Ave!

Pontos, Amisos, Dionysos with Cista Mystica reverse

Æ; 20mm/9.0gm        Time of Mithradates VI, Circa 85-65 BC.

Con/ Sharply struck with fresh dies slightly off-center to either side, otherwise, Good Very Fine. Eye-pleasing warm brown patina.

Obv/ Dionysos, head wreathed with vines and grapes, right.

Rev/ Cista mystica draped with Panther skin; behind, thyrsos wrapped with taenia (ribbons); below ΑΜΙΣΟΥ.

Ref/  HGC 243

Seller's Note/ The complex iconography on the reverse of this coin deserves further explantation and is all about the attributes of Dionysos.

A cista mystica was a sacred woven basket or chest used in ancient Greek mystery cults, particularly associated with the worship of Dionysos.

The panther skin on the cista mystica is another reminder that panthers were the companions of Dionysos.

A thyrsus was a wand or staff of giant fennel covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with taeniae (ribbons) and topped with a pine cone (note that the pine cone also includes an acorn nut on this particular issue!), and was carried during Hellenic festivals and religious ceremonies. Again, typically associated with the Greek god Dionysos it represents a symbol of prosperity, fertility, and hedonism.

The odd part of all our long-winded explanation is, that back in the day when this coin was struck, it needed needed no explanation in any manner!

In the painting, note the young Dionysos, hair wreathed with vines and grapes, panther companion by his side and his thyrsus resting on the ground.