KINGDOM OF THRACE - LYSIMACHUS 306 - 281 - Lot 39

KINGDOM OF THRACE - LYSIMACHUS 306 - 281 Deified head of Alexander the Great on right, wearing a headband with the horns of Zeus Ammon. Grenetis. R/. Athena Nicephorus seated left, leaning on a shield and holding a haste. In the field on either side, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ - ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟY. Front, Hermæ and monogram. ♦ Müller (Lysimachus) 91; Thompson 50 Silver tetradrachm struck at Lampsakia (16.75 g). Trace of corrosion on obverse. Very fine. Hermæ or Hermes is a bust surmounting a quadrangular column, sometimes crudely carved, often representing the god Hermes cut straight at the shoulders, and usually adorned with a phallus. In ancient Greece, these sculptures had the dual function of sanctifying and marking boundaries (thresholds, crossroads, etc.). From the Renaissance onwards, hermes were copied in Western sculpture. They are the equivalent of the terms used in ancient Rome.