The Abduction of Ganymede

315, Lot: 173. Estimate $200. Sold for $2750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

TROAS, Dardanus. Geta. As Caesar, AD 198-209. Æ (24mm, 8.16 g, 6h). Bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Ganymede left, head right, holding pedum, being carried away by Zeus in the form of an eagle. SNG von Aulock 1507 (same dies). VF, green patina.

Ganymede was the son of Tros, founder of Troy. A youth of great beauty, he was abducted by Zeus while the young man was tending his flocks on Mt. Ida. Carried to Olympus either by an eagle or Zeus himself in aquiline form, Ganymede served as the god’s cupbearer in place of Hebe, as well as his eromenos. To recompense Tros for the loss of his son, Zeus provided him with a pair of horses so swift they could cross over water. This pair was believed to be the ancestors of the horses for which the Trojans were so renowned.