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Greek City of Myrina in Asia Minor
Bronze 10mm (0.77 grams) Struck circa 300 B.C.
Reference: Sear 4218; S.N.G. Von Aulock 1659
Head of Athena left, in crested helmet.
M-Y either side of amphora.
Situated north-east of Kyme, Myrina was overshadowed by its
powerful neighbor, though it appears to have been a place of some importance in
Hellenistic times.
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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.
An amphora (plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of
vase-shaped, usually
ceramic
(specimens in materials such as metal
occur occasionally) container with two handles and a long neck narrower than the
body. The word amphora is
Latin
, derived from the
Greek
amphoreus (αμφορεύς),
an abbreviation of amphiphoreus (αμφιφορεύς),
a compound word combining amphi- (“on both sides”, “twain”) plus
phoreus (“carrier”), from pherein (“to carry”), referring to the
vessel’s two carrying handles on opposite sides.[1]
Further, the term also stands for an ancient
Roman unit of measurement
for liquids. The
volume of a Roman amphora was one cubic
foot
, ca. 26,026
L
.
Amphorae were used in vast numbers to transport and store various products,
both liquid and dry, in the ancient
Mediterranean
world and later the
Roman Empire
, and in some periods the shape was
also used for luxury pottery, which might be elaborately painted. Stoppers of
perishable materials which have rarely survived were used to seal the contents.
Two principal types of amphorae existed: the neck amphora, in which the
neck and body meet at a sharp angle; and the one-piece amphora, in which
the neck and body form a continuous curve. Neck amphorae were commonly used in
the early history of ancient Greece but were gradually replaced by the one-piece
type from around the 7th century BCE onwards. Most were produced with a pointed
base to allow upright storage by being partly embedded in sand or soft ground.
This also facilitated transport by ship, where the amphorae were tightly packed
together, with ropes passed through their handles to prevent breaking or
toppling during rough seas. In kitchens and shops amphorae could be stored in
racks with round holes in them.
Amphorae varied greatly in height. The largest could stand as much as 1.5
metres (5 ft) high, while some were under 30 centimetres (12 in) high – the
smallest were called amphoriskoi (literally “little amphorae”). Most were around
45 centimetres (18 in) high. There was a significant degree of standardisation
in some variants; the wine amphora held a standard measure of about 39 litres
(41 US qt), giving rise to the amphora quadrantal as a unit of measure in the
Roman Empire. In all, around 66 distinct types of amphora have been identified.
History
Amphorae dated to around 4800 BCE have been found in
Banpo
, a
Neolithic
site of the
Yangshao culture
in
China
. In the West, Amphorae first appeared on
the Phoenician
coast around 3500 BCE and spread
around the ancient world, being used by the
ancient Greeks
and
Romans
as the principal means for transporting
and storing
grapes
,
olive oil
,
wine,
oil
,
olives
,
grain
,
fish, and other
commodities
. They were produced on an
industrial scale from Greek times and used around the
Mediterranean
until about the 7th century CE.
Wooden and skin containers seem to have supplanted amphorae thereafter. Amphorae
are closely related to the Russian
qvevri
, which can be traced back to about 6000
BCE.
They are of great benefit to
maritime archaeologists
, as amphorae in a
shipwreck
can often indicate the age of the
wreck and geographic origin of the cargo. They are occasionally so well
preserved that the original content is still present, providing invaluable
information on the eating habits and trading systems of the ancient
Mediterranean peoples. Amphorae were too cheap and plentiful to return to their
origin-point and so, when empty, they were broken up at their destination. In
Rome this happened in an area named
Testaccio
, close to the
Tiber
, in such a way that the fragments, later
wetted with
Calcium hydroxide
(Calce viva), remained to
create a hill now named
Monte Testaccio
45 meters tall and more than
1 km in circumference.
Ancient Greece
Besides coarse amphora used for storage and transport, high-quality painted
amphorae were produced in Ancient Greece in significant numbers for a variety of
social and ceremonial purposes. Their design differs significantly from the more
functional versions; they are typified by wide mouth and a ring base, with a
glazed surface and decorated with figures or geometric shapes. Such
amphorae
were often used as prizes. Some
examples, bearing the inscription “I am one of the prizes from Athens”, have
survived from the
Panathenaic Festivals
held between the 6th
century BCE to the 2nd century BCE. Painted amphorae were also used for funerary
purposes. The
loutrophoros
, a type of amphora, was used
principally for funeral rites. Outsize vases were also used as grave markers,
while some amphorae were used as containers for the ashes of the dead. By the
Roman period utilitarian amphorae were normally the only type produced.
Ancient Rome
By the Roman period utilitarian amphorae were normally the only type
produced.
The first type of Roman amphora, Dressel 1, appears in central Italy in the
late 2nd century BCE.[2]
This type had thick walls and a characteristic red fabric. It was very heavy,
though also strong. Around the middle of the 1st century BCE the so-called
Dressel 2-4 starts to become widely used.[3]
This type of amphora presented some advantages in being lighter and with thinner
walls. It has been calculated that while a ship could accommodate approximately
4500 Dressel 1, it was possible to fit 6000 Dressel 2-4 in the same space.[4]
Dressel 2-4 were often produced in the same workshops used for the production of
Dressel 1 which almost suddenly ceased to be used.[5]
At the same time in
Cuma
(southern Italy) the production of the
cadii cumani type starts (Dressel 21-22). These containers were mainly used
for the transportation of fruit and were used until the middle imperial times.
At the same time, in central Italy, the so-called
Spello
amphorae, small containers, were
produced for the transportation of wine. On the Adriatic coast the older types
were replaced by the Lamboglia 2 type, a wine amphora commonly produced between
the end of the 2nd and the 1st century BCE. This type develops later into the
Dressel 6A which becomes dominant during Augustan times.[6]
In the Gallic provinces the first examples of Roman amphorae were local
imitations of pre-existent types such as Dressel 1, Dressel 2-4, Pascual 1, and
Haltern 70. The more typical Gallic production begins within the ceramic
ateliers in Marseille
during late Augustan times. The type
Oberaden 74 was produced to such an extent that it influenced the production of
some Italic types.[7]
Spanish amphorae became particularly popular thanks to a flourishing production
phase in late Republican times. The
Hispania Baetica
and
Hispania Tarraconensis
regions
(south-western and eastern Spain) were the main production areas between the 2nd
and the 1st century BCE due to the distribution of land to military veterans and
the founding of new colonies. Spanish amphorae were widespread in the
Mediterranean area during early imperial times. The most common types were all
produced in Baetica and among these there was the Dressel 20, a typical olive
oil container, the Dressel 7-13, for
garum
(fish sauce), and the Haltern 70, for
defrutum
(fruit sauce). In the Tarraconensis
region the Pascual 1 was the most common type, a wine amphora shaped on the
Dressel 1, and imitations of Dressel 2-4.
Large late Geometric Attic amphora, ca. 725 BCE – 700 BCE.
North-African production was based on an ancient tradition which can be
traced back to the
Phoenician
colony of
Carthage
.[8]
Phoenician amphorae had characteristic small handles attached directly onto the
upper body. This feature becomes the distinctive mark of late-Republican/early
imperial productions which are then called neo-Phoenician. The types produced in
Tripolitania
and Northern Tunisia are the Maña
C1 and C2, later renamed van Der Werff 1, 2, and 3.[9]
In the Aegean area the types from the island of
Rhodes
were quite popular starting from the 3rd
century BCE due to local wine production which flourished over a long period.
These types developed into the Camulodunum 184, an amphora used for the
transportation of Rhodian wine all over the empire. Imitations of the Dressel
2-4 were produced on the island of Cos for the transportation of wine from the
4th century BCE until middle imperial times.[10]
Cretan containers were also popular for the transportation of wine and can be
found around the Mediterranean from Augustan times until the 3rd century CE.[11]
During the late empire period, north-African types dominated amphora production.
The so-called African I and II types were widely used from the 2nd until the
late 4th century CE. Other types from the eastern Mediterranean (Gaza), such as
the so-called Late Roman 4, became very popular between the 4th and the 7th
century CE, while Italic productions ceased.
Myrina (Greek:
Μυρίνα), was one of the
Aeolian
cities on the western coast of
Mysia
, about 40
stadia
to the southwest of
Gryneium
.
[1]
Its site is believed to be occupied by the modern
Sandarlik
at the mouth of the
Koca Çay
.[2]
It is said to have been founded by one Myrinus before the other Aeolian
cities[3],
or by the Amazon
Myrina
[4].
Artaxerxes
gave Gryneium and Myrina to
Gongylus
,
an Eretrian
,
who had been banished from his native city for favoring the interests of
Persia
.[5]
Myrina was a very strong place[6],
though not very large, and had a good harbor.
[7]
Pliny
[8]
mentions that it bore the surname of Sebastopolis; while, according to
Syncellus
,
it was also called Smyrna. For some time Myrina was occupied by
Philip of Macedon
; but the
Romans
compelled him to evacuate it, and declared the place free.[9]
It twice suffered severe earthquakes; first in the reign of
Tiberius
[10],
on which occasion it received a remission of duties on account of the loss it
had sustained; and a second time in the reign of
Trajan
[11].
The town was restored each time, and continued to exist until a late period.[12]
Myrina minted coins in antiquity, some of which survive.
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