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LOT 3173

Gallienus AE 28mm of Seleucia ad Calycadnum, Cilicia. AD 253-268.

ΑV Κ Π ΛΚ ΓΑΛΛΙΗΝ-ΟϹ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right / ϹЄΛЄVΚЄΩ ΚΑ- around, ΛV[...]-ΔΝ in field to left, Athena standing to right, holding shield and striking with spear at serpent-legged giant Enceladus, who hurls stone. RPC X Online Unassigned ID 60515. Good Very Fine. Double struck of reverse.(9.54gr, 28mm, 6h.).

Provenance

Private collection, acquired 1980–1985.

Footnotes

The reverse type features Athena fighting the giant named Enceladus during the Gigantomachy, the war between the Giants and the gods. This scene appeared in art as early as the sixth century BC on an Attic black-figure pot, and is referenced in Euripides' Ion. Ancient poets located the burial spot of Enceladus under Mount Etna in Sicily, and the volcano's eruptions were said to be the breath of the giant, and the tremors caused by him rolling over under the mountain. (Virgil, Aeneid 3.570-587)

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Athena and the Giant Enceladus

LOT 3173

Gallienus AE 28mm of Seleucia ad Calycadnum, Cilicia.

Sold for (Inc. bp): £59

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