TRAGILOS in MACEDONIA 450BC Hermes Authentic Ancient Greek Coin Rare i47189

Item: i47189

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Greek city of
Tragilos

in
Macedonia


Bronze 10mm (0.85 grams) Struck circa 450-400 B.C.
Reference: Sear 1473 var.; AMNG 4 var.; SNG ANS 905 var.; BMC 9 var.; Weber 1984
var.
Head of
Hermes

right, wearing petasos.
T-P-A-I in the four quarters of the field.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

Hermes is the great messenger of the gods in
Greek mythology
and additionally as a
guide to
the Underworld
. Hermes was born on
Mount
Cyllene
in Arcadia. An
Olympian god
,
he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of
shepherds

and
cowherds
, of the
cunning
of thieves and liars, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics
and sports, of weights and measures, of invention, and of commerce in general.
His symbols include the tortoise, the rooster, the winged sandals, the winged
hat, and the caduceus
(given to him by Apollo in exchange for the lyre).

In the Roman adaptation of the Greek religion (see
interpretatio romana
), Hermes was
identified with the Roman god
Mercury, who, though inherited from the
Etruscans
, developed many similar characteristics, such as being the patron
of commerce.

The
Homeric hymn
to Hermes invokes him as the one “of many shifts (polytropos),
blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by
night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds
among the deathless gods.”

He protects and takes care of all the travelers, miscreants, harlots, old
a title=”Crone” href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crone”>
crones and
thieves that pray to him or cross his path. He is athletic and is always looking
out for runners, or any athletes with injuries who need his help.

Hermes is a messenger from the gods to humans, sharing this role with
Iris
.
An interpreter who bridges the boundaries with strangers is a hermeneus.
Hermes gives us our word “hermeneutics“,
the study and theory of interpretation. In Greek a lucky find was a hermaion.
Hermes delivered messages from Olympus to the mortal world. He wears shoes with
wings on them and uses them to fly freely between the mortal and immortal world.
Hermes was the second youngest of the
Olympian gods
, being born before
Dionysus
.

Hermes, as an inventor of fire, is a parallel of the
Titan
,
Prometheus
.
In addition to the lyre
,
Hermes was believed to have invented many types of racing and the sports of
wrestling and boxing, and therefore was a patron of athletes.

According to prominent
folklorist

Yeleazar
Meletinsky
, Hermes is a deified
trickster
.
Hermes also served as a
psychopomp
,
or an escort for the dead to help them find their way to the
afterlife

(the Underworld
in the Greek myths). In many Greek myths, Hermes was depicted as
the only god besides Hades
, Persephone
, Hecate
, and Thanatos
who could enter and leave the Underworld without hindrance.

Hermes often helped travelers have a safe and easy journey. Many Greeks would
sacrifice to Hermes before any trip.

In the fully-developed Olympian pantheon, Hermes was the son of
Zeus and the
Pleiade

Maia
,
a daughter of the Titan
Atlas
.
Hermes’ symbols were the
cock
and the
tortoise
,
and he can be recognized by his purse or pouch,
winged sandals
,
winged cap
, and the herald’s staff, the
kerykeion
. The night he was born he slipped away from Maia and stole his
elder brother Apollo
‘s cattle.