ANTONINUS PIUS 138AD Amphipolis in Macedonia TYCHE Very Rare Roman Coin i55403

Description

Item:
i55403
Authentic Ancient  Coin of:
Antoninus Pius
-
Roman Emperor
: 138-161 A.D.
Bronze 21mm (5.97 grams) of
Amphipolis
in
Macedonia
Reference: RPC IV online 5018
ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑ ΚΑΙСΑΡ ΑΝΤωΝΙΝOС, Laureate head right, with slight drapery.
ΑΜΦΙΠOΛΙС, Tyche seated left on throne, holding patera and cornucopia.
Very rare
You are bidding on the exact  item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime  Guarantee of Authenticity.
Tyche (Greek for luck; the Roman equivalent was
Fortuna
) was the presiding
tutelary deity
that governed the fortune and  prosperity of a city, its destiny. Increasingly during the Hellenistic period,  cities had their own specific iconic version of Tyche, wearing a
mural crown
(a crown like the walls of the  city).
The  Greek historian
Polybius
believed that when no cause can be  discovered to events such as floods, droughts, frosts or even in politics, then  the cause of these events may be fairly attributed to Tyche.
Stylianos Spyridakis  concisely expressed Tyche's appeal in a  Hellenistic world of arbitrary violence and unmeaning reverses: "In the  turbulent years of the
Epigoni of Alexander
, an awareness of the  instability of human affairs led people to believe that Tyche, the blind  mistress of Fortune, governed mankind with an inconstancy which explained the  vicissitudes of the time."
In literature, she might be given various genealogies, as a daughter of
Hermes
and
Aphrodite
, or considered as one of the
Oceanids
, daughters of
Oceanus
and
Tethys
, or of
Zeus
. She was connected with
Nemesis
and
Agathos Daimon
("good spirit").
She was uniquely venerated at
Itanos
in Crete, as
Tyche Protogeneia
,  linked with the Athenian
Protogeneia
("firstborn"), daughter of
Erechtheus
, whose self-sacrifice saved the  city.
She had temples at
Caesarea Maritima
,
Antioch
,
Alexandria
and
Constantinople
. In
Alexandria
the
Tychaeon
, the temple of  Tyche, was described by
Libanius
as one of the most magnificent of the  entire Hellenistic world.
Tyche appears on many
coins
of the Hellenistic period in the three  centuries before the Christian era, especially from cities in the Aegean.  Unpredictable turns of fortune drive the complicated plotlines of
Hellenistic romances
, such as
Leucippe and Clitophon
or
Daphnis and Chloe
. She experienced a  resurgence in another era of uneasy change, the final days of publicly  sanctioned
Paganism
, between the late-fourth-century  emperors
Julian
and
Theodosius I
who definitively closed the  temples. The effectiveness of her capricious power even achieved respectability  in philosophical circles during that generation, though among poets it was a  commonplace to revile her for a fickle harlot.
In
medieval art
, she was depicted as carrying a
cornucopia
, an
emblematic
ship's rudder, and the
wheel of fortune
, or she may stand on the  wheel, presiding over the entire circle of fate.
The constellation of
Virgo
is sometimes identified as the heavenly  figure of Tyche, as well as other goddesses such as
Demeter
and
Astraea
.
Amphipolis
was an
ancient
Greek
city
in the region once inhabited by the
Edoni
people in the present-day
periphery
of
Central Macedonia
. It was built on a raised  plateau overlooking the east bank of the
river
Strymon
where it emerged from Lake Cercinitis,  about 3 m. from the
Aegean Sea
. Founded in 437 BC, the city was  finally abandoned in the 8th century AD. The present municipality Amfipoli,  named after the ancient city, occupies the site. Currently, it is a municipality  in the
Serres Prefecture
,
Central Macedonia
with a population of 3,623  (2001 census).
Origins
Archaeology
has uncovered remains at the site  dating to approximately 3000 BC. Due to the strategic location of the site it  was fortified from very early.
Xerxes I
of Persia
passed during his invasion of Greece  of 480 BC and buried alive nine young men and nine maidens as a sacrifice to the  river god. Near the later site of Amphipolis
Alexander I
of Macedon
defeated the remains of Xerxes' army  in 479 BC.
Throughout the 5th century BC,
Athens
sought to consolidate its control over  Thrace, which was strategically important because of its primary materials (the  gold and silver of the
Pangaion hills
and the dense forests essential  for naval construction), and the sea routes vital for Athens' supply of grain  from
Scythia
. After a first unsuccessful attempt at  colonisation in 497 BC by the
Miletian
Tyrant
Histiaeus
, the Athenians founded a first colony  at Ennea-Hodoi (‘Nine Ways’) in 465, but these first ten thousand colonists were  massacred by the
Thracians
. A second attempt took place in 437  BC on the same site under the guidance of
Hagnon
, son of
Nicias
.
The new settlement took the name of Amphipolis (literally, "around the  city"), a name which is the subject of much debates about
lexicography
.
Thucydides
claims the name comes from the fact  that the Strymon flows "around the city" on two sides; however a note in the
Suda
(also given in the lexicon of
Photius
) offers a different explanation  apparently given by
Marsyas
, son of
Periander
: that a large proportion of the  population lived "around the city". However, a more probable explanation is the  one given by
Julius Pollux
: that the name indicates the  vicinity of an
isthmus
. Furthermore, the
Etymologicum Genuinum
gives the following  definition: a city of the Athenians or of Thrace, which was once called Nine  Routes, (so named) because it is encircled and surrounded by the Strymon river.  This description corresponds to the actual site of the city (see adjacent map),  and to the description of Thucydides.
Amphipolis subsequently became the main power base of the Athenians in Thrace  and, consequently, a target of choice for their
Spartans
adversaries. The Athenian population  remained very much in the minority within the city. An Athenian rescue  expedition led by strategist (and later historian) Thucydides had to settle for  securing
Eion
and could not retake Amphipolis, a failure  for which Thucydides was sentenced to exile. A new Athenian force under the  command of
Cleon
failed once more in 422 BC during a
battle
at which both
Cleon
and
Brasidas
lost their lives. Brasidas survived  long enough to hear of the defeat of the Athenians and was buried at Amphipolis  with impressive pomp. From then on he was regarded as the founder of the city  and honoured with yearly games and sacrifices. The city itself kept its  independence until the reign of the king
Philip II
despite several other Athenian  attacks, notably because of the government of
Callistratus
of Aphidnae
.
Conquest  by the Romans
In 357 BC, Philip removed the block which Amphipolis presented on the road to  Macedonian control over Thrace by conquering the town, which Athens had tried in  vain to recover during the previous years. According the historian
Theopompus
, this conquest came to be the object  of a secret accord between
Athens
and Philip II, who would return the city  in exchange for the fortified town of
Pydna
, but the Macedonian king betrayed the  accord, refusing to cede Amphipolis and laying siege to Pydna.
After the conquest by Philip II, the city was not immediately incorporated  into the kingdom, and for some time preserved its institutions and a certain  degree of autonomy. The border of Macedonia was not moved further east; however,  Philip sent a number of Macedonians governors to Amphipolis, and in many  respects the city was effectively ‘Macedonianized’. Nomenclature, the calendar  and the currency (the
gold stater
, installed by Philip to capitalise  on the gold reserves of the Pangaion hills, replaced the Amphipolitan
drachma
) were all replaced by Macedonian  equivalents. In the reign of
Alexander
, Amphipolis was an important naval  base, and the birthplace of three of the most famous Macedonian
Admirals
:
Nearchus
, Androsthenes
[6]
and
Laomedon
whose burial place is most likely  marked by the famous lion of Amphipolis.
Amphipolis became one of the main stops on the Macedonian royal road (as  testified by a border stone found between
Philippos
and Amphipolis giving the distance to  the latter), and later on the ‘
Via  Egnatia
’, the principal
Roman Road
which crossed the southern Balkans.  Apart from the ramparts of the low town (see photograph), the gymnasium and a  set well-preserved frescoes from a wealthy villa are the only artifacts from  this period that remain visible. Though little is known of the layout of the  town, modern knowledge of its institutions is in considerably better shape  thanks to a rich epigraphic documentation, including a military ordinance of
Philip V
and an
ephebarchic
law from the gymnasium. After the  final victory of
Rome
over Macedonia in a
battle
in 168 BC, Amphipolis became the capital  one of the four mini-republics, or ‘merides’, which were created by the Romans  out of the kingdom of the
Antigonids
which
succeeded
Alexander’s Empire in Macedon. These  'merides' were gradually incorporated into the Roman client state, and later  province, of
Thracia
.
Revival  in Late Antiquity
During the period of
Late Antiquity
, Amphipolis benefited from the  increasing economic prosperity of Macedonia, as is evidenced by the large number  of
Christian Churches
that were built.  Significantly however, these churches were built within a restricted area of the  town, sheltered by the walls of the
acropolis
. This has been taken as evidence that  the large fortified perimeter of the ancient town was no longer defendable, and  that the population of the city had considerably diminished.
Nevertheless, the number, size and quality of the churches constructed  between the fifth and sixth centuries are impressive. Four
basilicas
adorned with rich
mosaic
floors and elaborate architectural  sculptures (such as the ram-headed
column
capitals - see picture) have been  excavated, as well as a church with a hexagonal central plan which evokes that  of the
basilica
of
St. Vitalis
in
Ravenna
. It is difficult to find reasons for  such municipal extravagance in such a small town. One possible explanation  provided by the historian
André Boulanger
is that an increasing  ‘willingness’ on the part of the wealthy upper classes in the late Roman period  to spend money on local
gentrification
projects (which he terms ‘'
évergétisme
’',  from the Greek verb εύεργετέω,(meaning ‘I do good’) was exploited by the local  church to its advantage, which led to a mass gentrification of the urban centre  and of the agricultural riches of the city’s territory. Amphipolis was also a
diocese
under the
suffragan
of
Thessaloniki
- the Bishop of Amphipolis is  first mentioned in 533 AD.
From  the reduction of the urban area to the disappearance of the city
The
Slavic invasions
of the late 6th century  gradually encroached on the back-country Amphipolitan lifestyle and led to the  decline of the town, during which period its inhabitants retreated to the area  around the acropolis. The ramparts were maintained to a certain extent, thanks  to materials plundered from the monuments of the lower city, and the large  unused cisterns of the upper city were occupied by small houses and the  workshops of artisans. Around the middle of the 7th century AD, a further  reduction of the inhabited area of the city was followed by an increase in the  fortification of the town, with the construction of a new rampart with  pentagonal towers cutting through the middle of the remaining monuments. The  acropolis, the
Roman baths
, and especially the Episcopal  basilica were crossed by this wall.
The city was probably abandoned in the eighth century, as the last bishop was  attested in 787. Its inhabitants probably moved to the neighbouring site of  ancient
Eion
, port of Amphipolis, which had been  rebuilt and refortified in the
Byzantine period
under the name “
Chrysopolis
”.  This small port continued to enjoy some prosperity, before being abandoned  during the
Ottoman period
. The last recorded sign of  activity in the region of Amphipolis was the construction of a fortified tower  to the north in 1367 by
Grand Primicier
Jean and the
Stratopedarque
Alexis to protect the land that  they had given to the monastery of Pantokrator on
Mount Athos
.
Archaeology
The site was rediscovered and described by many travellers and archaeologists  during the 19th century, including E. Cousinéry (1831) (engraver), L. Heuzey  (1861), and P. Perdrizet (1894–1899). In 1934, M. Feyel, of the
École française d'Athènes
, led an
epigraphical mission
to the site and uncovered  the remains of a funeral lion (a reconstruction was given in the, a publication  of the EfA which is available on line). However, excavations did not truly begin  until after the Second World War. The
Greek Archaeological Society
under D. Lazaridis  excavated in 1972 and 1985, uncovering a necropolis, the rampart of the old town  (see photograph), the basilicas, and the acropolis.
Amphipolitans
Demetrius of Amphipolis
, student of Plato's
Zoilus
(400 BC-320 BC), grammarian, cynic  philosopher
Pamphilus (painter)
, head of
Sicyonian
school and teacher of
Apelles
Aetion
, sculptor
Philippus of Amphipolis
, historian
Nearchus
, admiral
Erigyius
, general
Damasias
[
disambiguation  needed
]
of Amphipolis 320 BC
Stadion
Olympics
Hermagoras of Amphipolis
(c. 225 BC), stoic  philosopher ,follower of
Persaeus
Xena
, the Warrior Princess of Amphipolis.
Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus
(19 September 86 – 7  March 161), generally known in English as
Antoninus Pius
was
Roman emperor
from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the
Five Good Emperors
and a member of the
Aurelii
. He  did not possess the
sobriquet
"
Pius
" until after  his accession to the throne. Almost certainly, he earned the name "Pius" because  he compelled the
Senate
to deify his adoptive father
Hadrian
; the
Historia Augusta
, however, suggests that he may have earned the name by  saving senators sentenced to death by Hadrian in his later years.
//
He was the son and only child of
Titus Aurelius Fulvus
,
consul
in 89  whose family came from
Nemausus
(modern
Nîmes
)  and was born near
Lanuvium
and his mother was Arria Fadilla. Antoninus’ father and paternal grandfather  died when he was young and he was raised by
Gnaeus Arrius Antoninus
, his maternal grandfather, a man of integrity and  culture and a friend of
Pliny the Younger
. His mother married to Publius Julius Lupus (a man of  consular rank),
Suffect  Consul
in 98, and bore him a daughter called Julia Fadilla.
As a private citizen between 110 and 115, he married Annia Galeria
Faustina the Elder
. They had a very happy marriage. She was the daughter of  consul
Marcus Annius Verus
and
Rupilia
Faustina (a half-sister to Roman Empress
Vibia  Sabina
). Faustina was a beautiful woman, renowned for her wisdom. She spent  her whole life caring for the poor and assisting the most disadvantaged Romans.
Having filled with more than usual success the offices of
quaestor
and
praetor
,  he obtained the consulship in 120; he was next appointed by the Emperor
Hadrian
as  one of the four
proconsuls
to administer
Italia
, then greatly increased his reputation by his conduct as
proconsul
of
Asia
. He acquired much favor with the Emperor Hadrian, who adopted him as  his son and successor on 25 February, 138, after the death of his first adopted  son
Lucius Aelius
, on the condition that Antoninus would in turn adopt Marcus  Annius Verus, the son of his wife's brother, and Lucius, son of Aelius Verus,  who afterwards became the emperors
Marcus Aurelius
and
Lucius  Verus
(colleague of Marcus Aurelius).
Emperor
On his accession, Antoninus' name became "Imperator Caesar Titus Aelius  Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pontifex Maximus". One of his first acts as Emperor  was to persuade the
Senate
to grant divine honours to Hadrian, which they had at first refused; his efforts  to persuade the Senate to grant these honours is the most likely reason given  for his title of
Pius
(dutiful in affection; compare
pietas
). Two other reasons for this title are that he would support his  aged father-in-law with his hand at Senate meetings, and that he had saved those  men that Hadrian, during his period of ill-health, had condemned to death. He  built temples, theaters, and mausoleums, promoted the arts and sciences, and  bestowed honours and financial rewards upon the teachers of
rhetoric
and
philosophy
.
In marked contrast to his predecessors
Trajan
and
Hadrian
,  Antoninus was not a military man. One modern scholar has written "It is almost  certain not only that at no time in his life did he ever see, let alone command,  a Roman army, but that, throughout the twenty-three years of his reign, he never  went within five hundred miles of a legion".
[2]
His reign was the most peaceful in the entire history of the
Principate
;  while there were several military disturbances throughout the Empire in his  time, in
Mauretania
,
Iudaea
, and amongst the
Brigantes
in
Britannia
, none of them are considered serious. The unrest in Britannia is  believed to have led to the construction of the
Antonine Wall
from the
Firth of Forth
to the
Firth of Clyde
, although it was soon abandoned. He was virtually unique  among emperors in that he dealt with these crises without leaving Italy once  during his reign, but instead dealt with provincial matters of war and peace  through their governors or through imperial letters to the cities such as  Ephesus (of which some were publicly displayed). This style of government was  highly praised by his contemporaries and by later generations.
Of the public transactions of this period we have scant information, but, to  judge by what we possess, those twenty-two years were not remarkably eventful in  comparison to those before and after his; the surviving evidence is not complete  enough to determine whether we should interpret, with older scholars, that he  wisely curtailed the activities of the Roman Empire to a careful minimum, or  perhaps that he was uninterested in events away from Rome and
Italy
and his  inaction contributed to the pressing troubles that faced not only Marcus  Aurelius but also the emperors of the third century. German historian Ernst  Kornemann has had it in his Römische Geschichte [2 vols., ed. by H. Bengtson,  Stuttgart 1954] that the reign of Antoninus comprised "a succession of grossly  wasted opportunities," given the upheavals that were to come. There is more to  this argument, given that the Parthians in the East were themselves soon to make  no small amount of mischief after Antoninus' passing. Kornemann's brief is that  Antoninus might have waged preventive wars to head off these outsiders.
Scholars place Antoninus Pius as the leading candidate for fulfilling the  role as a friend of Rabbi
Judah  the Prince
. According to the
Talmud
(Avodah  Zarah 10a-b), Rabbi Judah was very wealthy and greatly revered in Rome. He had a  close friendship with "Antoninus", possibly Antoninus Pius,  who would consult Rabbi Judah on various worldly and spiritual matters.
After the longest reign since Augustus (surpassing
Tiberius
by  a couple of months), Antoninus died of fever at
Lorium
in
Etruria
,  about twelve miles (19 km) from Rome, on 7 March 161, giving the keynote to his  life in the last word that he uttered when the
tribune
of  the night-watch came to ask the password—"aequanimitas" (equanimity). His body  was placed in
Hadrian's mausoleum
, a
column
was dedicated to him on the
Campus Martius
, and the
temple
he had built in the Forum in 141 to his deified wife Faustina was  rededicated to the deified Faustina and the deified Antoninus.
Historiography
The only account of his life handed down to us is that of the
Augustan History
, an unreliable and mostly fabricated work. Antoninus is  unique among Roman emperors in that he has no other biographies. Historians have  therefore turned to public records for what details we know.
In  later scholarship
Antoninus in many ways was the ideal of the landed gentleman praised not only  by ancient Romans, but also by later scholars of classical history, such as
Edward Gibbon
or the author of the article on Antoninus Pius in the ninth  edition of the Encyclopedia Britannicaca:
A few months afterwards, on Hadrian's death, he was enthusiastically  welcomed to the throne by the Roman people, who, for once, were not  disappointed in their anticipation of a happy reign. For Antoninus came  to his new office with simple tastes, kindly disposition, extensive  experience, a well-trained intelligence and the sincerest desire for the  welfare of his subjects. Instead of plundering to support his  prodigality, he emptied his private treasury to assist distressed  provinces and cities, and everywhere exercised rigid economy (hence the  nickname κυμινοπριστης "cummin-splitter"). Instead of exaggerating into  treason whatever was susceptible of unfavorable interpretation, he  spurned the very conspiracies that were formed against him into  opportunities for demonstrating his clemency. Instead of stirring up  persecution against the Christians, he extended to them the strong hand  of his protection throughout the empire. Rather than give occasion to  that oppression which he regarded as inseparable from an emperor's  progress through his dominions, he was content to spend all the years of  his reign in Rome, or its neighborhood.
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