Item number: A1421

Year: 5th Century BC

Material: Silver

Size: 13.4 x 13.2 x 2.0 mm

Weight: 2.55 g

Provenance: Private Collector, UK, 2017

This is a hemidrachm silver coin minted in the 5th century BC by the ancient Greek city-state of Apollonia Pontica, located in present-day southeastern Bulgaria along the Black Sea coast near modern Sozopol.

The obverse of this silver coin features an inverted anchor motif, with a small lobster depicted in the lower left corner and the letter “A” in the lower right, serving as an abbreviation for the city-state’s name, “Apollonia.” The reverse displays a grotesque depiction of the Gorgon, a mythical creature from ancient Greek mythology, characterised by her bulging cheeks, protruding tongue, and fangs. This Gorgon head design was later replaced by the head of Apollo on the reverse of the coin in the 4th century BC.

In Greek mythology, the Gorgons were three sisters born to the sea god Phorcys and the sea monster Ceto: Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. Among them, Medusa’s story is the most well-known, as those who gazed directly into her eyes were doomed to be turned to stone. However, Perseus, the son of Zeus, with the aid of Athena and Hermes, successfully beheaded Medusa and offered her head to Athena, who incorporated it into her shield as a protective emblem.

In 610 BC, Greek settlers from the city-state of Miletus, located on the western coast of Anatolia, established a colony along the Black Sea coast and named it Apollonia Pontica in honour of the sun god Apollo. Apollonia Pontica quickly grew into a significant trading hub between Thrace and the Greek mainland, flourishing as a centre of commerce and culture until its conquest by the Romans in 72 BC.

物件編號: A1421

年代: 公元前 5 世紀

材質: 銀

尺寸: 13.4 x 13.2 x 2.0 mm

重量: 2.55 g

來源: 英國私人收藏 2017

這是一枚公元前5世紀，位於今日保加利亞東南部濱臨黑海的索佐波爾，建立於該地的古希臘城邦「阿波羅尼亞本都」鑄造之面額「半打蘭」銀幣。

這枚銀幣正面有一個倒立的船錨圖騰，船錨左下角有一隻小龍蝦，右下角的字母「A」則是城邦的地名「阿波羅尼亞」縮寫。錢幣的背面是一個表情極為怪誕，鼓著臉頰吐出舌頭和獠牙的古希臘妖怪「戈爾貢」，即蛇髮女妖的頭像。而在進入公元前4世紀後，錢幣背面的戈爾貢為阿波羅的頭像取代。

希臘神話中的戈爾貢是海神佛西士和海怪克托生下的三姐妹，斯忒諾、歐律阿勒和梅杜莎，其中以小妹梅杜莎的故事最為出名，即與梅杜莎對視的人難逃石化的命運。但是宙斯的兒子柏修斯受到雅典娜和荷米斯的幫助，成功斬下梅杜莎的頭將其獻給雅典娜成為雅典娜的護盾裝飾。

公元前610年，來自安納托利亞西海岸的希臘城邦「米利都」移民以太陽神阿波羅之名，將黑海沿岸的新據點命名為阿波羅尼亞本都。阿波羅尼亞本都迅速發展為色雷斯和希臘半島之間重要的貿易據點，直到公元前72年遭到羅馬征服為止。