MARONEIA Thrace 148BC Ancient Greek Coin NUDE DIONYSOS WINE God i23900

Item: i23900

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Greek city of Maroneia in Thrace

Bronze 18mm (7.42 grams) Struck circa 148-80 B.C.
Reference: Moushmov 3942
Wreathed head of Dionysos.
MAPΩNITΩN, nude Dionysos standing left holding bunch of grapes and
thyrsos.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

Dionysus
or
Dionysos (Greek
Διόνυσος) is the
ancient Greek

god
of the grape harvest,
winemaking
and

wine, of ritual madness and
ecstasy
, was also the driving force behind
Greek theater
. The god who inspires joyful
worship and
ecstasy
, festivals and celebration is a major
figure of
Greek mythology
and the
religion of ancient Greece
. He is included as
one of the


twelve
Olympians in some lists. Dionysus is typical of the god of the
epiphany
, “the god that comes”. He was also
known as Bacchus, the name adopted by the
Romans
and the frenzy he induces, bakkheia.
Hailed as an Asiatic foreigner, he was thought to have had strong ties to the
East and to Ethiopia
in the South. He was also known as the
Liberator (Eleutherios),
freeing one from one’s normal self, by madness, ecstasy or wine. The divine
mission of Dionysus was to mingle the music of the
aulos
and to bring an end to care and worry.
Scholars have discussed Dionysus’ relationship to the “cult of the souls” and
his ability to preside over communication between the living and the dead.

In Greek mythology, Dionysus is made out to be a son of

Zeus and the mortal
Semele
. He is described as being womanly or
“man-womanish”. The
retinue
of Dionysus was called the
thiasus
and was composed chiefly of
maenads
and
satyrs
. Dionysus is a god of
mystery religious rites
. In the
Thracian
mysteries, he wears the bassaris
or
fox-skin, symbolizing new life. His own rites, the
Dionysian Mysteries
practiced by
maenads
and others, were the most secret of
all. Many scholars believe that Dionysus is a
syncretism
of a local Greek nature deity and a
more powerful god from
Thrace
or
Phrygia
such as
Sabazios
or
Zalmoxis
.

Contradictions in Dionysus’ origin suggest to some that we are dealing not
with the historical memory of a cult that is foreign, but with a god in whom
foreignness is inherent. 
Karl Kerenyi
traces him to
Minoan Crete
, where his Minoan name is unknown
but his characteristic presence is recognizable. Clearly, Dionysus had been with
the Greeks and their predecessors a long time, and yet always retained the feel
of something alien.

Maroneia (Greek:

Μαρώνεια) is a municipality in the

Rhodope Prefecture

,

Greece
.

Population 7,644 (2001). The seat of the municipality is in

Xylagani

.

In legend, it was said to have been founded by Maron, a son

of Dionysus
,

or even a companion of

Osiris
.

According to

Pseudo-Scymnus

it was founded by

Chios
in the

first half of the 6th century BC.

According to

Pliny

, its ancient name was Ortagures.

It was located on the hill of Aghios Gheorgis, and archaeological findings date

it as a much older and as a pure

Thracian

city.

Maroneia was close to the

Ismaros

mentioned by

Homer
in the

Odyssey
.

Some scholars identify Maroneia with his Ismaros.

Homer has Odysseus

plundering the city but sparing Maron, whom he identifies as a

priest of Apollo
.

Maron presents Odysseus with a gift of

wine, as well as

with gold and silver.

In the era of

Ancient Greece

and

Rome
,

Maroneia was famous for its wine production. The wine was esteemed everywhere;

it was said to possess the odor of

nectar
, and to

be capable of mixture with twenty or more times its quantity with water.

That the people of Maroneia venerated

Dionysus
,

we learn not just from its famous Dionysian Sanctuary, the foundations of which

can still be seen today, but also from the city’s coins.

In

200 BC
it was

taken by

Philip V of Macedon

, who vented his rage by slaughtering a great number of

the city’s inhabitants.

The Roman Republic

subsequently granted Maroneia to

Attalus

, King of

Pergamon
,

but almost immediately revoked their gift and declared it a free city.