KAINON aka ALAISA in SICILY 360BC Griffin Horse RARE Ancient Greek Coin i54791

Item: i54791

Authentic Ancient Coin of:

Greek city of
Kainon

in

Sicily
Bronze 20mm (8.28 grams) Struck circa 360-340 B.C.
Reference: HGC 2, 509 510 var. (horse right); Sear 1048 (Alaisa); CNS I, pp.
249-256, nos. 1-19 OS 10

Griffin

springing left; grasshopper below.
Horse prancing left with trailing reins; star above; KAINON in
exergue.

* Numismatic Note: Previously these
types of coins were attributed to

Alaisa


Archonidea (which was founded in 403 B.C. by Sicel
chief Archonides). It is possible that "the Kainans", whom
are named as the issuing authority on this coin, were
Thracian mercenaries which operated in Sicily in the
first half of the fourth century B.C.

 You

Authenticity.  

The

griffin is a
legendary creature
with
the body, tail, and back legs of a
lion
; the head and
wings of an
eagle
; and an eagle’s
talons as its front feet. 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
, or in
Mongolia
.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
.

Sicily (Italian:
Sicilia

[siˈtʃiːlja]
) is
the
largest island
in the
Mediterranean Sea
;
along with surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an
autonomous region
of
Italy
, and it is
officially referred to as Regione Siciliana
(Sicilian Region).

Sicily
is located in the central Mediterranean. It extends from
the tip of the
Apennine peninsula
,
from which it is separated only by the narrow
Strait of Messina
,
towards the North African coast. Its most prominent
landmark is
Mount Etna
, which, at
3,350 m (10,990 ft), is the tallest active
volcano
in Europe and
one of the most active in the world. The island has a
typical
Mediterranean climate
.

The earliest
archeological evidence

of human dwelling on the island dates from as early as
8000 BC. At around 750 BC, Sicily was host to a number
of
Phoenician
and
Greek colonies
, and for
the next 600 years, it was the site of the
Greek–Punic
and
Roman–Punic wars
, which
ended with the
Roman

destruction
of
Carthage
. After the
fall of the
Roman Empire
in the 5th
century AD, Sicily frequently changed hands, and during
the early Middle Ages, it was ruled in turn by the

The term "Sicily" is believed to derive from the
radix sik, term of Indo-Germanic origin that 
denotes enlargement and growth, and from the suffix -ilia
(land). In the Greek language the radix sik is used to
identify certain fruits that grow rapidly as the fig
tree (sikè) or pumpkin (sikùs). So Sicily
would mean "the land of fertility, fertility island".

Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with
regard to the
arts
,
music
,
literature
,
cuisine
and
architecture
. It also
holds importance for
archeological
Necropolis of Pantalica
,
the
Valley of the Temples

and
Selinunte
.

in 1946, Sicily was given special status as an
autonomous region.birth of the Italian Republic

process and a plebiscite, it became part of Italy in
1860. After the
Italian Unification
-led
revolt during the
Giuseppe Garibaldi
,
a
Expedition of the Thousand
.
Following the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
, as the
Naples
with
Bourbons
, and
then finally unified under the
Holy Roman Empire
, and the
Spain
,
Aragon

lasted between 1130 and 1816, first subordinated to the
crowns of
Kingdom of Sicily
. Later on, the
Normans
and
Arabs
,
Byzantines
,
Ostrogoths
Vandals