design, which, however, must not be carried too far, the artists of Cyzicus, who were the engravers of her coindies, show great skill and even power in the way in which they have treated the subjects at their disposal. In the separate description of each of the types which is given later on, it is noted from whence the several subjects, which are direct imitations of other coins or are copies of groups in marble, have been derived; but it seems desirable to give here a few instances of coins where such a reproduction has taken place. The staters Nos. 9 and 10, figure riding on dolphin and horseman, are copies of familiar coins of Tarentum. No. 51, forepart of humanheaded bull, is the ordinary type of Gela; No. 85, female head, is precisely similar to one on a Syracusan tetradrachm; while Nos. 31 and 32, Gaia and Erichthonius, and Cecrops, are in all respects like to portions of a group in terracotta, itself no doubt copied from one in marble; and No. 76, Harmodius and Aristogeiton, represents a sculptured subject, once a celebrated and popular one at Athens. In the case of these types the artists of the mint of Cyzicus appear as little more than mere copyists, but there are other cases in which they have adopted a subject from a coin of another city but have modified it after their own fashion, showing in the process not only power of adaptation but of invention also. Instances of this may, perhaps, be found in No. 16, Triptolemus in the serpent car; No. 18, Apollo watching the effect of the flight of his arrow; No. 21, Apollo on a swan; No. 63, Heracles and Iphicles; No. 69, Heracles strangling the lion; No. 151, eagle tearing a tunny; and also in the lions, bulls, and griffins of which so many and different representations occur on the staters. In no way, however, have the Cyzicene die-engravers shown their skill more conspicuously than in the manner in which they

have adapted the subject to the space at their disposal; their success in this very important feature in the treatment of coin-types evidences much ingenuity and power in the moulding of form. Striking examples of this are shown in No. 38, Dionysus seated; No. 48, Nereid carrying a wreath; Nos. 52 and 54, Nike and Eleutheria; No. 68, Heracles holding club and lion's skin; No. 71, Odysseus slaying a ram; and the staters where warriors and others, satyrs among the rest, are represented in kneeling or bending positions. But they achieved a still greater success than this, for they have dared to make the great gods assume, yet without loss of dignity, the attitude almost of suppliants.

But the die-engravers of Cyzicus were not merely copyists or adapters of the works of other artists, they give evidence upon many of the staters of the faculty of original design. This appears to be as fully expressed in their treatment of Dionysiac types as in any other of the numerous subjects on the coinage, and, indeed, in relation to the currency, Dionysus figures at Cyzicus as a very prominent and popular god. The staters, Nos. 42 to 44, where satyrs are seen in different aspects, are examples of quite novel treatment of those attendants upon Dionysus, and they are examples as successful as they are novel.

It cannot, I think, be denied, after a due examination of the whole series of the electrum coins, that at Cyzicus, notwithstanding the eclectic tendency of its coin-types, due in some respects perhaps to commercial relations, a school of die-engravers was in existence which possessed not only a distinctive character combined with originality, but also much artistic power and skill in expression and adaptation.

The subjects represented on the coins seem to have been derived from many sources. Some are of original design,

some are simply copies of other coins, and some are modifications of the types on the coins of other states. There are also others which have been taken from single figures or groups in marble, in whole or in part, and which in some cases have been directly reproduced, while in others. they have been changed in a greater or less degree in accordance with the taste or feeling of the artist, or to fit them to the requirement of the space on the coin. All those, however, which are not original designs give indications of the translation they have undergone, and show the impression they have received from passing through the mind and under the hand of the Cyzicene engraver. The prototypes of some of the coin subjects appear to have been separate groups or single statues; but others, and probably the greater number, were portions of scenes which ornamented the friezes and pediments of temples, or in some cases of metopes. If we had the good fortune to be in possession of the sculptures which decorated the temples of Cyzicus and other cities, neighbouring or foreign, we should doubtless find some which would give us the clue to the origin of many of the coin-types.

As might be expected, the greater number of the subjects belong to the cults and myths of Hellas, and we are brought face to face with Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Apollo, Pallas, and Aphrodite, Dionysus, Heracles, Odysseus, Orestes, and Perseus, though some of them present an aspect not quite in harmony with their Hellenic relations. There are also a large number which are more or less Oriental in their character. The greater part of these are subjects taken from cults where the ancient Hellenic mythology had become influenced and altered by Eastern systems of religious worship, but a few appear to be even still more directly and purely of Oriental origin.

On a review of the extensive and important series of the Cyzicene electrum coinage, extending as it did through a lengthened period, during which art had developed from almost its first beginnings to the highest perfection it ever attained, we cannot but be struck by the sustained excellence of the monetary art of Cyzicus. No state equalled it in the variety of subjects represented on its coins, as none excelled it in the high artistic qualities with which those subjects were endowed. There are coins, no doubt, among the large range of the money of the various states of Hellas, which surpass any that proceeded out of the mint of Cyzicus, but no state can pretend to equal it in the number and variety of works of such high artistic merit as the staters of Cyzicus present. If the coinage of this great commercial city on the Hellespont is contrasted with that of Athens, a state politically as superior to Cyzicus as its trading enterprises were more widely and largely extended, and which in art was at the head of all Hellenic culture, the difference is indeed marvellous. While the one city was issuing type after type, each one rivalling the other in the beauty and appropriateness of the design and the skill of its execution, the other was reproducing, century after century, almost without any change or advance in style, the same and only type with which she had commenced her monetary issue. The requirements of trade with the "barbarians" has been, and probably with truth, alleged as the reason why Athens, with all her wealth of sculptors and her supremacy in art, continued so long to send out from her mint the uninviting "owl." But there were the same requirements to be considered at Cyzicus, and that she rose superior to these considerations seems to demand from all who admit the claims of art to be a civilising influence, a very high recognition of her merits.

The circumstances attending the discovery of the staters, either of single coins or of a number found deposited together, is a matter of some importance, and we should. be much assisted in any inquiry as to the area within which the Cyzicenes circulated, and to some extent also in regard to the time at which certain types were issued, if we were in possession of correct information about the finding of these coins. It is, however, only on rare occasions that anything authentic can be ascertained as to the number, contents, and place of finding of the various hoards which have been brought to light. We are, however, fortunately in possession of fairly trustworthy details connected with two deposits of Cyzicene staters, and also of the places where a few single coins have been found. In the neighbourhood of Kertch, the ancient Panticapæum, several deposits of Cyzicenes have occurred, some, as has been stated, in the numerous and rich tombs with which the locality abounds. No exact account has been given of these finds, and it is believed that the coins were in most cases melted. Some isolated staters have also been met with near Kertch, which have been preserved, and which are noticed in the following account of the staters. Of the two hoards above referred to, both of much importance, I propose to state shortly what is known of their

contents.

The first was discovered in the year 1875, not far, it is believed, from the site of Clazomena. It consisted of several Darics, many electrum staters of Lampsacus, and a large series of staters of Cyzicus, but no hectæ, nor twelfths. I have found it impossible to ascertain what was the whole number of coins, or the number of each class, but I believe the following list includes the greater part, if not all, of the types of the Cyzicenes.

VOL. VII. THIRD SERIES.