Homonoia Between Ephesus and Cyzicus

Sale: Triton XIII, Lot: 321. Estimate $1000.  Closing Date: Monday, 4 January 2010.  Sold For $2800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ 32mm (27.11 g, 6h). Homonoia with Cyzicus. Ephesus in Ionia mint. Paitos, grammateus. T AIΛIOC KAICAP ANTΩNЄINOC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right within pelleted border / ЄΠI ΠAITOV ΓPAMMAΤЄOC OMONOIA, KVZIKOC down left field, ЄΦЄCOC up right, heroes Kyzikos and Androklos, each nude but for drapery over shoulder, standing vis-à-vis and clasping right hands; Kyzikos standing right and seen from behind; Androklos standing facing with head left and holding long scepter; all within pelleted border. Franke & Nollé Type I, 317 (Vs C/R1); SNG München -; cf. SNG France 678-680 (Cyzicus); SNG von Aulock; SNG Copenhagen -; Weber 5903. Good VF, red-brown and dark green patina. Very rare.

Homonoia between cities proclaimed their commonality of interests, like that of "sister-cities" in the modern world, and was based on political, economic and religious connections. The cities of Asia Minor preserved this tradition under the Roman Empire, with an extensive interlinked system of such commonalities. Among the cities participating in homonoia, Ephesus seems to have been the most popular, undoubtedly due to its status as the principal cult center of Artemis. Cyzicus, an economic powerhouse due to its location on the southern shore of the Propontis, dominated the trade routes between the Black Sea and the Aegean since the Classical period. Thus, a reciprocal alliance between the major regional trader and the cult site would benefit each other immensely.