DOI issue:
Artikuły / Articles
DOI article:Wójcikowski, Robert S.: Zeus Aëtophoros in the coinage of Seleucus I Nicator
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43282#0051
Tom XII
Kraków 2017
lii
ROBERT S. WÓJCIKOWSKI
Jagiellonian University, Krakow
Zeus Aetophoros in the Coinage of Seleucus I
Nicator1
ABSTRACT: The reverses of some of the most popular issues of Seleucus
Fs coinage depict Zeus enthroned, with a sceptre in one hand and a bird of prey
(a raptor) resting on the other. The coins with Zeus Aetophoros, minted from the
Near East as far as the eastern fringes of Seleucus’ empire, were a continuation of
the coinage in the name of Alexander the Great. Seleucus’ obvious intention was to
portray himself as the legitimate successor to Alexander III. The motif itself may
also be construed in the spirit of the post-Achaemenid tradition, as a representation
of the Great King, or the Cilician-Babylonian tradition, as a god enthroned, possibly
Baaltars or Marduk. At the same time, it is very likely that Alexander’s own coins,
the model for Seleucus’ coinage, may have imitated the issues of Near-Eastern
satraps or that they were even minted in the territory of Asia Minor. These coins
depict a bird of prey, described in ancient sources as the emblem of the Achaemenid
kings, seated on the hand of an enthroned god or ruler. This bird may possibly have
represented the royal glory (Xvarenah). It would thus seem that coins of this type
were part of a policy designed to legitimize the rule of Seleucus I, who not only
strove to gain the support of Macedonians and Greeks but that of the Asians in his
empire as well, primarily Iranians and Babylonians.
KEYWORDS: Seleucid, coinage, Zeus Aetophoros, Iran, Hellenistic period
ABSTRAKT: Zeus Aetophoros w mennictwie Seleukosa INikatora
Jedne z najpopularniejszych emisji monet Seleukosa I na rewersach przed-
stawiają Zeusa na tronie, z berłem w jednej ręce i drapieżnym ptakiem na drugiej.
Monety z Zeus Aetophoros, bite od Azji Przedniej po wschodnie krańce imperium
1 The present article was written thanks to financed by the National Science Centre in Poland (FUGA 5
Scholarship Programme, UMO-2016/20/S/HS3/00079).
li
Kraków 2017
lii
ROBERT S. WÓJCIKOWSKI
Jagiellonian University, Krakow
Zeus Aetophoros in the Coinage of Seleucus I
Nicator1
ABSTRACT: The reverses of some of the most popular issues of Seleucus
Fs coinage depict Zeus enthroned, with a sceptre in one hand and a bird of prey
(a raptor) resting on the other. The coins with Zeus Aetophoros, minted from the
Near East as far as the eastern fringes of Seleucus’ empire, were a continuation of
the coinage in the name of Alexander the Great. Seleucus’ obvious intention was to
portray himself as the legitimate successor to Alexander III. The motif itself may
also be construed in the spirit of the post-Achaemenid tradition, as a representation
of the Great King, or the Cilician-Babylonian tradition, as a god enthroned, possibly
Baaltars or Marduk. At the same time, it is very likely that Alexander’s own coins,
the model for Seleucus’ coinage, may have imitated the issues of Near-Eastern
satraps or that they were even minted in the territory of Asia Minor. These coins
depict a bird of prey, described in ancient sources as the emblem of the Achaemenid
kings, seated on the hand of an enthroned god or ruler. This bird may possibly have
represented the royal glory (Xvarenah). It would thus seem that coins of this type
were part of a policy designed to legitimize the rule of Seleucus I, who not only
strove to gain the support of Macedonians and Greeks but that of the Asians in his
empire as well, primarily Iranians and Babylonians.
KEYWORDS: Seleucid, coinage, Zeus Aetophoros, Iran, Hellenistic period
ABSTRAKT: Zeus Aetophoros w mennictwie Seleukosa INikatora
Jedne z najpopularniejszych emisji monet Seleukosa I na rewersach przed-
stawiają Zeusa na tronie, z berłem w jednej ręce i drapieżnym ptakiem na drugiej.
Monety z Zeus Aetophoros, bite od Azji Przedniej po wschodnie krańce imperium
1 The present article was written thanks to financed by the National Science Centre in Poland (FUGA 5
Scholarship Programme, UMO-2016/20/S/HS3/00079).
li