The cheeky Thracian
Reading time: 0'23"
To mark Valentine’s Day, here is a slightly risqué selection where you wouldn’t expect it!
The island of Thasos, not far from Samothrace, celebrated not victory but indeed love on the obverse of several of its coins, which quite clearly depict the coupling of a satyr and a nymph.
Surprising, a little salacious, and quite fantastic.
Islands off Thrace Stater
ca. 435-411 BC, Thasos, Silver, NGC, Ch XF 5/5-2/5
Coin Thrace
Drachm, 550-463 BC, Thasos, VF(30-35), Silver, SNG-Cop:1014
Coin Islands off Thrace
Stater, ca. 480-460 BC, Thasos, EF(40-45), Silver
Coin Thrace
Stater, 500-480 BC, Thasos, VF(20-25), Silver, HGC:6, 331
Coin Thrace
Thasos, Helios, Stater, 480 - 463 BC, Thasos, EF(40-45), Silver
Picture: "Nymphs and Satyr" by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1873)(Public Domain)
