Nomos 32

KYRENAICA. Kyrene. Circa 308-277 BC. Drachm (Gold, 7 mm, 3.44 g, 2 h). Head of Zeus Ammon facing, turned very slightly to his left - our right - with curly hair and a neat beard. Rev. [KYP]AIN Silphium plant with four leaves (two on each side), and five flowers (one at the top and one above each pair of leaves). Apparently unpublished. Seemingly unique. With an astoundingly finely made head of Zeus - he is presumably Zeus Ammon, but no horn is visible. Scrapes on the reverse and various marks , otherwise, nearly extremely fine/very fine.

From the Battos Collection.

The wonderful facing portrait on this coin probably depicts Zeus Ammon, the Greek form of the Egyptian god Amun. Originally, the patron deity of Egyptian Thebes, Amun gained the status of a national Egyptian god in the 16th century BC and his worship spread to Libya and Nubia. After the foundation of Kyrene in 631 BC, the Greeks were exposed to the cult of Amun through his shrine at Siwah, near the edge of the Libyan desert. In typical Greek fashion, they reimagined Amun--an Egyptian king of the gods--as Zeus, who played the same role in the Olympian pantheon. However, to visually distinguish Zeus Ammon from the more mundane Hellenic Zeus, he was most commonly depicted with the horns of a ram, although it is not clear that they are present here. Zeus Ammon went on to be the divine patron of Kyrene and through the Kyreneans his worship was exported to the wider Greek world.