131, Lot: 137. Estimate $150. Sold for $330. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THRACE, Mesembria. Elagabalus. 218-222 AD. Æ 28mm (13.93 g). Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / Two Curetes, helmeted and clad in short tunics, holding aloft short swords and shields. Mouchmov -. VF, brown surfaces, a little rough. Scarce. 

The Curetes share some of the attributes of the Korybantes, dancing divinities associated with the worship of Kybele, but their specific role in Greek mythology was to serve as the protectors of the infant Zeus while he was hidden away on Crete, safe from his murderous father Kronos. Their militant dancing, accompanied by the clashing of swords on shields, drowned out the cries of the infant. The Curetesí dance was later reenacted by young men at Greek festivals and games, in a display probably very similar to the sword dances practiced by later peoples such as the Cossacks of Russia.