The Evolving Image of the Patron-Goddess on the Coins of Cyrene

The article focuses on the visualization of the image of the ancient goddess Cyrene, the patron deity of the northern African city under the same name, located in present-day eastern Libya. The author applies the comparative-historical and typological methods for dating and explaining the origins of her image as well as tracing its evolution and eventual decline on the basis of written texts and archaeological data, with the special emphasis on evidence from coins. The author’s analysis of the iconography of the goddess in visual arts and on city coinage establishes the typology of her image and stages of its transformation since the sixth century BCE The author concludes that the image of Cyrene as a local deity began to be gradually squeezed out in the early Hellenistic period and eventually became completely replaced in Roman times by that of Libya, a mythological figure who gave her name to that country. The results of this work will be useful for college instructors in general surveys on ancient history and in specialized courses on the history of ancient culture and on auxiliary historical disciplines.

Keywords

Cyrene, silphium, visualization, iconography, colonies, emblematics, numismatics, Libya, Northern Africa, antiquity

Received

13.07.2020

Publication date

30.11.2020

Number of characters

23336

Cite

GOST	Selivanova L. The Evolving Image of the Patron-Goddess on the Coins of Cyrene // ISTORIYA – 2020. – V. 11. – Issue 11 (97) [Electronic resource]. URL: https://history.jes.su/S207987840012751-5-1 (circulation date: 21.07.2024). DOI: 10.18254/S207987840012751-5
MLA	Selivanova, Larisa "The Evolving Image of the Patron-Goddess on the Coins of Cyrene." ISTORIYA 11.11 (97) (2020) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840012751-5
APA	Selivanova L. (2020). The Evolving Image of the Patron-Goddess on the Coins of Cyrene. ISTORIYA 11(11 (97)) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840012751-5

100 rub.

When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 417

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Andreev Yu. V. Arkhaicheskaya Sparta. Iskusstvo i politika. SPb., 2008.

2. Antichnye gimny / pod red. A. A. Takho-Godi. M., 1988.

3. Antonov V. A. Pripisyvaemye i voobrazhaemye gerby v svete umozreniya Srednevekov'ya // Signum. 2015. Vyp. 8. S. 87—113.

4. Apollodor. Mifologicheskaya biblioteka. L., 1972.

5. Gaj Valerij Katull Veronskij. Kniga stikhotvorenij / otv. red. M. L. Gasparov. M., 1986.

6. Gerodot. Istoriya v devyati knigakh. per. i prim. G. A. Stratanovskogo. L., 1972.

7. Gigin. Mify. Per. s lat. D. Torshilova. SPb., 1997.

8. Grehkhehm A.-Dzh. Kolonial'naya ehkspansiya Gretsii // Kembridzhskaya istoriya drevnego mira. T. III. Chast' 3. Rasshirenie grecheskogo mira VIII—VI vv. do n. eh. / pod red. Dzh. Bordmehna i N.-Dzh.-L. Khehmmonda. M., 2007, S. 103—195.

9. Diodor Sitsilijskij. Grecheskaya mifologiya (Istoricheskaya biblioteka) / per. s drevnegr., stat'ya, komm. i ukazatel' O. P. Tsybenko. M., 2000.

10. Elokhin K. A. Voobrazhaemaya geral'dika inkov // Signum. 2016. Vyp. 9. S. 154—176.

11. O'Konnell Dzh. Ehntsiklopediya spetsij. Ot anisa do shafrana / per. s angl. M., 2017.

12. Pavsanij. Opisanie Ehllady. V 2-kh tomakh / per. i vstup. st. S. P. Kondrat'eva. M., 1994.

13. Pervyj Vatikanskij Mifograf / per. s lat., vstup. stat'ya i komment. V. N. Yarkho. SPb., 2000.

14. Pindar. Vakkhilid. Ody. Fragmenty. M., 1980.

15. Selivanova L. Aegis: a Skin/Shield — a Trophy — an Apotrope — a Symbol of Power? // ISTORIYA. 2017. Vol. 8. Issue 1. URL: https://history.jes.su/s207987840001682-9-1 DOI: 10.18254/S0001682-9-1

16. Selivanova L. A Vegetation Symbol on Coins from Cyrene // ISTORIYA. 2018. Vol. 9. Issue 2. URL: https://history.jes.su/s207987840002135-7-1 DOI: 10.18254/S0002135-7-1

17. Feofrast. Issledovanie o rasteniyakh / podgot. k izd. Tsepkovym A. I. Ryazan', 2005.

18. Chernykh A. P. Obrazy antichnoj istorii v geral'dike XV—XVI vv. // Lyudi i teksty. Istoricheskij al'manakh. Antichnaya traditsiya v istoricheskoj kul'ture zapadnoevropejskogo srednevekov'ya. M., 2014. S. 138—153.

19. Amigues S. Le silphium — État de la question // Journal des savants. 2004. P. 191—226.

20. Asciutti V. The Silphium plant: analysis of ancient sources. Durham, 2004.

21. Bury J. B. A History of Greece. To the Death of Alexander the Great. Oxford, 2015.

22. Chamoux F. Cyrène sous la monarchie des Battiades. P., 1953.

23. A Greek-English Lexicon / ed. by H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones. Oxford. 1996.

24. Kiehn M. ΣΙΛΦΙΟΝ — SILPHION. “…multis iam annis in ea terra non invenitur…” // European Botanic Gardens in a Changing World. Sixth European Botanic Gardens Congress. May 28 — June 02. Chios Island. Greece, 2012. P. 33—41.

25. Koerper H., Kolls A.L. The silphium motif adorning ancient libyan coinage: Marketing a medicinal plant // Economic Botany. 1999. April. Vol. 53. Is. 2. P. 133—143.

26. Lane E. A. Lakonian vase painting / Annual of the British School at Athens. Athens. 1933—1934. № 34. P. 98—189.

27. Law R. C. C. North Africa in the period of Phoenicia and Greek colonization c. 800 to 323 BC // The Cambridge History of Africa. Vom 2 from c. 500 BC to AD 1050. ed. by E. D. Fage. Oxford, 2002. P. 87—147.

28. Law R. C. C. North Africa in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, 323 BC to AD 305 // The Cambridge History of Africa. Vom 2 from c. 500 BC to AD 1050 / ed. by E. D. Fage. Oxford, 2002b. P. 148—209.

29. Libya archaeological guides. Cyrenaica. Libya archaeological guides. Cyrenaica. By Ph. Henrick with a contribution by Ah. Buzain. L., 2013.

30. Łuczak K. Silphium z Cyrene. Skarb antycznej medycyny // Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej. 2015. R. 63. Nr 1, 1—14.

31. Riddle J. M. Oral Contraceptives and Early-Term Abortifacients during Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages // Past and Present. 1991. № 132. P. 3—32.

32. Riddle J. M., Estes J. W., Russel J. C. Birth Control in the Ancient World // Archaeology. 1994. March/April. P. 30—35.

33. Robinson E. S. G. A catalogue of Greek coins in the British Museum — Cyrenaica (BMC). L., 1927. Vol. 29.

34. Singh M. M., Agnihotri A., Garg S. N., Agarwal S. K., Gupta D. N., Keshri G., Kamboj V. P. Antifertility and Hormonal Properties of Certain Carotane Sesquiterpenes of Ferula jaeschkeana // Planta Medica. 1988. 54 (6). P. 492—494.

35. Steier A. Silphion // RE. Stuttgart, 1927. II Rh., Hbd. 5. Sp. 103—114.

36. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum. The Danish National Museum. Part 41: Alexandria—Cyrenaica. Copenhagen, 1974.

37. Tatman J. L. Silphium, Silver and Strife: A History of Kyrenaika and Its Coinage // Celator. 2000. October. 14.10. P. 6—24.

38. Thorn J. C. The Necropolis of Cyrene. Two hundred years of exploration. Roma, 2005.

39. Thorn D. M. The four seasons of Cyrene: the excavation and explorations in 1861. Roma, 2007.

40. Tschanz D. W. Herbal contraception in ancient times. 2003. May 8 [Ehlektronnyj resurs]. URL: https://www.motherearthliving.com/health-and-wellness/herbal-morning-after-pills (data obrascheniya 19.04.2019).

41. Uhlenbrock J. Coroplastic Studies in Greek and Roman Libya // Newsletter of the Coroplastic Studies Interest Group. No. 7. Winter 2012. N. Y., 2012. P. 04—06 [Ehlektronnyj resurs]. URL: http://www.academia.du/6483762/Coroplastic_Studies_in_Greek_and_Roman_Libya_Newsletter_of_the_Ceoroplastic_Studies_Interest_Group_No._7_Winter_2012 (data obrascheniya: 18.04.2019).

Additional sources and materials

Sokrascheniya

Ap. Rhod. — Apollonij Rodosskij. Argonavtika.
BMC — A catalogue of Greek coins in the British Museum. Cyrenaica. L., 1927.
Call. Hymn. Ap. — Kallimakh. Gimn k Apollonu.
Call. Hymn. Dian. — Kallimakh. Gimn k Artemide.
Diod. — Diodor Sitsilijskij. Grecheskaya mifologiya.
Hdt. — Gerodot. Istoriya.
Hesych. — Gesikhij.
Hyg. — Gigin. Mify.
Il. — Gomer. Iliada.
LSJ — A Greek-English Lexicon. By H.G. Liddell, R. Scott, H.S. Jones. Oxford. 1996.
Myth. Vat. I — Pervyj Vatikanskij Mifograf.
Paus. — Pavsanij. Opisanie Ehllady.
Pind. Pyth. — Pindar. Pifijskie ody.
Poll. — Polluks.
RE — Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft von Pauly—Wissowa G. Stuttgart.
Schol. in Aristoph. Eq. — Skholii k «Vsadnikam» Aristofana.
SNG.Cop. — Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum. The Danish National Museum. Part 41: Alexandria-Cyrenaica. Copenhagen, 1974.
Theophr. — Feofrast. Issledovanie o rasteniyakh.