GETA 198AD Pautalia Thrace Rare Ancient Roman Coin Dionysus Bacchus Cult i49398

Description

Item:
i49398
Authentic Ancient  Coin of:
Geta
- Roman Caesar: 198-209 A.D. -
Roman Emperor
: 209-211 A.D. -
-
Bronze 20mm (3.88 grams) of
Pautalia
in
Thrace
Π CEΠTI ΓEΤΑC K,
Bare-headed, draped and  cuirassed bust right.
ΠAVTAΛIΩTΝ,
Dionysus
standing facing, holding thyrsos and  kantharos, panther
at his feet to left looking up at him.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,  provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of  Authenticity.
A
kantharos
or
cantharus
is a type of
Greek pottery
used for drinking. It is  characterized by its high-swung handles which extend above the lip of the pot.  The kantharos is a cup used to hold
wine
, possibly for drinking or for
ritual
use or
offerings
. The kantharos seems to be an  attribute of
Dionysos
, the god of wine, who was associated  with
vegetation
and
fertility
. It may not be a banquet-cup, but  rather a vessel used in pagan cult as a symbol of
rebirth or resurrection
, the
immortality
offered by wine, "removing in  moments of ecstasy the burden of self-consciousness and elevating man to the  rank of deity."
In
Greek mythology
, a
thyrsus
or
thyrsos
(
Greek
:
θύρσος
) was a staff of
giant fennel
(
Ferula communis
) covered  with
ivy
vines and leaves, sometimes wound with
taeniae
and always topped with a
pine
cone
. These staffs were carried by
Dionysus
and his followers.
Euripides
wrote that
honey
dripped from the thyrsos staves that the
Bacchic
maenads
carried.The thyrsus was a sacred  instrument at religious rituals and
fêtes
.\
Symbolism
The thyrsus, associated with
Dionysus
(or Bacchus) and his followers, the
Satyrs
and
Maenads
, is a symbol of
prosperity
,
fertility
,
hedonism
, and pleasure/enjoyment in general. It  has been suggested that this was specifically a fertility
phallus
, with the fennel representing the shaft  of the penis and the pine cone representing the "seed" issuing forth. The  thyrsus was tossed in the Bacchic dance:
Pentheus
: The thyrsus— in my right hand shall I hold it?
Or thus am I more like a Bacchanal?
Dionysus
: In thy right hand, and with thy right foot raise it"
Sometimes the thyrsus was displayed in conjunction with a
kantharos
wine cup, another symbol of Dionysus,  forming a male-and-female combination like that of the royal scepter and orb.
Literature
In the
Iliad
,
Diomedes
, one of the leading warriors of the
Achaeans
, mentions the thyrsus while speaking  to
Glaucus
, one of the
Lycian
commanders in the
Trojan
army, about
Lycurgus
, the king of
Scyros
:
He it was that/drove the nursing women who were in charge/of frenzied  Bacchus through the land of Nysa,/and they flung their thyrsi on the ground  as/murderous Lycurgus beat them with his ox-/goad. (
Iliad
, Book  VI.132-37)
The thyrsus is explicitly attributed to Dionysus in
Euripides
's play
The Bacchae
as part of the costume of the  Dionysian cult.
...To raise my Bacchic shout, and clothe all who respond/ In fawnskin  habits, and put my thyrsus in their hands–/ The weapon wreathed with  ivy-shoots..." Euripides also writes, "There's a brute wildness in the  fennel-wands—Reverence it well." (
The Bacchae and Other Plays
, trans.  by Philip Vellacott, Penguin, 1954.)
Socrates
writes in
Phaedo
:
I conceive that the founders of the mysteries had a real meaning and were  not mere triflers when they intimated in a figure long ago that he who  passes unsanctified and uninitiated into the world below will live in a  slough, but that he who arrives there after initiation and purification will  dwell with the gods. For "many," as they say in the mysteries, "are the  thyrsus bearers, but few are the mystics,"--meaning, as I interpret the  words, the true philosophers.
In Part II of
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
's
Faust
,
Mephistopheles
tries to catch a
Lamia
, only to find out that she is an  illusion:
Well, then, a tall one I will catch.../And now a thyrsus-pole I  snatch!/Only a pine-cone as its head. (7775-7777)
Sookie Stackhouse notes the thyrsus carried by the maenad in the 2nd book of
The Southern Vampire Mysteries
.
She idly waved the long wand with the tuft on the end. It was called a  thyrsis [
sic
];  I’d looked maenad up in the encyclopedia. Now I could die educated. (Harris,  Charlaine (2006-09-01). "Living Dead in Dallas: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel"}
Gallery
A Bacchant holding a thyrsus:
Malice
, by
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
, 1899
Roman relief showing a Maenad holding a thyrsus (
Prado
,
Madrid
).
Bacchus Triumphant
(1882)
by
John Reinhard Weguelin
A Maenad uses her thrysos to ward off a Satyr,
Attic red-figure
kylix
, circa 480 BC
Dionysus
is the god of the  grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theatre and  religious ecstasy in
Greek mythology
. Alcohol, especially
wine
, played an important role in Greek
culture  with Dionysus being an important reason for this life style. His name, thought  to be a
theonym
in
Linear B
tablets as
di-wo-nu-so
(
KH
Gq 5 inscription), shows that he may have been worshipped as early as c.  1500–1100 BC by
Mycenean Greeks
; other traces of the  Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient
Minoan Crete
. His origins are uncertain, and  his cults took many forms; some are described by ancient sources as Thracian,  others as Greek. In some cults, he arrives from the east, as an Asiatic  foreigner; in others, from
Ethiopia
in the South. He is a god of
epiphany
, "the god that comes", and his  "foreignness" as an arriving outsider-god may be inherent and essential to his  cults. He is a major, popular figure of
Greek mythology
and
religion
, and is included in some lists of the
twelve Olympians
. Dionysus was the last god to  be accepted into Mt. Olympus. He was the youngest and the only one to have a  mortal mother. His festivals were the driving force behind the development of
Greek theatre
. He is an example of a
dying god
.
The earliest cult images of Dionysus show a mature male, bearded and robed.  He holds a
fennel
staff, tipped with a pine-cone and known  as a
thyrsus
. Later images show him as a  beardless, sensuous, naked or half-naked androgynous youth: the literature  describes him as womanly or "man-womanish". In its fully developed form, his  central cult imagery shows his triumphant, disorderly arrival or return, as if  from some place beyond the borders of the known and civilized. His procession
(
thiasus
)
is made up of wild female followers (
maenads
)  and bearded
satyrs
with
erect penises
. Some are armed with the
thyrsus
, some dance or play music. The god himself is drawn in a chariot,  usually by exotic beasts such as lions or tigers, and is sometimes attended by a  bearded, drunken
Silenus
. This procession is presumed to be the  cult model for the human followers of his
Dionysian Mysteries
. In his
Thracian
mysteries, he wears the
bassaris
or
fox
-skin, symbolizing a new life. Dionysus is represented by city  religions as the protector of those who do not belong to conventional society  and thus symbolizes everything which is chaotic, dangerous and unexpected,  everything which escapes human reason and which can only be attributed to the  unforeseeable action of the gods.
Also known as
Bacchus
, the name adopted by the
Romans
and the frenzy he induces,
bakkheia
.  His
thyrsus
is sometimes wound with ivy and dripping with honey. It is a  beneficent wand but also a weapon, and can be used to destroy those who oppose  his cult and the freedoms he represents. He is also called
Eleutherios
("the liberator"), whose wine, music and ecstatic dance frees his followers from  self-conscious fear and care, and subverts the oppressive restraints of the  powerful. Those who partake of his mysteries are possessed and empowered by the  god himself. His cult is also a "cult of the souls"; his maenads feed the dead  through blood-offerings, and he acts as a divine communicant between the living  and the dead.
In Greek mythology, he is presented as a son of
Zeus
and the mortal
Semele
, thus semi-divine or
heroic
: and as son of Zeus and
Persephone
or
Demeter
, thus both fully divine, part-
chthonic
and possibly identical with
Iacchus
of the
Eleusinian Mysteries
. Some scholars believe  that Dionysus is a
syncretism
of a local Greek nature deity and a  more powerful god from
Thrace
or
Phrygia
such as
Sabazios
or
Zalmoxis
.
Kyustendil
(
Bulgarian
:
Кюстендил
, historically
Велбъжд
,
Velbazhd
) is a town in the  far west of
Bulgaria
, the capital of
Kyustendil Province
, with a population of  58,059 (2005 census). Kyustendil is situated in the southern part of the  Kyustendil Valley, 90 km southwest of
Sofia
. It was named after the medieval lord of  the surrounding region,
Constantine Dragaš
.
A
Thracian
settlement was founded at the place of  the modern town in the
5th
-4th century BC and the
Romans
developed it into an important  stronghold, balneological resort and trade junction called
Pautalia
in the 1st century AD.
The
Hisarlaka
fortress was built in the 4th century and the town was  mentioned under the
Slavic
name of
Velbazhd
(Велбъжд,  meaning "camel")
[1]
in a 1019 charter by the
Byzantine
Emperor
Basil II
. It became a major religious and  administrative centre.
Publius Septimius Geta
(
March  7
,
189
–
December  26
,
211
), was a
Roman Emperor
co-ruling with his father
Septimius Severus
and his older brother
Caracalla
from 209 to his death.
Geta was the younger son of Septimius Severus by his second wife
Julia Domna
. Geta was born in
Rome
, at a time when his father was only a provincial governor at the  service of emperor
Commodus
.
Geta was always in a place secondary to his older brother Lucius, the heir  known as Caracalla. Perhaps due to this, the relations between the two were  difficult from their early years. Conflicts were constant and often required the  mediation of their mother. To appease his youngest son, Septimius Severus gave  Geta the title of
Augustus
in 209. During the campaign against the  Britons of the early 3rd century, the imperial propaganda publicized a happy  family that shared the responsibilities of rule. Caracalla was his father's  second in command, Julia Domna the trusted counsellor and Geta had  administrative and bureaucratic duties. Truth was that the rivalry and antipathy  between the brothers was far from being improved.
Joint Emperor
When Septimius Severus died in
Eboracum
in the beginning of 211, Caracalla and Geta were proclaimed  joint emperors and returned to Rome.
Regardless, the shared throne was not a success: the brothers argued about  every decision, from law to political appointments. Later sources speculate  about the desire of the two of splitting the empire in two halves. By the end of  the year, the situation was unbearable. Caracalla tried to murder Geta during  the festival of
Saturnalia
without success. Later in December  he arranged a meeting with his brother in his mother's apartments, and had him  murdered in her arms by
centurions
.
Following Geta's assassination, Caracalla
damned his memoryy
and ordered his name to be  removed from all inscriptions. The now sole emperor also took the opportunity to  get rid of his political enemies, on the grounds of conspiracy with the  deceased.
Cassius Dio
stated that around 20,000 persons  of both sexes were killed and/or proscribed during this time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long until my order is shipped?
Depending on the volume of sales, it may take up to 5 business days for shipment of your order after the receipt of payment.
How will I know when the order was shipped?
After your order has shipped, you will be left positive feedback, and that date should be used as a basis of estimating an arrival date.
After you shipped the order, how long will the mail take?
USPS First Class mail takes about 3-5 business days to arrive in the U.S., international shipping times cannot be estimated as they vary from country to country. I am not responsible for any USPS delivery delays, especially for an international package.
What is a certificate of authenticity and what guarantees do you give that the item is authentic?
<="" p="">
Compared to other certification companies, the certificate of  authenticity is a -50 value. So buy a coin today and own a piece  of history, guaranteed.
Is there a money back guarantee?
I offer a 30 day unconditional money back guarantee. I stand  behind my coins and would be willing to exchange your order for  either store credit towards other coins, or refund, minus shipping  expenses, within 30 days from the receipt of your order. My goal is  to have the returning customers for a lifetime, and I am so sure in  my coins, their authenticity, numismatic value and beauty, I can  offer such a guarantee.
Is there a number I can call you with questions about my  order?
You can contact me directly via ask seller a question and request my  telephone number, or go to my About Me Page to get my contact information only in regards to  items purchased on eBay.
When should I leave feedback?
Once you receive your  order, please leave a positive. Please don't leave any negative feedbacks, as it happens many times that people rush to leave feedback before letting sufficient time for the order to arrive. Also, if you sent an email, make sure to check for my reply in your messages before claiming that you didn't receive a response. The matter of fact is that any issues can be resolved, as reputation is most important to me. My goal is to provide superior products and quality of service.
="">