Nomos 18

LESBOS. Mytilene. Circa 412-378 BC. Hekte (Electrum, 10 mm, 2.52 g, 12 h). Female head (Artemis-Kybele?) to right, wearing a hair band with pearls over her forehead, a simple round earring, and with her bound up in a net. Rev. Male head to left (a Telchine or a Daktyl), with a curious long nose, a slit-like eye, hair bound in a net, and a slight protuberance on the forehead; all in a linear square within a shallow incuse square. BMFA 1697. Bodenstedt 68α. Very rare, and with a particularly uncommon and unexpected head on the reverse. Good very fine.

The Telchines and the Daktyls were daemons who existed prior to the coming of Zeus, and were renowned for their metal-working skills, as well as their magical abilities, of which some were malign. The Telchines were finally destroyed by Zeus because of their wicked actions, while the Daktyls continued to exist: both creatures had centers in Phrygia, Rhodes and Crete. These mythical entities were also connected with the Kuretes and the Kabeirioi.