1

Tom VI
MUZEUM NARODOWE W KRAKOWIE
SEKCJA NUMIZMATYCZNA
KOMISJI ARCHEOLOGICZNEJ PAN
ODDZIAŁ W KRAKOWIE

Kraków 2011
SPIS TREŚCI / CONTENTS
9 Od redakcji / From the Editors

ARTYKUŁY / ARTICLES
MAREK JAN OLBRYCHT
13 On Coin Portraits of Alexander the Great and His Iranian Regalia. Some Remarks
Occasioned by the Book by F. Smith: L’immagine di Alessandro il Grande sulle
monete del regno (336–323)
27 Streszczenie: O portretach monetarnych Aleksandra Wielkiego. Uwagi na marginesie
książki: F. Smith, L’immagine di Alessandro il Grande sulle monete del regno (336–323)

JERZY CIECIELĄG
31 Ascalon Coins and the Roots of the Herodian Dynasty
45 Streszczenie: Monety z Askalonu a pochodzenie dynastii herodiańskiej

KAMIL KOPIJ
47 Propaganda on the Coinage Related to Pompey the Great
60 Streszczenie: Propaganda na monetach związanych z Pompejuszem Wielkim
5
WOJCIECH BORUCH
63 The Language of Propaganda of the Year of the Four Emperors in the Light of Imperial
Coinage
86 Streszczenie: Język propagandy roku czterech cesarzy w świetle mennictwa imperialnego

KATARZYNA LACH
91 The Roman Coinage of Alexandria in the Reign of Domitian. The First Nome Coins
as Compared with Other Contemporary Issues
100 Streszczenie: Mennictwo aleksandryjskie w okresie panowania Domicjana. Pierwsze
monety nomów na tle pozostałych emisji

AGATA A. KLUCZEK
103 DEO CABIRO. À propos des monnaies au nom de Claude II le Gothique frappées
à Antioche
120 Streszczenie: DEO CABIRO. O monetach powstałych w Antiochii w imieniu
Klaudiusza II Gockiego

RENATA CIOŁEK
123 Początki zainteresowań znaleziskami monet antycznych w Prusach Królewskich i Książęcych
139 Summary: The Beginnings of the Interest in the Finds of Ancient Coins in Royal Prussia
and Ducal Prussia
 MATERIAŁY / MATERIALS
ARKADIUSZ DYMOWSKI
143 The Late-Roman Bronze Coins Found recently in Krakow and the Surrounding Area
148 Streszczenie: Późnorzymskie monety brązowe z nowych znalezisk z Krakowa i okolic

JAROSŁAW BODZEK, ELŻBIETA POHORSKA-KLEJA

153 Znalezisko solida Walentyniana III w Prusieku, gm. Sanok, woj. podkarpackie
162 Summary: A Solidus of Valentinian III Found at Prusiek, Gmina Sanok, Podkarpackie
Voivodship

ANNA JAWORUCKA-DRATH
163 Bony zastępcze Cukierni Lwowskiej w Krakowie, zwanej Jamą Michalika,
w zbiorach Gabinetu Numizmatycznego Muzeum Narodowego w Krakowie
171 Summary: Customer Vouchers Issued by the Lvov Café “Jama Michalika” in Krakow,
in the Collection of the Coin Room of the National Museum in Krakow

RECENZJE / REVIEWS
TOMASZ BOCHNAK
6
175 Georges Depeyrot
Le numéraire celtique, I, La Gaule du Sud-Est, MONETA 27, Wetteren 2002
Le numéraire celtique, II, La Gaule des monnaies à la croix, MONETA 28,
Wetteren 2002
Le numéraire celtique, III, De l’Atlantique aux Arwernes, MONETA 36, Wetteren 2004
Le numéraire celtique, IV, Bituriges, Éduens, Séquanes, Lingons, MONETA 41,
Wetteren 2004

EDWARD DĄBROWA
179 C. Augé, F. Duyrat (éds.), Les monnayages syriens. Quel apport pour
l’histoire du Proche-Orient hellénistique et romain? Actes de la table ronde
de Damas, 10–12 novembre 1999 (Bibliothèque archéologique et historique
– vol. 162), Institut Française d’Archéologie du Proche Orient, Beyrouth 2002

DOROTA MALARCZYK
183 Khatchatur Mousheghian (†), Anahit Moushegian, Cecile Bresc, Georges Depeyrot,
François Gurnet, History and Coin Finds in Armenia; Coins from Duin, Capital
of Armenia (4–13th c.); Inventory of Byzantine and Sasanian Coins in Armenia (6–7th c.),
Collection Moneta 18, Wetteren 2000
KRONIKA / CHRONICLE
ELŻBIETA KORCZYŃSKA
187 Kronika Gabinetu Numizmatycznego Muzeum Narodowego w Krakowie (2001–2008)
197 The National Museum in Krakow Coin Room Chronicle (2001–2008)

MACIEJ SALAMON
209 Sekcja Numizmatyczna Komisji Archeologicznej Oddziału Polskiej Akademii Nauk
w Krakowie (2001–2010)
211 The Numismatic Section of the Archaeological Committee of the Polish Academy
of Sciences, Krakow (2001–2010)

ANNA JAWORUCKA-DRATH
213 Memoriae Donatorum – wystawa numizmatyczna ze zbiorów Gabinetu
Numizmatycznego Muzeum Narodowego w Krakowie
217 Memoriae Donatorum – the Numismatic Exhibition Showcasing Collections
of the Coin Room, National Museum in Krakow

NEKROLOGI / OBITUARIES
7
BOGUMIŁA HACZEWSKA
223 Wspomnienie o dr Stanisławie Kubiak (1926–2005)
225 In Memory of Dr Stanisława Kubiak (1926–2005)

BOGUMIŁA HACZEWSKA
227 Wspomnienie o dr Januszu Reymanie (1927–2004)
229 In Memory of Dr Janusz Reyman (1927–2004)

MACIEJ SALAMON
231 Historia starożytna i źródła numizmatyczne. Profesora Lesława Morawieckiego
koncepcja badań nad mennictwem antycznym.
244 Summary: Ancient History and Numismatic Sources. Proffesor Lesław Morawiecki’s
Idea of the Ancient Coinage Research
Tom VI

Kraków 2011

MAREK JAN OLBRYCHT

Rzeszów University

ON COIN PORTRAITS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT

AND HIS IRANIAN REGALIA
Some Remarks Ocassioned by the Book by F. Smith: L’immagine
di Alessandro il Grande sulle monete del regno (336–323)1

The Italian scholar Federica Smith undertook the risky task of deining Alex-
ander’s monetary portraits in her 2000 monograph. The work consists of ive parts.
A short introduction is followed by three analytical chapters which constitute the 13
core of her study. The last two chapters contain bibliography and illustrations.
Smith’s book is remarkable for its inclusion of a vast number of studies, even those
scattered and hardly accessible2.
In her irst analytical chapter, Smith analyzes bronze coins bearing the ruler’s
likeness, issued, according to a hypothesis by M.J. Price, at Memphis and Naukratis
in 332–331 BC (pp. 8–13). Alexander’s bronzes discovered at Memphis bear on the
obverse a portrait of the king wearing peculiar headgear which Smith incorrectly
calls “elmo frigio”. Representations suggest that rather than a metal helmet, it was
a tiara of the type known from Achaemenid iconography, with long hanging cheek
pieces and a neck guard. The author does nevertheless admit that she means the
type of headgear worn by Achaemenid satraps (p. 9), and those are known to have
used a tiara (see below). Coins of the type under discussion were irst attributed by
E. Babelon to Orontes, satrap of Mysia in Asia Minor (4th century BC)3, and by

1
F. SMITH, L’immagine di Alessandro il Grande sulle monete del regno (336–323), Materiali. Studi. Ric-
erche 19: Sezione numismatica, Edizioni Ennerre, Milano 2000. 58 pp.; 12 ill. ISSN 1123-7066 ISBN 88-87235-
17-1. This article was compiled in 2006. Some studies published later have been taken into account but my original
conclusions remain intact.
2
The book was published with great care (errors in the text are sporadic, e.g., misspelled name Goukowsky
on p. 47), it stands out for its well chosen photographs of coins and sculptures.
3
E. BABELON, Les Perses Achéménides, les satrapes, et les dynastes tributaries de leur empire. Chy-
pre et Phénicie. Catalogue des Monnaies Grecques de la Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris 1893, p. 56, no. 379.
 MAREK JAN OLBRYCHT

H.A. Troxell to Mithradates I of Kommagene (1st century BC)4. It was only M.J.
Price who correctly identiied the depiction, convincingly arguing for linking the
coins with Alexander the Great. Three bronzes of the type come from archeological
research at Saqqara, Egypt (now kept at the British Museum)5. They bear a letter A
on the reverse which should be interpreted as the initial for Alexander.
Smith compares the coin portrait on the Memphis issue with Alexander’s like-
ness on the so-called “Poros issues”. She rightly notes the common element – pe-
culiar headgear. Yet on the “Poros issues”, the “helmet” has a crest and feathers. As
these are missing from the Memphis issues, Smith interprets the king’s headgear
on Egyptian coins as “un casco semplice che richiama il generale vittorioso” (p. 9).
Again, let us emphasize that we are really dealing with an Iranian tiara with a dia-
dem, not a helmet. Since Alexander introduced Iranian insignia of authority in 330
BC, we should reconsider whether the Memphis bronzes were struck during his stay
in Egypt (332/331 BC), as M.J. Price and Smith suggest, or rather after 330 BC.
Following Price’s hypothesis, Smith treats the likeness on Alexander’s coins
from Naukratis also as a portrait of the king (the bronzes feature the king’s abbrevi-
ated name as AΛE, p. 9ff.). The igure’s undulating hair (the discussed Naukratis
issues show no tiara) is reminiscent of the hair of a igure on a fresco at Casa dei
Vettii in Pompeii, where the likeness is often taken to be that of Alexander-Zeus.
14
Smith makes the valid supposition that the coin portrait could have been styled
after a sculpture of Alexander Ktistes erected in Egyptian Alexandria (reported by
Ps.-Kallisthenes) and executed probably by Lysippos. Another notable igure was
discovered at Begram, Afghanistan (Caucasian Alexandria?), which is perhaps
a copy of the Alexander Ktistes sculpture of Egyptian Alexandria6.
Only briely does Smith mention an interesting iconographic element featured
on some issues from Alexander’s time – which is a symbolic tiaraed head. The au-
thor remarks in passing that the head resembles a portrait of Alexander (p. 10). This
question is worth dwelling on. Important here is a study by M. Thompson on Alex-
ander’s mints in Asia Minor (Smith does not quote that work). Among Alexander’s
coins linked with the Sardes mint are gold and silver pieces (staters, tetradrachms,
drachms) bearing on the reverse a head in an upright tiara as a symbol. In Thomp-
son’s classiication those are series VIII and X coins, dated respectively at 330–325

4
H. A. TROXELL, “Greek Accessions: Asia Minor to India”, American Numismatic Society Museum Notes 22,
1977, p. 23; EADEM, “Orontes, Satrap of Mysia”, Schweizerische Numismatische Rundschau 60, 1981, pp. 27–37.
5
M. J. PRICE, “Appendix J, ‘The Coins’”, [in:] G. T. MARTIN, The Sacred Animal Necropolis at
N. Saqqara, London 1981, pp. 162–163, nos. 173–175; IDEM, The Coinage in the Name of Alexander and Philipp
Arrhidaeus, vol. I–II, Zürich/London 1991, p. 496, no. 3960.
6
P. GOUKOWSKY, Essai sur les origines du mythe d’Alexandre, I, Nancy 1978, pp. 213–214; M. J. OLBRYCHT,
Aleksander Wielki i świat irański [Alexander the Great and the Iranian world], Rzeszów 2004, il. 1.2.A.
 ON COIN PORTRAITS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT...
.

and 324–323 BC . She assumes that the tiaraed head is a representation of Mithra
7

as “an appropriate emblem for a former Persian capital”8. Yet sources offer no hints
as to any special connection of Sardes with Mithra. Besides, depictions of Mithra in
a tiara are not known from the period of the Achaemenids and Alexander; instead it
is a much later type9. First certain representations of Mithra come from the time of
Mithradates I Kallinikos, king of Kommagene (100–70 BC)10. Mithra appears there
in an upright tiara and Iranian dress11. In a Phrygian cap, Mithra, identiied as Mith-
ras, appears regularly in Roman imperial art. Nor does it seem that the Sardes tiara
can apply to Attis, the deity worshipped in Phrygia and Lydia (western Anatolia)
who had a “Phrygian” cap as an attribute12. From the period of the Achaemenids
and Alexander we know of no depictions of Attis in Anatolia13. Depictions of At-
tis are known in their numbers from the 3rd century BC, a vast majority belonging
to the late Hellenistic and Roman periods. It seems that the irst known depiction
of Attis comes from the late 4th century BC: it is a relief from Piraeus14. A igure
from Olynthos is known, dated at the early 4th century and interpreted as a depic-
tion of Attis, but this identiication is highly implausible15. The source of the Attis
iconography as known in Greek art seems to be the general depictions of Oriental
barbarians like Trojans, Scythians and Persians16. Thus, there is no reason to link
Attis’ iconography, artiicially created in Greece, with Anatolian coins minted un-
15
der Alexander the Great.
Alexander’s Sardes coinage cannot be showing a satrap as the tiara is upright,
which would have been prohibited to an Achaemenid governor. Besides, the face is
beardless, a fact that distinguishes it from Persian-epoch depictions. The conclusion

7
M. THOMPSON, Alexander’s Drachm Mints I: Sardis and Miletus, (Numismatic Studies 16), New York
1983, series VIII, nos 44–49 (staters, tetradrachms, drachms); series X, nos 96a, 96b, 97 (staters); 98–104 (drachms).
Cf. PRICE, The Coinage..., nos. 2543, 2544, 2547; 2556–2559. PRICE (Op. cit., pp. 320–321) is inclined to date
Sardes coins issued in Alexander‘s name at a time after his death, but his argument is not convincing. Price looks
for a conirmation of his point in a long chain of stylistic relationships in various groups of coins of Philip III and
Alexander III, which is insuficient and implausible.
8
THOMPSON, Alexander’s Drachm Mints..., pp. 10–11, 16.
9
Iconography of Mithra: C. COLPE (ed.), „Altiranische und zoroastrische Mythologie“, [in:] Wörterbuch der
Mythologie, I. Abt., Bd. IV. Götter und Mythen der kaukasischen und iranischen Völker, Stuttgart 1986, pp. 398–399.
10
R. VOLLKOMMER, „Mithras“, Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae 6, 1992, pp. 583–585.
11
VOLLKOMMER, „Mithras“, il. 3–7.
12
A general summary of Attis depictions give H. HEPDING, Attis, seine Mythen und sein Kult (Religionsge-
schichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten I), Giessen 1903; E. N. LANE (ed.), Cybele, Attis and Related Cults. Essays
in Memory of M.J. Vermaseren, Religions in the Graeco-Roman World 131, Leiden-Köln 1996; M. J. VERMASE-
REN, M. DE BOER, “Attis”, Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae 3, 1986, pp. 22–44.
13
L. E., ROLLER, “Attis on Greek Votive Monuments; Greek God or Phrygian?”, Hesperia 63, 1994, p. 246.
14
VERMASEREN, DE BOER, “Attis”, pp. 22–24; ROLLER, “Attis…”, p. 246, n. 8 (mid-4th century).
15
Thus ROLLER, “Attis...”, p. 246, no. 8. On the disputed “Attis” igures from Olynthos, see also VER-
MASSEREN, DE BOER, “Attis”, nos. 247, 171, 387.
16
Cf. ROLLER, “Attis ...”, pp. 252–253.
 MAREK JAN OLBRYCHT

that suggests itself, therefore, is that the head is a representation of a tiaraed and
diademed ruler17.
The tiara18 and diadem19 being of especial importance as insignia of authority to
the Achaemenids, they deserve some attention. Diadems are well known from de-
pictions of Anatolian satraps and dynasts on coins and in sculpture20. What set apart
aristocrats’ and satraps’ headbands from regal headgear was, among other things,
the way they were tied. On coinage of Anatolian satraps, headbands appear on a ti-
ara tied in a bow in the front and back21. An added quality distinguishing aristocratic
bands or diadems from the royal diadem was color: white-blue was reserved for the
Persian Great King.
Another attribute of Persian kings was the tiara. The regal tiara was worn upright
(tiara orthe)22, as opposed to an ordinary tiara used by Iranians including satraps
and dynasts23. What is arguably a relatively faithful depiction of an upright Iranian

17
Thus correctly assumes P. DEBORD, L’Asie Mineure en IVe siécle (412–323 a. C.), Bordeaux 1999, pp.
485–486, pl. XII 5–7.
18
Iranian tiaras: H. VON GALL „Die Kopfbedeckung des persischen Ornats bei den Achämeniden“, Archäo-
logische Mitteilungen aus Iran 7, 1974, pp. 145–161; W. HINZ, „Tiara“, Realencyclopädie
lopädie der Classischen Altertu-
mswissenschaft, Suppl.-Bd. XIV, 1974, pp. 794–796;; P. CALMEYER, „Zur Genese altiranischer Motive: IV. �Persön-
16 liche Krone� und Diadem“, Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran 9, 1976, pp. 45–63; C. HARRISON, “Numismatic
Problems in the Achaemenid West: The Undue Modern Inluence on �Tissaphernes�”, [in:] V. B. GORMAN, E. W.
ROBINSON (eds.), Oikistes. Studies in Constitutions, Colonies, and Military Power in the Ancient World. Offered
in Honor of A.J. Graham (Mnemosyne, Supplement 234), Leiden/Boston/Köln 2002, pp. 301–319; M. J. OLBRY-
CHT, “Parthian King’s Tiara – Numismatic Evidence and Some Aspects of Arsacid Political Ideology”, Notae
Numismaticae – Zapiski numizmatyczne 2, 1997, pp. 27–65; IDEM, Aleksander Wielki..., pp. 285–286; W. HEN-
KELMAN, “The Royal Achaemenid Crown”, Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran 28, 1995–1996, pp. 275–293.
19
The Achaemenid diadem is described in detail by Curtius Rufus (3.3.19). For a full discussion of the prob-
lem, see H.-W. RITTER, Diadem und Königsherrschaft. Untersuchungen zur Zeremonien und Rechtsgrundlagen
des Herrschaftsantrittes bei den Persern, dem Alexander Grossen, und im Hellenismus, Vestigia. Beiträge zur alten
Geschichte, Bd. 7, XIV, München–Berlin 1965; OLBRYCHT, Aleksander Wielki..., pp. 282–286.
20
J. ZAHLE, “Persian Satraps and Lycian Dynasts. The Evidence of the Diadems”, Proceedings of the
9th International Congress of Numismatics, Bern 1979, Louvain-La-Neuve 1982, pp. 101–112; IDEM, „Herrscher-
porträts auf lykischen Münzen“, in: J. BORCHHARDT ET AL., Götter, Heroen, Herrscher in Lykien (Katalog zur
Ausstellung auf der Schallaburg 1990), Wien/München, 1990, pp. 50–56; C. M. HARRISON, Coins of the Persian
Satraps, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania 1982; EADEM, “Numismatic Problems...”; J. BODZEK,
„Uwagi na temat portretu monetarnego w Licji końca V i pierwszej połowy IV wieku p.n.e.”, [in:] J. ŚLIWA (red.),
Munus Amicitiae. Studia archeologiczne poświęcone pamięci Olgi Hirsch-Dyczek, Kraków 1994, pp. 111–134;
OLBRYCHT, “Parthian King’s Tiara...”.
21
See ZAHLE, “Persian Satraps...”. A knot in the front on a headband for the grandest Persian families is
conirmed by Polyainos (Strategemata 7.11.2). A terra-cotta head of a Persepolis aristocrat is known to have such
a band, see ZAHLE, Op. cit., ig. 19. Persian tetradrachms and smaller denominations in the “group with a royal
title” feature a diadem on a tiara with a bow in the front. See L. MILDENBERG, „Über das Münzwesen im Reich
der Achaimeniden“, Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran 26, 1993, p. 70–71.
22
Emphatically: Xen. Anab. 2.5.23. Cf. Plut. Them. 29.
23
An ordinary tiara could be called kyrbasia – Hdt. 5.49. Notably, the tiara was of Median origin: H. VON
GALL, „Die Kopfbedeckungen des medischen Ornats in achämenidischer und hellenistischer Zeit“, [in:] Akten des
XIII. Internationalen Kongresses für Klassische Archäologie (Berlin 1988), Mainz 1990, pp. 320–323. In Persepolis
court art, the rulers do not appear in such a tiara – instead they wore a cylindrical toothed crown derived from the
Persian tradition, see GALL, Ibidem. Similarly, the archer on coins, believed to represent a king, wears a luted,
toothed crown.
 ON COIN PORTRAITS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT...

tiara can be seen on Darius’s vase of Naples (ca. 330–320 BC)24. It is contested be-
cause of the inluence theatrical performances exerted on vase painting in southern
Italy. Still, the artist appears to have been well enough informed on Darius’s dress of
a Persian king25. This also applies to the tiara which, although a touch too ornate,
seems to answer the description of an Iranian tiara orthe in its general appearance.
A close analysis of sources reveals that Alexander the Great instituted major
changes in Parthia in 330 BC, altering his monarchical concept and initiating pro-
Iranian policies. From then on, he used the diadem as a royal insignia (Curt. 6.6.4;
Diod. 17.77.4; Iust. 12.3.8). His other insignia became the Iranian tiara (Arr. 4.7.4;
Itin. Alex. 64, 89; Luk. Dial. Mort. 12 (14).3=396-397). Moreover, the king took
to wearing Iranian elements of Iranian dress (Iranian sleeved chiton and kandys-
cloak)26.
Having accepted the Iranian ornamenta regia in 330 BC, including the tiara
and the diadem, Alexander apparently ordered that the new insignia be featured in
the iconography of coinage issued at some mints including Sardes. Similar mea-
sures most probably applied to some other mints, an example being Alexander’s
issues from Hierapolis-Bambyke, Syria. Their obverses bear a depiction of a spear-
wielding, tiaraed horseman. The name Alexander, in Aramaic, identiies the issuer27.
An upright tiara is clearly visible. Depictions of spear-armed horsemen (in a soft,
17
lat tiara as headgear) in gallop are conirmed on coins28 and relics of art from the
Achaemenid period29. Thus coins of Sardes, Egypt, and Hierapolis-Bambyke show

24
Darius’s vase: A. D. TRENDALL, A. CAMBITOGLOU, The Red-Figured Vases of Apulia, vol. II, Late
Apulian, Oxford 1982, p. 495, no. 38, Taf. 176.1; T. HÖLSCHER, Griechische Historienbilder des 5. und 4. Jhs.
v. Chr., Beiträge zur Archäologie 6, Würzburg 1973, pp. 177–178; M. CH. VILLANUEVA-PUIG, « Le Vase des
Perses. Naples 3253 (inv. 81947) », Revue des études anciennes 111, 1989, pp. 277–298.
25
So rightly emphasized by S. BITTNER, Tracht und Bewaffnung des persischen Heeres zur Zeit der
Achaimeniden (2. Aulage), München 1987, in his description of Picture 10: „Wenn es sich bei dieser Abb. um die
Wiedergabe einer Theatertracht handelt, so waren die griechischen Schauspieler wohl sehr genau über das Ausseh-
en des Großkönigs informiert“. A detailed analysis of the vase’s iconography is made by VILLANUEVAPUIG,
« Le Vase des Perses... », p. 277, who says that „the inluence of the theatre seems less important than it has been
proposed before, and the impact of the contemporary campaigns of Alexander against Darius III is to be considered
of greater importance”.
26
Alexander’s pro-Iranian reforms in 330 in eastern Iran are analyzed by OLBRYCHT, Aleksander Wielki..., pp.
286–293. For the Iranian diadem as Alexander’s attribute, cf. studies by RITTER, Diadem und Königsherrschaft...,
and IDEM, Die Bedeutung des Diadems, Historia 36, 1987, pp. 290–301.
27
H. SEYRIG, « Monnaies hellenistiques. XIX. Le monnayage de Hierapolis de Syrie a l’epoque d’Alexandre »,
Revue Numismatique 13, 1971, 11–21, nr 8–13; PRICE, The Coinage..., p. 401, pl. CLVIII N-O; DEBORD, L’Asie Mi-
neure..., p. 487. Price also points to differences in “style and fabric”of local and “imperial” issues of Alexander in Hier-
apolis which, in his opinion, rules out a possibility of its proximate dating. Yet both groups feature an M monogram. The
coins were dated at Alexander’s time by H. Seyrig and despite M.J. Price’s doubts such classiication seems justiied.
28
Cf. MILDENBERG, „Über das Münzwesen...“, p. 72, Taf. 13.116–123; K. KONUK, « Inl Inluences
uences et élé-
ments achéménides dans le monnayage de la Carie », [in:] O. CASABONNE (ed.), Mécanismes et innovations
monétaires dans l’Anatolie achéménide, numismatique et histoire. Actes de la table ronde internationale d’Istanbul
22–23 mai 1997, Varia Anatolica XII, Istanbul 2000, pl. XXX 8–22; J. BODZEK, „Zwycięski kawalerzysta z Sa-
marii”, Wiadomości Numizmatyczne 43, z. 1–2 (167–168), 1999, pp. 21–30 (with ample biblioghraphy).
29
Such as horsemen on Anatolian gems: J. BOARDMAN, Greek Gems and Finger Rings, London 1970, pp.
881–883, 888–889, 904–905, 925–929.
 MAREK JAN OLBRYCHT

Alexander as king wearing an Iranian tiara. The nature of Alexander’s Memphis is-
sues, as discussed by Smith, can be made easier to understand in a broader perspec-
tive considering materials from the king’s other mints. It is also necessary – owing
to the use of the Iranian tiara – to note the place of Iranian traditions in Alexander’s
monarchical ideology.
It is notable that the discussed depictions on Alexander’s issues show a beard-
less face. This is a marked difference from the Persian epoch30. Assuming that Al-
exander’s mints adopted the motif of a tiaraed satrap’s head as previously known
in many coin-issuing centers in the Achaemenid period, it would have had to be
a bearded portrait. The customary shaving of the beard was introduced in the Mace-
donian court by Alexander III31. In this way he started a style that would dominate
the Hellenistic epoch.
In the next chapter of her book, Smith analyzes the iconography of Alexander’s
famous decadrachms (pp. 15–18)32. She largely draws from the indings of her pre-
decessors, especially M.J. Price. The monogrammatic letters on the reverse – a com-
bined A and B – may stand for basileos Alexandrou, which unambiguously identi-
ies the issuer. Owing to their clear reference to war in India (a battle scene between
a mounted horseman identiied as Alexander with a war elephant), decadrachms are
seen as commemorating Alexander’s victory over Poros. They were probably struck
18
shortly after the Indian campaign33. Their denomination in itself is characteristic
for commemorative issues and suggests the initiative coming from the king rather
than from local satraps, as some think. Where the pieces were struck is the subject
of some debate. Not impossibly, it was Susa, where a new mint was opened perhaps
even late in Alexander’s reign34. But Babylon is also a possibility.

30
V. ALONSO TRONCOSO, “The Bearded King and the Beardless Hero: From Philip II to Alexander the
Great”, (in:) E. CARNEY, D. OGDEN (eds.), Philip II and Alexander the Great: Father and Son, Lives and After-
lives, New York/Oxford 2010, pp. 13–24.
31
Athen. 13.565a.
32
Cf. M. J. PRICE, “The Porus Coinage of Alexander the Great. A Symbol of Concord and Community”, [in:]
Studia Paulo Naster oblata I: Numismatica Antiqua, Louvain 1982, pp. 75–88; P. BERNARD, « Le monnayage
d’Eudamos, satrape grec du Pandjab et “maître des éléphant” » [in:] GH. GNOLI, L. LANCIOTTI (eds.), Orien-
talia Iosephi Tucci memoriae dedicata, ISMEO, Serie Orientale Roma, 56.1, Roma 1985, pp. 65–94, and recently
F. L. HOLT, Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions, Berkeley 2003; OLBRYCHT, Alek-
sander Wielki..., pp. 296–307; IDEM, “On Some Coins of Alexander the Great (336–323 BC) and his pro-Iranian
policy”, Payam-e Bastanshenas. Journal of Archaeology of the Islamic Azad Univesrsity of Abhar (Iran), Vol. 4,
No. 8, Autumn 2007 – Winter 2008, pp. 19–24; K. DAHMEN, The Legend of Alexander the Great on Greek and
Roman Coins, London/New York 2007, p. 6–9, 109–110.
33
So O. MØRKHOLM, Early Hellenistic Coinage: From the Accession of Alexander to the Peace of Apamea
(336–188 B.C.), Cambridge 1991, p. 53. BERNARD, « Le monnayage d’Eudamos... », believes that the coins were
issued at Susa under Eumenes, which is not convincing.
34
MØRKHOLM, Early Hellenistic Coinage..., p. 53. It is the most probable location, nonetheless hypotheti-
cal. A Greek  on the obverse is perhaps the initial of the name of the Macedonian commander (phrourarchos) at
Susa, Xenophilos (Curt. 5.2.16).
 ON COIN PORTRAITS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT...

Smith notes Alexander’s headgear on his decadrachms (p. 16)35. It is this item
that arouses much controversy involving many authors. It seems that the igure
on decadrachms has the sides of his face protected by long, drooping elements36
which were part of the Iranian tiara. These side pieces could be tied together to form
a large protection for the cheeks and chin37. The bell-shaped part of the headgear
worn by the decadrachm igure resembles an upright Iranian tiara. In sum, Alexan-
der’s headdress in the decadrachms seems to be a combination of an upright Iranian
tiara with elements of a Macedonian helmet, i.e. tall plumage and possibly a crest.
This combination could have been a conscious device. To the Macedonians, Alex-
ander’s headgear looked like a battle helmet, while to the Iranians it was an upright
royal tiara. It seems that the twin signiicance in the decadrachm iconography re-
lects an intentional move: monetary depictions were aimed at Macedonians and
Iranians alike38. Alexander’s composite headdress in decadrachms was imitated by
a Lagid ruler, identiied as Ptolemaios IX or X, as is proved by a seal impression
known from the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto: visible is a diadem and headdress
resembling a Phrygian helmet or a tall tiara with plumage and two feathers39. It is
possible that the representation was based on a sculpture from Alexander’s time.
In Alexander’s complementary igure Smith recognizes “una igura maschile
barbata e alata in volo” (p. 16). It is an apt observation. P. Calmeyer (not quoted by
19
Smith) sees here a bearded personiication of the Iranian “royal glory”, or farnah40.
A rendition of “royal glory” personiied on Alexander’s decadrachms sent a power-
ful message to the Iranians.
Smith sees the “Poros issues” as “un importante elemento della politica di ‘fu-
sione’ introdotta da Alessandro, che è alla base dell’organizzazione dell’impero ori-
entale” (p. 16). This statement is too general. The message of the “Poros issue” is
often understood as Alexander’s recognition of the role played by Indians as formi-
dable enemies41. This does not seem correct, therefore a brief characteristic of Alex-
ander’s empire is in order, for coin iconography closely followed the monarchical

35
The mounted ighting igure on the obverse of the piece is probably wearing similar headdress as the ruler
on the reverse.
36
See PRICE, “The Porus Coinage...”, pl. IX 1.
37
Already E. NEUFFER, Das Kostüm Alexanders des Großen, Diss. Gießen 1929, p. 29, recognized a neck
guard and cheek pieces in Alexander’s headgear as elements of the Persian tiara. Side laps are mentioned by Aisch.
Pers. 661f.
38
OLBRYCHT, Aleksander Wielki..., pp. 301–302.
39
D. SVENSON, Darstellungen hellenistischer Könige mit Götterattributen, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, New
York, Paris, Wien 1995, cat.-no. 21, ill. 6.
40
P. CALMEYER, „Fortuna – Tyche – Khvarnah“, Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 94,
1979, pp. 348–349. An original is identiied on coins of Tiribazos issued at Issos in the irst half of the 4th century – it
depicts a igure on a winged sun disc holding a wreath in hand (CALMEYER, Op. cit., pp. 352–353).
41
Price says: “The part played by the Indian forces in the Greek army is thus fully recognized” (PRICE, “The
Porus Coinage...”, pp. 82–83).
 MAREK JAN OLBRYCHT

concept pursued by the ruler. In the light of Alexander’s policies in 330–323 BC, the
empire’s elite was to be made up of Macedonians and Iranians. To Alexander, vic-
tory over Poros in India was no more than an example of Macedonians and Iranians
cooperating (after a dificult period of Macedonian-Iranian strife in Central Asia in
329–327), which produced excellent results in the battle against Poros’ army on the
Hydaspes river in 32642. Hence it would seem that the decadrachm iconography was
consciously targeted at Macedonians and Iranians as victorious allies. That explains
why Alexander appears in Macedonian-Iranian headdress. Records leave little doubt
that the role of Indians ighting alongside Alexander in the Indus valley campaign
was marginal. A majority of his 120-thousand strong army were Iranians43.
Besides the decadrachms, there are other issues by Alexander that clearly contain
Iranian elements in their iconography. A Babylon hoard revealed tetradrachms with
the same monogram and letter as in Alexander’s decadrachms discussed above44.
The obverse features a soldier shooting a large bow, the reverse an elephant. Some
tetradrachms show an archer in a quadriga, and on the reverse an elephant with two
people45. The elephant theme indicates a commemoration of Alexander‘s success
in India. Motifs of archer in chariot in Alexander’s tetradrachms are often thought
to refer to Indian warfare46. Indeed, the Indians were noted for their archers47, but
those were not such a carrying and evocative symbol of India as, say, war elephants.
20
Rather, the archer must represent Alexander and his army. Among the Macedonians
themselves, archers were a small minority, and it was not at them that this iconog-
raphy was directed. But the archer igure meant much to the Iranians. With them,
archery was a particularly valued ability48. Alexander’s army on the Hydaspes in-
cluded foot archers49. It is highly probable that their core was made up of Iranians50.
It seems almost certain that at Alexander’s side in India there was a guard of royal
archers, fashioned after an Achaemenid formation51. The Persians and other Iranian
peoples used longbows of the type seen on the coins in question52. It seems that it
was the issuer’s intent to refer to Iranian traditions to emphasize the Iranian contri-

42
For details, see: OLBRYCHT, Aleksander Wielki..., pp. 158–160; IDEM, The Battle at the Hydaspes river
(forthcoming).
43
OLBRYCHT, Aleksander Wielki..., pp. 153–155.
44
PRICE, “The Porus Coinage...”, pp. 77–78.
45
Illustrations are given by MØRKHOLM, Early Hellenistic Coinage..., Pl. III, nos. 44–46.
46
HOLT, Alexander the Great...; for the Indian archer, see: PRICE, “The Porus Coinage...”, p. 81.
47
Curt. 8.14.19; Arr. An. 6.10.1; Arr. Ind. 8.16.6.
48
OLBRYCHT, Aleksander Wielki..., pp. 81–82.
49
Arr. 5.12.2.
50
Cf. F. ALTHEIM, Weltgeschichte Asiens im griechischen Zeitalter, Bd. I–II, Halle (Saale) 1947–1948, p. 185.
51
Such guard is conirmed in Susa in 324, cf. Phylarchos, FGrHist 81 F 41 (apud Athen. 12.539 D–F).
52
OLBRYCHT, Aleksander Wielki..., p. 81.
 ON COIN PORTRAITS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT...

bution to the Indian campaign. An archer in a chariot, known from some of Alexan-
der’s coinage, is also an allusion to Iranian tradition. In the Iran of the Achaemenid
period, war chariots were often used on the battleield and as iconographic element
– Great Kings, too, were depicted in chariots53. It should be remembered that the ar-
cher theme dominated on Achaemenid coinage and was frequent in art54. Alexander
eagerly practiced archery and drove a chariot: those abilities were certainly associ-
ated with the Great King and Iranian traditions55.
All in all, it seems that decadrachms and tetradrachms with elephant and stand-
ing archer and with elephant and archer in chariot are special issues struck in 324
–323 BC at Alexander’s orders upon his return from India. It should be assumed that
those issues were meant for the Macedonians and Iranians. Opinions voiced to the
effect that Iranian elements of dress and insignia do not make a presence in oficial
portraits of Alexander is unjustiied in the light of numismatic material56. Moreover,
it should be borne in mind that Alexander himself continued Achaemenid coin is-
sues. Thus produced were double dareikoi (perhaps in Anatolia and almost cer-
tainly in Babylon), known from the Oxos hoard, and ordinary dareikoi. They feature
a royal archer in a “Knielauf” posture57.
A gold double daric featuring Alexander with elephant scalp and Ammon’s
horn has been published by Bopearachchi58. The reverse shows a strolling elephant.
21
The monograms AB and X seems to link the coin to the well known “Poros” coins.
The specimen is said to have been found in Afghanistan (Mihr Zakah hoard). Some
scholars think this is a fake59, other claim its authenticity60. This question will be
treated at length in another study.
The next chapter in Smith’s book analyzes depictions of Herakles on Alexan-
der‘s tetradrachms. The authoress tries to demonstrate that in numerous royal issues,
Herakles’ face is really a portrait of Alexander (pp. 19–44). Much has been written

53
A full review of chariots in Iran is given by A. K. NEFËDKIN, Boevye kolesnitsy i kolesnichie drevnikh
grekov (XVI–I vv. do n.e.), Sankt-Peterburg 2001, pp. 268–342.
54
Details are discussed by OLBRYCHT, Aleksander Wielki..., pp. 305–306. Cf. BOARDMAN, Greek
Gems..., no. 887; KONUK, « Inluences et éléments achéménides... », pp. 175–177, pl. XXX 2–4.
55
For Alexander’s exercise in archery and chariot driving, see: Plut. De fort. 2.6; Alex. 23.1–3. For the
Achaemenid chariot, see: P. BRIANT, Histoire de l’Empire Perse de Cyrus à Alexandre, Paris 1996, pp. 226–228,
236–237, 339–342.
56
The opinion of absent Iranian elements in Alexander’s portraits was expressed by E. H. CHODZA,
« Muzhskaia terrakotovaiia golova iz sobraniia Ermitazha i obraz Aleksandra Makedonskogo v ellinisticheskom
iskusstve », Vestnik Drevnei Istorii 2003, p. 52, n. 52 (a highly valuable work in its own right).
57
MØRKHOLM, Early Hellenistic Coinage..., p. 48, nos. 28–29; PRICE, The Coinage..., p. 452.
58
P. Bopearachchi, o./Flandrin, Le Portrait d’Alexandre le Grand. Histoire d’une découverte pour l’huma-
nité, Monaco 2000
59
DAHMEN, The Legend of Alexander…, p. 9.
60
F. Holt cited by A. Stewart, in his review of C. ARNOLD-BIUCCHI, Alexander's Coins and Alexan-
der's Image. Cambridge, 2006, p. 84 [in:] Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2007.08.58 (http://bmcr.brynmawr.
edu/2007/2007-08-58.html).
 MAREK JAN OLBRYCHT

on Alexander’s links with the Herakles myth and there is no need to repeat those
indings61. Kings of Macedonia held themselves to be descendants of Herakles and
the hero’s head with a lion scalp appears on Macedonian coins in the 5th century
BC62. We know of many ventures by Alexander III aimed to equal or surpass Her-
akles’ accomplishments. It is interesting to mention that the son of Alexander and
his concubine Barsine was named Herakles (Iust. 11.10.2-4) and that Alexander
sometimes used lion’s skin as part of his attire (Athen. 12.537.e-f).
The chapter under discussion focuses on a comparison of monetary iconogra-
phy with sculpted relics. Here Smith treats her material, trying to single out simi-
larities between Alexander’s portraits known from sculpture and depictions of Her-
akles on coinage issued in the name of Alexander. In her iconographic discussion,
Smith owes much to earlier indings by E. Sjöqvist, who believed the marble head of
a youthful “Herakles” wearing a lion scalp discovered at Sparta (now at the Bos-
ton Museum of Fine Arts) to be a copy of the bronze sculpture of Alexander by
Lysippus (Tav. 6–7). Also another head from the Archeological Museum in Athens
was assumed by Sjöqvist to be a copy of Alexander’s portrait with the lion skin
(Tav. 9)63. These indings were accepted by the Italian archeologist P. Moreno, who
recognized those sculptures as Alexander’s portraits. He, too, identiied the bronze
igure of Alexander “Aniketos” discovered at Ambelokipi and preserved in the Ath-
22
ens Archeological Museum (Tav. 8). The same scholar also considers a miniature
silver head with a lion scalp from Vergina (from the so-called tomb II) as a por-
trait of Alexander64. Smith rightly accepts those conclusions, adding to the catalog of
Alexander-as-Herakles likenesses a head from Ilissos kept at the Acropolis Museum
(Tav. 10). Based on this repertory of sculpted portraits, Smith makes a comparison
with Herakles’ depictions on Alexander’s tetradrachms. And so the face of Herakles
from Aigai coins (Fig. 10–12), dated by M.J. Price at 336–323, has features closely
resembling the face of Alexander-Herakles from Boston and the face of Alexander

61
Cf. A. R. ANDERSON, “Heracles and His Successors: A Study of a Heroic Ideal and the Recurrence of
a Heroic Type”, Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 39, 1928, pp. 7–58; L. MORAWIECKI, “Heracles as
a Symbol of Alexander the Great’s Persian war”, Folia Orientalia 24, 1987, pp. 51–62; P. ILIADOU, Herakles in
Makedonien, Antiquitates – Schriftenreihe Archäologische Forschungsergebnisse 16, Hamburg 1998, DAHMEN,
The Legend of Alexander…, p. 39–42.
62
M. J. OLBRYCHT, „Aspekty propagandy politycznej i portrety monetarne Aleksandra Wielkiego” [As-
pects of Alexander the Great’s political propaganda and his monetary portraits], [in:] P. BERDOWSKI, B. BLA-
HACZEK (eds.), Haec mihi in ani mis vestris templa. Studia Classica in Memory of Professor L. Morawiecki,
Rzeszów 2007, pp. 77–95. On the links between Macedonian kings and Herakles, see Hdt. 8.138; Thuk. 2.99;
E. BORZA, In the Shadow of Olympus. The Emergence of Macedon, Princeton 1990, pp. 80–84.
63
E. SJÖQVIST, “Alexander-Heracles: a Preliminary Note”, Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts 51, 1953,
pp. 30–33.
64
P. MORENO, “L’immagine di Alessandro Magno nell’ opera di Lisippo e di altri artisti contemporanei”,
[in:] J. CARLSEN ET AL. (eds.), Alexander the Great. Reality and Myth, Analecta Romana Instituti Danici, Suppl.
20, Roma 1993, pp. 101–136.
 ON COIN PORTRAITS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT...

Aniketos from the Athens Museum. The same applies to Memphis tetradrachms (pp.
37–38). By the same token, these issues bear renditions of Alexander the Great65.
It is often assumed that the depiction of Alexander on so-called Alexander’s
Sarcophagus is a borrowing from head-of-Herakles coins66. In the light of the above,
however, it is safer to assume that a work of the excellence of the Sarcophagus is
more likely to have been styled after a sculpture or a painting rather than a miniature
likeness on coin.
In recent years, new depictions of Alexander have appeared showing a lion’s
scalp. A fragment of an ivory relief (a part of a machaira sword sheath overlay)
was unearthed at a temple in Tacht-i Sangin on the Oxos, Tajikistan, showing Alex-
ander wearing a lion skin helmet. The relief can be interpreted as a portrait of the
king67. The same location yielded another ind, an ivory plaque that originally be-
decked a sword sheath. The scene shows a victorious horseman at a gallop attacking
a foot soldier. Its discoverers interpret the horseman’s igure as that of Alexander
and recognize on his head a lion scalp helmet. Unfortunately poorly preserved, the
relief is dated at the last quarter of the 4th century68. Such inds demonstrate depic-
tions of Alexander with Herakles’ attributes spread even in Iranian Bactria, on the
eastern frontier of his former empire.
Smith follows L. Morawiecki69 in believing that the choice of Herakles on Alex-
23
ander‘s coinage stemmed from his pan-Hellenic propaganda and war plans against
Persia (p. 21). This observation is doubtless correct for the propaganda content of
the irst tetradrachm issues70. Yet with the passage of time, the message conveyed

65
J. J. POLLITT, Art. In the Hellenistic Age, Cambridge 1986, p. 26 and Fig. 13a, notes the existence of
Alexander’s portrait on coins issued in Alexandria. He mentions “the bulging forehead, the narrow mouth with
almost pouting lips, even something of the aspiring gaze” as the king’s portrait features. Contrary to F. Smith’s
claim (p. 38), M.J. Price (PRICE, The Coinage..., pp. 33–34) did not recognize the portrait of Alexander-Herakles
on Memphis coins of 332–323. He believes the only portrait likenesses of Alexander to be depictions on Memphis
bronzes and on dekadrachms. An attractive hypothesis was put forward by J.J. Pollitt, who suggested that the en-
graver Pyrgoteles could have been responsible for Alexander’s portraits on coins, see POLLITT, Art. In the Helle-
nistic Age, pp. 23–26. His circle may have been involved with the so-called Neisos Gem from the Hermitage where
Alexander is shown with attributes of Zeus: POLLITT, Art. In the Hellenistic Age, Fig. 10.
66
Recently so: W. MESSERSCHMIDT, „Historische und ikonographische Untersuchungen zum Alexan-
dersarkophag“, Boreas 12, 1989, p. 82.
67
I. R. PICHIKYAN, « Aleksandr-Gerakl. Greko-baktriiskii portret velikogo polkovodtsa », Sovetska Arkhe-
ologiia 1, 1983, pp. 80–90; B. A. LITVINSKIY, I. R. PICHIKYAN, “Monuments of Art from the Sanctuary of Oxus
(North Bactria)”, Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 28, 1983, ig. 9; I. R. PICHIKYAN, Kul�tura
Baktrii. Akhemenidskii i èllinisticheskii periody, Moskva 1991, il. 32, commentary on pp. 183–189; B. A. LITVIN-
SKIY, I. R. PICHIKYAN, “The Hellenistic Architecture and Art of the Temple of the Oxus”, Bulletin of the Asia
Institute 10, 1996, p. 60. According to its discoverers, the sculpture comes from the 3rd century BC.
68
B. A. LITVINSKIY, I. R. PICHIKYAN,, « Aleksandr Makedonskiy srazhaet Persov », Atti della Acca-
demia Nazionale dei Lincei, Anno CCCIV. Classe di Scienze Morali, Storiche e Filologiche. Rendiconti, serie IX,
volume VIII, Fascicolo I, Roma 1997, drawing 2, pp. 7–9. The scene bears close compositional similarity to the
painting on Kinch’s tomb discussed by OLBRYCHT, Aleksander Wielki..., pp. 322–323.
69
MORAWIECKI, “Heracles...”, pp. 54–58.
70
As we know, its is debatable when Alexander began striking his own coin: whether ca. 336–335, or 332–
331. Smith deals with problem briely (p. 32).
 MAREK JAN OLBRYCHT

by Alexander’s tetradrachm iconography changes and this question deserves a few

remarks. Insofar as Herakles could be linked with the origins of the Argead family,
but also with their pan-Hellenic propaganda, this theme must have been perceived
differently in Asia. For example in Phoinikia, Herakles was identiied with Melkart.
In Lykia, coins were struck showing a bearded hero in animal skin headgear as early
as the mid-ifth century71. Much seems to indicate that Herakles with a lion’s skin
(and also a club) conveyed something to the Iranians. There are strong similarities
between Iran’s greatest epic hero Rostam and Herakles72. Sufice it to mention their
favorite weapon, the club. Like Herakles, Rostam used a lion’s skin as a garment,
although more often it was leopard’s or tiger’s73. Herakles’ iconography, widespread
in the Iranian world from the Hellenistic period (much earlier in Asia Minor), may
have inluenced the way Rostam was described. In Iranian epic, rulers and heroes
fought with lions to prove their strength and courage74. In the Seleucid and Parhian
period, Iranian lands produced depictions styled after those of Herakles but often
understood rather as his Iranian counterparts – Verethragna and Tir. At Bisutun,
Media, in the heart of Iran, a rock relief dated at 148/7 BC shows a reclining Her-
akles75. In 1st-century BC Kommagene, Herakles was identiied with Artagnes, or
Verethragna76. The late Arsacid period (2nd century AD) yielded reliefs combining
Herakles imagery with Iranian elements like Herakles strangling a lion at Masjid-i
24
Solaiman and Herakles reclining at Bard-i Nishandeh77. Central Asia, especially
Bactria, knows many representations of Herakles from the Hellenistic period (e.g.
a 3rd-century bronze igure of Ai Khanom, depictions on coinage of Demetrios of
Bactria, and others), as well as the Kushan period (1st–3rd century AD: statue of Her-
akles from Dilberdzhin, coins of Huvishka)78. It is thus quite clear that in the whole
Iranian world, from Media to Bactria, as in the Levant and Asia Minor, in the period
following Alexander’s conquests, the Herakles motif was recognized and popular
not only in Macedonian-Greek environment, but also in local circles. It seems that
Alexander made conscious efforts for coin iconography, including the Herakles-
with-lion’s-skin motif, to convey a message to the Asians, and among them espe-

71
BODZEK, „Uwagi na temat portretu ...”, p. 125.
72
An excellent study on the problem is given by A. S. MELIKIAN-CHIRVANI, “Rostam and Herakles,
a Family Resemblance”, Bulletin of the Asia Institute 12, 1998, pp. 171–199.
73
MELIKIAN-CHIRVANI, “Rostam and Herakles...”, p. 174.
74
MELIKIAN-CHIRVANI, “Rostam and Herakles...”, p 180.
75
M. J. OLBRYCHT, „Seleucydzi i kultura ich epoki” [The Seleukids and the culture of their epoch], [in:]
J. WOLSKI, Dzieje i upadek imperium Seleucydów, Kraków 1999, pp. 135–208, Fig. 40.
76
M. A. R. COLLEDGE, “The Parthian Period”, Iconography of Religions XIV 3, Leiden 1986, pp. 14–15.
77
COLLEDGE, “The Parthian Period”, pl. IXa-b.
78
G. A. PUGANCHENKOVA, Iz khudozhestvennoi sokrovishchnitsy Srednego Vostoka, Tashkent 1987, pp.
66–78; OLBRYCHT, „Seleucydzi i kultura ich epoki”, Fig. 38 (Herakles from Ai Khanom), Fig. 39 (Herakles on
sword hilt from Takht-e Sangin).
 ON COIN PORTRAITS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT...

cially to the Iranians. Herakles iconography was in tune with eastern beliefs – “the
Alexander as Herakles image was probably valued for its adaptability as a royal im-
age among the king’s eastern subjects”79.
It seems that at some point in his reign, Alexander had coins issued in which
Herakles’ face was indeed incorporated in the king’s portrait. This might betray an
attempt at his deiication. Thus the Herakles coin iconography and its corollary pro-
paganda content is divided into two stages. The irst had Herakles as a prototype of
Alexander and a bearer of a pan-Hellenic message. The second was the time when
Alexander had become Herakles, the living son of Zeus or Amon80.
While under Philip II the basic repertory of coin iconography included the head
of Herakles and of Zeus, a new element was added under Alexander: Zeus seated on
a throne and holding an eagle. It is no accident that coin iconography changed on Alex-
ander’s coinage compared to that of his father’s issues. The igure of Zeus enthroned is
a modiication of Baaltarz, a motif known well enough from the Achaemenid mint at
Tarsus in the 4th century. The similarity is seen in the posture of the seated igure and in
the depiction of the throne which faithfully imitates the Achaemenid prototype81. The
igure of Zeus, too, was perceived by the Asians as their local deities: in the Levant
and Babylonia, it was true especially of Baal82. For the Iranians, the associations tend-
ed to be with Ahuramazda. In Kommagene (1st century BC) there is a relief depicting
25
Zeus-Oromazdes/Ahuramazda – a clear example of cross-identiication83.
Compact in size, Smith’s work analyzes a major aspect of coinage under Alex-
ander which is also controversial. The authordemonstrates that before 323 there
were monetary portraits of Alexander shown with the attributes of Herakles and
with the insignia of the Achaemenids (tiara). It is an important conclusion that coins
of the Diadochs showing a deiied Alexander replicate the iconography of a portrait
known from the king’s coinage. If no monetary portrait of his had existed under
Alexander, how could this similarity be accounted for? Smith concentrates on simi-
larities between the king’s sculpted portraits with his monetary depictions. This is
a valid perspective, but in a comprehensive treatment of the problem, it is necessary
to scrutinize more closely questions involved in the role played by monetary issues

79
POLLITT, Art. In the Hellenistic Age, p. 26. Similarly MØRKHOLM, Early Hellenistic Coinage...,
p. 42. O. H. ZERVOS, “Near Eastern elements in the tetradrachms of Alexander the Great: the eastern mints”, [in:]
O. MØRKHOLM, N. M. WAGGONER (eds.), Essays in Honor of M. Thompson, Wetteren 1979, pp. 295–297,
notes oriental inluence in Heracles’ head styling.
80
Such division is rightly advanced by POLLITT, Art. In the Hellenistic Age, 25–26.
81
ZERVOS, “Near Eastern elements...”, pp 295–297.
82
A stater series and lesser denominations struck in Babylon under Alexander bear on the obverse a depic-
tion of seated Baal (his name is given in an Aramaic inscription); on the reverse, a lion and the name Mazaios in
Aramaic, see: MILDENBERG, „Über das Münzwesen...“, Taf. 11.99.
83
COLLEDGE, “The Parthian Period”, 14.
 MAREK JAN OLBRYCHT

with the king’s portraits in propaganda and in the concept of his rule. Smith brushes
these problems marginally, which is understandable given her choice of subject mat-
ter. These limitations, however, cause some interpretive dificulties, such as those
involving identiication of the Iranian tiara. Analyzing Alexander’s royal ideology,
one concludes that the ruler intentionally carried on as a monarch building his new
empire, reaching out in many ields not only to Macedonian and Greek traditions but
also – on an imperial level, not just locally – to the Iranian heritage (as by repeatedly
using in coinage images of their insignia: the diadem and tiara)84.
It is worth noting that on his coinage, including on the pieces with the tiara,
Alexander usually precisely identiied himself as the issuer. The portrait, too, was
meant positively to identify the ruler. Still, most scholars maintain that Alexander
never put his own portrait on his coins85.
To complement Smith’s work, it might be added that by introducing his portrait on coins,
Alexander drew from a irmly rooted tradition of the Achaemenid epoch in Asia Minor, when
issues of satraps and dynasts featured likenesses of the issuers86. In the (European mainland)
Greek and Macedonian world, a monetary portrait did not exist before Alexander. Its introduc-
tion in Alexander’s local and imperial issues was among his many innovations designed to help
build a new power. Such innovations and other achievements of Alexander made a great impact
on royal coinage and iconography and on the way monarchical ideology was expressed in the
26
Hellenistic epoch87.

Contact the Author at: olbrycht@hotmail.com

Translated by Tadeusz Stanek

84
In Alexander’s policy in Asia, two spheres should be discerned: local and imperial. In respective countries
Alexander referred to local traditions; such was the case in Lydia, Egypt, and Babylonia. Yet such traditions did
not apply in the imperial sphere. To build an empire, Alexander fell back mainly on the Achaemenid model, Iranian
traditions, and an elite composed mostly of Macedonians and Iranians.
85
ARNOLD-BIUCCHI, Alexander's Coins…, p. 33; A. STEWART, Faces of Power. Alexander’s Image and
Hellenistic Politics, Berkeley 1993, passim.
86
See: BODZEK, „Uwagi na temat portretu...”; IDEM, „Pharnabazos in Kyzikos. Der Seesieg in Kunst und
Numismatik zu Beginn des 4. Jhs. v. Chr.“, [in:] XII. Internationaler Numismatischer Kongress Berlin 1997. Akten
– Proceedings – Actes Vol. I, Berlin 2000, pp. 170–178. Also cf. W. SCHWABACHER, “Lycian Coin Portraits”,
[in:] C. M. KRAAY, G. K. JENKINS (eds.), Essays in Greek Coinage presented to E.S.G. Robinson, Oxford 1968,
111–124; ZAHLE, “Persian Satraps...”; IDEM, „Herrscherporträts auf lykischen Münzen“; W. WEISER, „Die Eu-
len von Kyros dem Jüngeren. Zu den ersten Münzporträts lebender Menschen“, Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und
Epigraphik 76, 1989, pp. 267–296.
87
C. BOHM, Imitatio Alexandri im Hellenismus, München 1989; B. VIRGILIO, Lancia, diadema e porpora.
Il re e la regalità ellenistica. Seconda edizione, Pisa 2003; M. J. OLBRYCHT, “The Seleukids and the Arsakids:
propaganda aspects in the rivalry for supremacy in the �Hellenistic Near East�”, [in:] L. MORAWIECKI, P. BER-
DOWSKI (eds.), Ideology and Propaganda in Antiquity. Materials of a Conference organized by the Ancient His-
tory Committee of the Polish Historical Association, Rzeszów, September 12–14, 2000, Rzeszów, 2004, pp. 45–68
(in Polish, German summary).
 O PORTRETACH MONETARNYCH ALEKSANDRA WIELKIEGO

STRESZCZENIE

O portretach monetarnych Aleksandra Wielkiego

Uwagi na marginesie książki:
F. Smith, L’immagine di Alessandro il Grande sulle monete del regno (336–323)

Artykuł stanowi nie tylko recenzję pracy włoskiej badaczki Federiki Smith
o monetach Aleksandra Wielkiego, ale też analizę istotnych aspektów ikonograii
monetarnej tego króla. Aleksander Wielki wielokrotnie odwoływał się do propa-
gandy monetarnej, stosując ją jako narzędzie realizowanej w Macedonii i potem
w Azji i Egipcie polityki, polegającej na budowaniu imperium kosztem pokonanych
Achemenidów.
Aleksander szczególnie czcił Heraklesa i Zeusa, co w czasie jego panowania
zostało wielokrotnie poświadczone. Zeus i Herakles mieli swoje lokalne odpowied-
niki na podbijanych terenach Azji i w Egipcie i nie wydaje się kwestią przypadku,
że stali się głównymi postaciami na monetach zaliczanych do podstawowych emisji
Aleksandra produkowanych w mennicach położonych we wschodniej części ba- 27

senu Morza Śródziemnego. Zdobycie panowania nad obcymi ludami Azji miało
swoje konsekwencje w sferze propagandy monetarnej Aleksandra, gdyż zdobyw-
ca nie mógł ignorować lokalnych tradycji orientalnych (szczególnie ważne w tym
względzie są wizerunki epoki achemenidzkiej na monetach Karii, Likii i Tarsu).
Podobizny Aleksandra, stylizowanego na Heraklesa występują na monetach wybi-
janych za życia króla. Ale monarcha kazał się też przedstawiać i w innej stylizacji,
m.in. z atrybutami Zeusa („indyjskie” dekadrachmy) czy w perskiej tiarze (monety
z Memis). Aleksander występował jako władca budujący nowe imperium i sięgają-
cy w wielu sferach nie tylko do tradycji macedońskich i greckich, ale też do tradycji
lokalnych w Azji i Egipcie. Innowacje i osiągnięcia Aleksandra wywarły ogromny
wpływ na charakter mennictwa i ikonograii królewskiej oraz sposób wyrażania
ideologii monarchicznej w epoce hellenistycznej.
 PLATE 1

Fig. 1. Relief depicting Alexander the Great. Alexander Sarcophagus, Istanbul Museum (picture by MJO)
Fig. 2. Head of Alexander the Great from Pergamon. Istanbul Museum (picture by MJO)

1
28

2
PLATE 2

Fig. 1. Tetradrachm issued in the name of Alexander the Great. Mint Amphipolis, end of the 4th – beginning
of the 3rd c. BC. (picture by courtesy of The National Museum in Krakow)
Fig. 2. Decadrachm of Alexander the Great. Mint Susa or Babylon, ca. 324–323 BC. The former Prospero
Collection. Sixbid.com, lot 304, New York Auction XXVII 5 January 2012
Fig. 3. Tetradrachm of Alexander the Great. Mint Susa or Babylon. Ca. 324–323 BC. The former Prospero
Collection. Sixbid.com, lot 305, New York Auction XXVII 5 January 2012

29