THRACIAN ISLANDS. Thasos. Ca. 500-450 BC. AR stater (20mm). NGC VG. Nude ithyphallic satyr running right, carrying struggling nymph, her right hand raised / Quadripartite incuse square. SNG Copenhagen 1010-1. Dewing 1323. Le Rider 5. Well-centered and struck, with beautiful deep cabinet toning. The iconography of these coins is sometimes described as a satyr ravishing a nymph. Given the importance of the cult of Dionysus to Thrace, a more likely explanation is that the two mythological figures are engaged in a ritualistic Dionysian dance.

HID09801242017

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