judea.

 War against Rome

Antiochus then moved to Asia Minor to secure the coast towns which had

belonged to the Ptolemaic overseas dominions and the independent Greek cities.

This enterprise brought him into antagonism with

Rome

, since Smyrna

and

Lampsacus

appealed to the republic of the west, and the tension became greater after

Antiochus had in 196 BC established a footing in

Thrace
. The

evacuation of Greece by the Romans gave Antiochus his opportunity, and he now

had the fugitive

Hannibal
at

his court to urge him on.

Aetolians. In

191 BC, however, the Romans under

Manius Acilius Glabrio

routed him at

Thermopylae

and obliged him to withdraw to Asia. The Romans followed up

their success by attacking Antiochus in

Anatolia
,

and the decisive victory of

Scipio Asiaticus

at

Magnesia ad Sipylum

(190 BC), following the defeat of Hannibal at sea off

Side, delivered

Asia Minor into their hands.

By the

Treaty of Apamea

(188 BC) the Seleucid king abandoned all the country north

of the

Taurus

, which Rome distributed amongst its friends. As a consequence of this

blow to the Seleucid power, the outlying provinces of the empire, recovered by

Antiochus, reasserted their independence.

Antiochus mounted a fresh expedition to the east in

Luristan

, where he died in an attempt to rob a temple at Elymaïs, Persia, in

187 BC. The Seleucid kingdom as Antiochus left it fell to his son,

Seleucus IV Philopator

, by his wife

Laodice

.