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Greek city of Temnos in Aeolis
Bronze 14mm (1.73 grams) Struck circa 200-100 B.C.
Reference: cf. SNG München 609; cf. SNG von Aulock 1674; cf. SNG Cop 261
Head of Athena right, wearing Corinthian helmet.
T-A in across fields, Ares or Athena Promachos, in short chiton, standing right, holding shield on left arm.
Situated a short distance east of Neonteichos, on the hill-side above the right
bank of the river Hermos.
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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.
Ares
is the
Greek god
of war
. He is one of the
Twelve Olympians
, and the son of
Zeus and Hera
. In
Greek literature
, he often represents the
physical or violent aspect of war, in contrast to the armored
Athena
, whose functions as a
goddess of intelligence
include
military strategy
and
generalship
.
The Greeks were
ambivalent
toward Ares: although he embodied
the physical valor necessary for success in war, he was a dangerous force,
“overwhelming, insatiable in battle, destructive, and man-slaughtering.” Fear
(Phobos)
and Terror (Deimos)
were yoked to his battle
chariot
. In the
Iliad
his father Zeus tells him that he is
the god most hateful to him. An association with Ares endows places and objects
with a savage, dangerous, or militarized quality. His value as a war god is even
placed in doubt: during the
Trojan War
, Ares was on the losing side, while
Athena, often depicted in
Greek art
as holding
Nike (Victory)
in her hand, favored the
triumphant Greeks.
Ares plays a relatively limited role in
Greek mythology
as represented in literary
narratives, though his numerous love affairs and abundant offspring are often
alluded
to. When Ares does appear in myths, he
typically faces humiliation. He is well known as the lover of
Aphrodite
, the goddess of love who was married
to Hephaestus
, god of craftsmanship, but the most
famous story involving the couple shows them exposed to ridicule through the
wronged husband’s clever device.
The counterpart of Ares among the
Roman gods
is
Mars
, who as a father of the Roman people held
a more important and dignified place in
ancient Roman religion
for his agricultural and
tutelary
functions. During the
Hellenization
of
Latin literature
, the myths of Ares were
reinterpreted
by Roman writers under the name
of Mars. Greek writers under
Roman rule
also recorded
cult practices
and beliefs pertaining to Mars
under the name of Ares. Thus in the
classical tradition
of later
Western art and literature
, the mythology of
the two figures becomes virtually indistinguishable.
Temnos (also Temnus) was a small Greek city-state, on the
western coast of Anatolia. The name survives as a Catholic
titular see
. When Temnos was a functioning
diocese, its bishop was a
suffragan
of
Ephesus
.
Temnos was a little town of
Aeolia
, near the
Hermus River
, which is shown on its coins.
Situated at elevation it commanded the territories of
Cyme
,
Phocaea
, and
Smyrna
. Under
Augustus
it was already on the decline; under
Tiberius
it was
destroyed by an earthquake
; and in the time of
Pliny
it was no longer inhabited. It was
however rebuilt later.
Aeolis or Aeolia
was an area that comprised the west and northwestern region of
Asia Minor
, mostly along the coast, and also
several offshore islands (particularly
Lesbos
), where the
Aeolian
Greek
city-states were located. Aeolis
incorporated the southern parts of
Mysia
which bounded it to the north,
Ionia
to the south, and
Lydia
to the east.
Geography
Aeolis was an ancient district on the western coast of
Asia Minor
. It extended along the
Aegean Sea
from the entrance of the
Hellespont
(now the
Dardanelles
) south to the
Hermus River
(now the Gediz River). It was
named for the Aeolians, some of whom migrated there from
Greece
before 1000 BC. Aeolis was, however, an
ethnological and linguistic enclave rather than a geographical unit. The
district often was considered part of the larger northwest region of Mysia.
History
According to Homer’s
description,
Odysseus
, after his stay with the
Cyclopes
, reached the island of
Aeolia
, who provided him with the west wind
Zephyr
. In early times, by the 8th century BC,
the Aeolians’ twelve most important cities were independent, and formed a league
(Dodecapolis):
Cyme
,
Larissa
(also called
Phriconis
),
Neonteichos
,
Temnus
,
Cilla
,
Notion
,
Aegiroessa
,
Pitane
,
Aegae
,
Myrina
,
Gryneion
, and
Smyrna
. The most celebrated of the cities was
Smyrna
(modern
Izmir, Turkey
), but in 699 BC, Smyrna became
part of an Ionian confederacy. The remaining cities were conquered by
Croesus
, king of
Lydia
(reigned 560-546 BC). Later they were
held successively by the
Persians
,
Macedonians
,
Seleucids
, and Pergamenes.
Attalus III
, the last king of
Pergamum
, bequeathed Aeolis to Rome in 133 BC.
Shortly a fterward,
it was made part of the Roman
province of Asia
. At the partition of the
Roman Empire
(395 AD), Aeolis was assigned to
the East Roman (Byzantine) empire and remained under Byzantine rule until the
early 15th century, when the
Ottoman Turks
occupied the area.
Natives of Aeolis
-
Autolycus of Pitane
- Andriscus
-
Elias Venezis
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