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Struck at Panticapaeum, a city in the Crimea at the outer limits of the Greek world, this gold stater offers a glimpse into the conspicuous wealth and the intriguing culture of the Scythians during the age of Alexander the Great.
The origins of the Scythians were a mystery to the Greeks. Herodotus offered three versions; the first suggests they arrived from the northern steppes to displace the Cimmerians, the second two describe how they were descended from Zeus and the daughter of the Borysthenes river or from Heracles and a half woman, half snake who lived in the woodlands.
Hence, we can understand why a Greek would think of the Scythians as rough and uncultured cousins. Colonists from Miletus founded Panticapaeum in about 600 BC to gain access to the raw materials and agricultural wealth of the Crimea, which was one of the main sources of grain for Athens.
The exchanges between the cultures were substantial, as art objects of Greek manufacture are often found in the Crimea; but the Scythian Greek relationship was sometimes hostile. Indeed, the Macedonian king Philip II caused the aggressive Scythian king Atheas to be murdered, and, perhaps about the time this gold stater was struck, the Scythians defeated a large army that Alexander the Great had sent against them under the command of his general Zopyrion.
The artistry of the Scythians is unique because of its influences from nomadic, Greek and Near Eastern cultures. It is imbued with a vitality and a fierceness that contrasts sharply with Greek art of the time, which had abandoned Archaic vigor in favor of idealized beauty. The griffin appears on Scythian art of other media which often is found in royal tombs known as kurgans. Sometimes the creature has horns as on this coin other times it has a row of spines along its head and neck that are connected by webbing.
Though the bearded head on the obverse is clearly meant to represent a divinity most likely Pan the long hair and beard closely resemble depictions of Scythian men on other works of art, such as a contemporary gilt silver cup excavated from the Gaimanova Mogila kurgan and a particularly famous Greek gold vessel depicting Scythian men that was excavated from the Kul Oba kurgan.
The origins of the Scythians were a mystery to the Greeks. Herodotus offered three versions; the first suggests they arrived from the northern steppes to displace the Cimmerians, the second two describe how they were descended from Zeus and the daughter of the Borysthenes river or from Heracles and a half woman, half snake who lived in the woodlands.
Hence, we can understand why a Greek would think of the Scythians as rough and uncultured cousins. Colonists from Miletus founded Panticapaeum in about 600 BC to gain access to the raw materials and agricultural wealth of the Crimea, which was one of the main sources of grain for Athens.
The exchanges between the cultures were substantial, as art objects of Greek manufacture are often found in the Crimea; but the Scythian Greek relationship was sometimes hostile. Indeed, the Macedonian king Philip II caused the aggressive Scythian king Atheas to be murdered, and, perhaps about the time this gold stater was struck, the Scythians defeated a large army that Alexander the Great had sent against them under the command of his general Zopyrion.
The artistry of the Scythians is unique because of its influences from nomadic, Greek and Near Eastern cultures. It is imbued with a vitality and a fierceness that contrasts sharply with Greek art of the time, which had abandoned Archaic vigor in favor of idealized beauty. The griffin appears on Scythian art of other media which often is found in royal tombs known as kurgans. Sometimes the creature has horns as on this coin other times it has a row of spines along its head and neck that are connected by webbing.
Though the bearded head on the obverse is clearly meant to represent a divinity most likely Pan the long hair and beard closely resemble depictions of Scythian men on other works of art, such as a contemporary gilt silver cup excavated from the Gaimanova Mogila kurgan and a particularly famous Greek gold vessel depicting Scythian men that was excavated from the Kul Oba kurgan.