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ancient classic artifacts coins numismatic roman greek

                                 Lot: 4

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            [Image]              CRETE: Cnossus. Ca. 330–300 BC. AR stater.
    (i.e. Keywords, Catalog
           ID, etc.)             CRETE. Cnossus. Ca. 330–300 BC. AR stater (11.19 gm). Female
                                 head (Ariadne or Pasiphae?) left, hair rolled, wearing
                                 pendant earring / Labyrinth in form of swastika, four
      Mail Bid Home Page         crescents between arms, five pellets in center. Cf. Svoronos
                                 40, pl. v, 16 (same obverse die) and 20, pl. v, 3 (reverse).
                                 This variant unpublished in the scholarly literature.
                                 Extremely rare. Toned. Very fine

                                 Ex Münzen und Medaillen 66, 22–23 October 1984, lot 149.

                                 The coin types of Cnossus famously allude to the myth of the
                                 dangerous Minotaur. His labyrinth is depicted on the reverse
                                 of many Cnossian coins, its form evolving over time. The
                                 female depicted on the obverse of this stater may be
                                 Pasiphae, wife of King Minos and mother of the Minotaur.
                                 Minos offended Poseidon by failing to sacrifice his finest
                                 white bull to the god; Poseidon took his revenge by
                                 afflicting Pasiphae with an unnatural passion for the bull,
                                 so that she disguised herself as a cow, mated with him, and
                                 gave birth to the Minotaur. Alternatively, the head may
                                 represent Minos’ daughter Ariadne, who helped the Athenian
                                 hero Theseus survive his ordeal with the Minotaur and then
                                 eloped with him, only to be abandoned on the island of Naxos
                                 and rescued by the god Dionysus, who made her his consort.

                                 Estimated Value: $ 4,250

 ... sold for high bid of $3500 [ $4025, or approx 3139.5 EUR, 2093 GBP ] including the 15% buyers fee. 


From the Freeman & Sear Mail Bid Sale 13, Closed August 25th, 2006.

Re-used by permission of Freeman & Sear, www.freemanandsear.com.