Silver Stater of Tarsus (Tarsos), Cilicia, Turkey, 10.73 g.
Title
Silver Stater of Tarsus (Tarsos), Cilicia, Turkey, 10.73 g.
Creator
Tarsus (Tarsos), Cilicia, Turkey
Date
c. 378-372 BCE
Description
Obverse: Facing female head.
Reverse: Helmeted and bearded head of Ares/satrap facing right; bunch of grapes in left field; in right field, TRDMW: the name Datames in Aramaic.
Style/Period: Greek (ancient)
Tarsos was one of a number of partially Hellenized cities along the southern coast of Asia Minor that were subjects of Persia in this period. In the 370's the mint at Tarsos issued coins for the satraps (provincial Persian governors) Pharnabazus and Datames, joint commanders of an expedition to recapture Egypt. For this purpose they issued a large number of coins apparently designed to appeal simultaneously to their own subjects and to the Greek mercenaries in the force. The coins relied heavily upon Greek prototypes.
The female head on the obverse of this coin was inspired by the famous facing head of the nymph Arethusa by Kimon on late fifth-century Syracusan tetradrachms (see 93.007). Many Greek cities had also adapted the famous image for their coins (see 93.008, 91.063, 91.064, 91.085, 93.009). Whether at Tarsos the head was given a specific local identity or whether it was simply appropriated because of its associations with well-known Greek coins is unknown. On the reverse is the head of a bearded warrior in an elaborate helmet with upturned cheek-piece. Although the figure is male, the image was probably modelled on the helmeted Athena of Attic tetradrachms (see 91.069). Persians and others able to read the Aramaic name to the right of the head would have recognized in it their leader Datames, although the fact that the same type was used for Pharnabazus indicates that the head was not actually a portrait. The Greek mercenaries at the same time could have seen it as their war god, Ares. The bunch of grapes behind the head may also refer to the fertility god Ba'al, who is depicted holding a bunch of grapes on other coins of this time issued by Datames.
-- Carol L. Lawton
Bibliography: P. Naster, "Les statères ciliciens de Pharnabaze et de Datame à types communs," Kraay-Mørkholm Essays; Numismatic Studies in Memory of C.M. Kraay and O. Mørkholm, G. Le Rider et al., eds. (Louvain-la-Neuve 1989) 191-201.
The female head on the obverse of this coin was inspired by the famous facing head of the nymph Arethusa by Kimon on late fifth-century Syracusan tetradrachms (see 93.007). Many Greek cities had also adapted the famous image for their coins (see 93.008, 91.063, 91.064, 91.085, 93.009). Whether at Tarsos the head was given a specific local identity or whether it was simply appropriated because of its associations with well-known Greek coins is unknown. On the reverse is the head of a bearded warrior in an elaborate helmet with upturned cheek-piece. Although the figure is male, the image was probably modelled on the helmeted Athena of Attic tetradrachms (see 91.069). Persians and others able to read the Aramaic name to the right of the head would have recognized in it their leader Datames, although the fact that the same type was used for Pharnabazus indicates that the head was not actually a portrait. The Greek mercenaries at the same time could have seen it as their war god, Ares. The bunch of grapes behind the head may also refer to the fertility god Ba'al, who is depicted holding a bunch of grapes on other coins of this time issued by Datames.
-- Carol L. Lawton
Bibliography: P. Naster, "Les statères ciliciens de Pharnabaze et de Datame à types communs," Kraay-Mørkholm Essays; Numismatic Studies in Memory of C.M. Kraay and O. Mørkholm, G. Le Rider et al., eds. (Louvain-la-Neuve 1989) 191-201.
Source
Former collection of Ottilia Buerger. Ex Frederick Knobloch collection; Stack's, 1970.
Identifier
91.088
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Subject
Greek, female, helmet, Ares, grapes, Tarsus, Tarsos, Cilicia, Turkey
Files
Citation
Tarsus (Tarsos), Cilicia, Turkey, “Silver Stater of Tarsus (Tarsos), Cilicia, Turkey, 10.73 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/174.