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Greek city of
Olbia
in
Thrace Black Sea Region
Bronze 18mm (7.76 grams) Struck circa 180-170 B.C.
Reference: Anokhin 480; Karyshkovskij p. 420, Таб. XVIII=C, 3; Frolova &
Abramzon 1653–8; SNG BM Black Sea 648–9; SNG Pushkin 352–68; SNG Stancomb 423–4;
Sutzu II 203–4
Head of Demeter right, wearing grain ear wreath.
Sea eagle standing left on dolphin left; OΛBIO above, BΣE below.
You are bidding on the exact
item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime
Guarantee of Authenticity.
In
Greek mythology
,
Demeter was the goddess
of the harvest, who presided over
grains
, the
fertility
of the earth, the
seasons
(personified by the
Hours
), and the
harvest
. One of her surnames is Sito (σίτος:
wheat) as the giver of food or corn. Though Demeter is often described simply as
the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the sanctity of
marriage
, the
sacred law
, and the cycle of
life and death
. She and her daughter
Persephone
were the central figures of the
Eleusinian Mysteries
that also predated the
Olympian pantheon.
Her
Roman
cognate is
Ceres
.
Pontic Olbia (Ancient Greek:
Ὀλβία Ποντική,
Ukrainian
: Ольвія)
or simply Olbia was an
ancient Greek
city on the shore of the
Southern Bug
estuary (Hypanis or Ὕπανις,)
in Ukraine
, opposite
Berezan Island
. It
was founded in the 7th century BC by
colonists
from
Miletus
. Its harbour was one of the main
emporia
on the
Black Sea
for the export of cereals, fish, and
slaves to Greece, and for the import of Attic goods to
Scythia
.
.svg/300px-Greek_colonies_of_the_Northern_Euxine_Sea_(Black_Sea).svg.png)
Olbia and other Greek colonies along the north coast of the Black
Sea(Euxine Sea), 8th to 3rd century BCE
Layout
The site of the Greek colony covers the area of fifty
hectares
and its fortifications form an
isosceles triangle about a mile long and half a mile wide. The region was also
the site of several villages (modern Victorovka and Dneprovskoe) which may have
been settled by Greeks.
As for the town itself, the lower town (now largerly submerged by the Bug
river) was occupied chiefly by the dockyards and the houses of artisans. The
upper town was a main residential quarter, composed of square blocks and
centered on the agora
. The town was ringed by a defensive stone
wall with towers. The upper town was also the site of the first settlement on
the site in the
archaic period
. There is evidence that the town
itself was laid out over a grid plan from the 6th century – one of the first
after the town of Smyrna
.
By the later period of settlement, the city also included an
acropolis
and, from the 6th century BCE, a
religious sanctuary. In the early 5th century, a temple to
Apollo Delphinios
was also built on the site.
History
Archaic and
Classical periods
The Greek colony was highly important commercially and endured for a
millennium. The first evidence of Greek settlement at the site comes from
Berezan Island
where pottery has been found dating from the late 7th century. The name in Greek
means “happy” or “rich”. It is possible that it had been the site of an
earlier native settlement and may even have been a peninsula rather than an
island in antiquity. It is now thought that the town of Berezan survived until
the 5th century BCE when it was possibly absorbed into the growing Olbian
settlement on the mainland.
During the 5th century BCE, the colony was visited by
Herodotus
, who provides our best description of
the city and its inhabitants from antiquity.
It produced distinctive cast bronze money during the 5th century BCE in both
the form of circular tokens with
Gorgon
heads and unique coins in the shape of
leaping
dolphins
. These are unusual considering the
struck, round coins common in the
Greek world
. This form of money is said to have
originated from sacrificial tokens used in the Temple of
Apollo Delphinios
.
Martin Litchfield West
speculates that early
Greek religion
, especially the
Orphic Mysteries
, was heavily influenced by
Central Asian
shamanistic
practices. A significant amount of
Orphic graffiti unearthed in Olbia seems to testify that the colony was one
major point of contact.
Hellenistic and
Roman periods
After the town adopted a democratic constitution, its relations with
Miletus
were regulated by a treaty, which
allowed both states to coordinate their operations against
Alexander the Great
‘s general
Zopyrion
in the 4th century BCE. By the end of
the 3rd century, the town declined economically and accepted the overlordship of
King Skilurus
of
Scythia
. It flourished under
Mithridates Eupator
but was sacked by the
Getae
under
Burebista
, a catastrophe which brought Olbia’s
economic prominence to an abrupt end.
Having lost two-thirds of its settled area, Olbia was restored by the Romans,
albeit on a small scale and probably with a largely barbarian population.
Dio of Prusa
visited the town and described it in his Borysthenic Discourse (the town
was often called
Borysthenes
, after the river).
The settlement, incorporated into the Roman province of Lower
Moesia
, was eventually abandoned in the 4th
century CE, when it was burnt at least twice in the course of the so-called
Gothic (or Scythian) wars.
Excavation
The site of Olbia, designated an archaeological reservation, is situated near
the village of Parutino in the district of
Ochakiv
. Before 1902, the site was owned by the
Counts Musin-Pushkins, who did not allow any excavations on their estate.
Professional excavations were conducted under
Boris Farmakovsky
from 1901 to 1915 and from
1924 to 1926. As the site was never reoccupied, archaeological finds
(particularly inscriptions and sculpture) proved rich. Today archaeologists are
under pressure to explore the site, which is being eroded by the
Black Sea
. Many of the more notable finds from
the period are visible in the
Hermitage Museum
in
Saint Petersburg
,
Russia
.
Notable finds from the town include an archaic Greek house in a good state of
preservation from the area of the later acropolis and a private letter (written
on a lead tablet) dating to around 500 BCE, complaining about an attempt to
claim a slave.
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