Macedon, Alexander III the Great Silver Tetradrachm Lifetime Issue 325-323 BC 3A

Description: Alexander the Great lifetime tetradrachm from Amphipolis, Macedonia, c. 325-323 BC, M.J. Price 78, Troxell E2, SNG Cop. 676. Reverse struck with slightly rusted die. Alexander the Great lifetime tetradrachm from Amphipolis, Macedonia, c. 325-323 BC, 17.2g, M.J. Price 78, Troxell E2, SNG Cop. 676. The mint mark on the reverse is an ithyphallic (sexually aroused) herm, an object strange to our sensibilities today but commonplace in ancient Greece. Herms, which first appeared in the sixth century BC, were typically ithyphallic statues depicting a bearded head of Hermes. They were often used as boundary markers, as a way of saying this is the beginning of my turf -- keep out if you mean any harm. Most herms were later destroyed by Christians. The most plausible explanation of the origin of herms that I've read refers to a practice by some species of monkeys in which males acting as guards present their erect phallus, signaling that the group consists not only of females and children but also of powerful males. Ancient Greece may have been the cradle of Western civilization, but it wasn't that far removed from barbarous pre-civilization, temporally or geographically, and it sometimes exhibited a fascinating "otherness," as epitomized by herms. Alexander's own sexuality has long been the subject of debate, and among casual observers, titillation. He had male sexual partners but took one wife (Roxane) and possibly two others (Stateira and Parysatis), and he fathered one child legitimately (Alexander IV, with Roxane) and at least one illegitimately (Herakles, with Barsine, a mistress). His sexuality is best understood in the context of ancient Greek (and Roman) sexuality. Both the Greeks and Romans looked at sexuality not primarily in terms of heterosexual or homosexual but active and passive. You penetrated or were penetrated, with the former regarded by society as proper for those who were senior and socially dominant and the latter, whether male or female, as proper for those who were socially inferior and of lesser status. A male could lose status but only if he were sexually passive (penetrated) with a male of lesser status. Age played a role, with adolescents not stigmatized for being passive. The belief that the Greeks accepted homosexuality and the Romans repudiated it is a myth, according to David M. Halperin, professor of literature at MIT, in the 1996 book Oxford Classical Dictionary.

Price: 950 USD

Location: Bountiful, Utah

End Time: 2025-02-11T04:04:39.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD