THRACIAN ISLANDS. Thasos. Ca. 500-450 BC. AR drachm (15mm, 3.34 gm). NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 3/5. Ca. 500-480 BC. Nude satyr advancing right, carrying off protesting nymph / Quadripartite incuse square. SNG Copenhagen 1014; Le Rider, Thasiennes 3; HGC 6, 332. From the Historical Scholar Collection. Ex Edward J. Waddell, private sale with old dealer's tag 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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