This post has brief notes for an unpublished coin that was identified by CCCRH Research Associate, Sebastian Harris. Sebastian has prepared the following notes, in preparation for a future RPC entry.
A few months back, CCCRH acquired a bronze coin minted at Pessinus, during the reign of Septimius Severus (193-211 CE), which is not published in standard references. It depicts a bareheaded and draped bust of Geta with the legend Π CEΠ ΓETAC KΑΙC (Publius Septimius Geta Caesar) on the obverse. On the reverse, it illustrates the river-god Gallos reclining, holding a reed and resting on an urn, combined with the Greek legend ΠΕCCINOYNTIΩΝ (of the Pessinians). This coin is available in the CCCRH Database as CCCRH #3204.
The origins of the Greek town Pessinus are ambiguous. Ancient tradition explains that Pessinus was founded by king Midas (r. 738-696 BCE), a name that once belonged to the mythological figure who could turn anything to gold, however archaeological excavations from 1967 suggest the earliest settlement date as the 500s BCE. The town was ruled by Phrygian dynasti (‘lords’), Seleucids and Attalid kings, Galatian tribes and Romans. The Romans held a strong affinity for this ancient site as it played a role in the Second Punic War in 205/4 BCE. Several meteor showers occurred and, after consulting the Sibylline Books, they removed a large black stone that fell from the sky near the Pessinus’ temple and introduced the town’s cult of Cybele to Rome. Afterwards, Pessinus flourished and became “the greatest of the emporiums of that part of the world.” Pessinus also played a role in Montanism, as bishop Dionysius of Alexandria might have addressed a letter to the city.
As for the coin’s iconography, it references the Gallos River than ran through Pessinus, now called the Mudurnu River. Written as a guide to the Roman holidays, the poet Ovid explains that through Pessinus “runs a river of maddening water called the Gallus [and] whoever drinks of it, is crazed.” As for the origin of this myth, we are not sure, but river deities were commonly represented as protective gods on coins (e.g., Achelous, Orontes, Nilus etc.). However, we do know that the river was involved in a canalisation system and were common symbols on provincial coinage, which may explain the imagery.
References
Devreker, J., Thoen, H., and Vermeulen, F. 1995. ‘The Imperial Sanctuary at Pessinus and its Predecessors: A Revision,’ Anatolia Antiqua III: 125-144.
Ovid (trans. J.G. Frazer and G.P. Goold). 1931. Fasti, Harvard University Press.
Roller, D.W. 2018. ‘Central and Northern Anatolia,’ in A Historical and Topographical Guide to the Geography of Strabo, Cambridge University Press, 685-740.
Roller, L.E. 1999. In Search of God the Mother: The Cult of Anatolian Cybele, University of California Press.
Tabbernee, W. 2014. ‘Asia Minor and Cyprus,’ in Early Christianity in Contexts: An Exploration across Cultures and Continents, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 261-319.
Waelkens, M. 1984. ‘Le système d’endiguement du torrent,’ in J. Devreker and M. Waelkens, eds. Les fouilles de la Rijksuniversiteit te Gent à Pessinonte 1967–1973, De Tempel, 77-141.
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