Nomos 32

SICILY. Gela. Circa 490/85-480/75 BC. Didrachm (Silver, 20 mm, 8.49 g, 1 h). Bearded horseman, nude, riding to right, brandishing a spear held in his upraised right hand. Rev. CΕ-Λ-Α Forepart of a man-headed bull to right. Basel 279. Jenkins, Gela 7. SNG ANS 4. SNG Lloyd 956. A superb, even spectacular, piece, well-centered, attractively toned and well-struck. Good extremely fine.

From an American collection, ex Nomos 19, 17 November 2019, 44 and from the collections of Baron L. Thyssen-Bornemisza and T. S. Kaplan, NGSA IX, 14 December 2015, 7, ex Triton XII, 6 January 2009, 68.

The early coins of Gela are remarkable for their lifelike portrayal of the city’s patron river god, shown as a man-headed bull. This representation goes back to that of Acheloos, a river god from northwest Greece, and initially was only of him, but the type became extremely popular and was used for local river gods all over the Greek world. The nude and bearded horseman on the obverse may well be thought to be chasing the god: preventing him from indulging in one of his destructive rages! This is, in fact, why river gods were shown as bulls - so many rivers in Sicily, Magna Graecia and Greece itself were calm during most of the year, but they all could become dangerous, raging torrents after a flash flood or during the Spring run offs.