The Calydonian boar hunt: Sometimes boaring can be high adventure

[Ryro]

Leave it to the rich to create toil and suffering for the rest of us. We work the menial jobs they don't want to work. We fight the wars that they don't want to fight in. And sometimes we have to kill the wild boars that Artemis plagues us with because they, King Oeneus of Calydon in this case, don't offer a proper sacrifice in her honor. 

And so it was that our story began:

Before the Greeks would use the abduction of a princess, Helen of Troy, as a pretext to raid a wealthy trade port town, and after the Argonauts would sail around starting shit with all sorts of peoples, gods, sirens, cyclops, and everything in between, there was the famous hunt for the Calydonian boar. 

A fierce, land ravaging, crop and vineyard destroying, lightning belching (sounds more like a compliment to me), unit of a beast unleashed by the goddess Artemis.

(Actual footage of Artemis preparing to unleash the beautiful beast)

When the king sent word out of a prize and the bragging rites to be known as the greatest hunter in all of Greece, man those Greeks loved bragging rites, just about every hero around joined in the mayhem. The Argonauts showed, save for Herakles, he would have his own pig problems later. Prince Meleager,

another Argonaut, wanted to make amends for his father's error and show off his skill. This despite the Fates foretelling his early demise should a certain piece of wood be burned, that his mother had safely hidden away. The beautiful huntress Atlanta,

trained by the avenging goddess Artemis, herself, was there. Ancaeus, father of leader of the Arcadians during theTrojan war, Agapenor, showed up. And on and on. 

The boar would make them pay for showing up. In short order it gored  the Ancaeusii. That's right, there were actually two hunters on this expedition both named Ancaeus! And even more funny, they both died bloody, gruesome deaths whilst having their intestines ripped out by the boar's tusks!!

The bodies of men, hounds and many a cigarette butt littered the ground beneath the beastly creature. That's right, the boar was trying to quit smoking. But it's a hard habit to give up while spears and arrows are being launched at you. 

Until finally Atlanta, a woman (!!!), shot the boar deep in its side with an arrow!

"Oh my Zeus NO! Not a woman. Get out of here with your boobs!" The implications were too much for the egos of some of the men.

However, Meleager, whom was born with a rod and two berries, would be the one to finally land the spear thrust that would lay the beast low.

(Art by Paul Ruben's, Pee-Wee Herman's, less famous brother, Peter)

Meleager would give the boar's carcass to Atlanta as she had landed the shot that spelled the end of the beast. But, much like a bunch of modern mini-phallused far right wingers continuing to take away women's rights, a couple hunters, who happen to be Meleager's uncles, took the carcass away from her.

"How could a woman deserve a prize when there were men involved!?" Their tiny brains just couldn't conceive it. 

I would love to tell you that after over 3,000 years this pathetic mindset has gone the way of the merkin, but sadly there is still much work to be done.  

Meleager, a more progressive minded man, who may have also been smitten by Atlanta, killed his own uncles that were the carcass thieves and gave it back to Atlanta. 

One slight problem. These uncles were on his mother's side of the family. The same mother who had hidden away a certain piece of wood that the Fates said that once burned would signal the end of Meleager's life.

And so, you guessed it, his own mother then, at that exact moment threw the log in the fire. This killing her own son for him having killed her brothers. Yeah, and you thought it was just the greek men that were gifted with skills in the art of Tom fuckery. SHE KILLS HER OWN SON! JUST LIKE THAT!

And so Artemis, poor wronged Artemis, was avenged for the slight of having her name forgotten one time. 

And for your prize... what ancient Greek mythology not enough reward? Here is my newly won coin featuring the death of the Calydonian boar:

Ionia. Ephesos. Elagabalus AD 218-222. Bronze Æ, 2,5 gr, 16,9 mm

Laureate and draped bust right, seen from behind / Boar running right, pierced by spear. BMC Ionia -; SNG Copenhagen 452; SNG von Aulock -. Good VF, dark brown patina

A few other coins that feature the creature!

C. Hosidius C.f. Geta Denarius (19 mm, 2.98 g), 64 BC. Rome. GETA behind, III VIR before, draped bust of Diana right, bow and quiver at shoulder. Reverse: C HOSIDI C F in exergue, the wild boar of Calydon charging right, side pierced by arrow, harried by hound below. Crawford 407/1; Sydenham 904; Hosidia 2. Purchased from Savoca Oct 2021.

"It can be assumed that Hosidius employed the type of the Caledonian boar to illustrate a claimed descent from one of the heroes involved in the hunt, perhaps from Atalanta herself."

Gallienus,

A.D. 253-268.

Æ Double Denarius. Rome, A.D. 267/8. Radiate head of Gallienus right. Rv. HERCVLI CONS AVG, Calydonian boar standing right; E. 4.2 gr, 22mm, RIC 202. Göbl 729b. RSC 317. The second toughest of Gallienus' CONS AVG series to acquire.

Ex: Tauler & Fau

 

If you made it this far, thanks for joining me on the ride:

(And that was the last anyone ever saw of cousin Ancaeus)

I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it. Please share your coins featuring the Calydonian boar, of Ephesos, Elagabalus, musings, or whatever adds to the fun!

Edited August 23 by Ryro

[MrMonkeySwag96]

Here is a coin depicting the other famous boar of Greco-Roman mythology, the Erymanthian boar:

Roman Republic AR Denarius, M. Volteius M.f. 78 BC; 17mm. 3.90g. Rome Mint Head of young Hercules, wearing lion's skin, r. The Erymanthian Boar running r.; In ex.: M. VOLTEI. M.F. RSC I Volteia 2 

 

A chunky silver drachm of Pamphylia, Aspendos depicting an ordinary boar charging:

 

 

Pamphylia, Aspendos AR drachm 420-360 BC

Obverse: Horseman (Mopsos, founder of Aspendos) galloping left hurling spear,. Reverse: Boar prancing left. Weight: 5.36 grams. Diameter: 18.34 mm. References. SNG COP. -. SNG Frankreich 25.

 

My only coin of Ephesus is this silver tetradrachm of the cistophoric standard:

 

 

MYSIA, Pergamon. Circa 166-67 BC. AR Tetradrachm (26mm, 12.44 g). Cistophoric type. Struck circa 88-85 BC. Cista mystica within ivy wreath / Two serpents entwined around bow and bowcase; BA and prytaneis monogram above, civic monogram to left, serpent-entwined thyrsos to right. Kleiner, Hoard 30; SNG BN 1730-1.

 

A couple of silver denarii depicting Artemis/Diana:

 

 

Roman Republic, A. Postumius A.f. Sp.n. Albinus, 81 BC Silver Denarius, Rome Mint, 19mm, 3.85 grams Obverse: Draped bust of Diana right with bow and quiver over shoulder, bucranium above. Reverse: Togate figure standing left on rock holding aespergilium over bull, flaming altar between them, A POST A F S N ALBIN around. Postumia 7 // Crawford 372/1 // RBW 1392

 

 

 

Roman Republic, C. Postumius, silver denarius c. 73 BC, Diana facing right with bow and quiver/hound bounding to right, spear below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 24 by MrMonkeySwag96

[TIF]

Bravo!  My favorite type of history lesson 😄.

Looke like the Calydonian boar hunt scene just went on my buy list.  

No Calydonian boars but I have  bunches of other boars I won't bore you with.  Instead here is a slightly related coin, or at least it celebrates a hunt.

MYSIA, Hadrianothera. Hadrian
After CE 123
Æ 16 mm, 2.30 gm
Obv: AΔPIANOC AYΓOYCTOC; bare head right
Rev: AΔPIANOΘHPITN; head of she-bear left
Ref: AMNG 565; SNG France 1091; RPC 1629. Rare.

Hadrian was an avid hunter. From Cassius Dio's Roman History, part 69:

"He also constructed theatres and held games as he travelled about from city to city, dispensing, however, with the imperial trappings; for he never used these outside Rome. And yet he did not see his native land, though he showed it great honour and bestowed many splendid gifts upon it. He is said to have been enthusiastic about hunting. Indeed, he broke his collar-bone at this pursuit and came near getting his leg maimed; and to a city that he founded in Mysia he gave the name of Hadrianotherae. However, he did not neglect any of the duties of his office because of this pastime. Some light is thrown upon his passion for hunting by what he did for his steed Borysthenes, which was his favourite horse for the chase; when the animal died, he prepared a tomb for him, set up a slab and placed an inscription upon it. 31 It is not strange, then, that upon the death of Plotina, the woman through whom he had secured the imperial office because of her love for him, he honoured her exceedingly, wearing black for nine days, erecting a temple to her and composing some hymns in her memory. ... He was so skilful in the chase that he once brought down a huge boar with a single blow."

 

[Deinomenid]

I have a pair of  boar (Plott) hounds, and I can report that  boar (technically flipping enormous southern Georgia feral swine with tusks that make you weep!) hunting is pretty hair-raising. I always feel sorry for the dogs in those images. I wouldn't release mine for a kill.

Here's Mopsos on a stater from Aspendos. The coin  is apparently to be read on 2 sides as a continuum.

Drachma (Siglos) 410/375 BC BC Heros Mopsos with hunting spear on horseback / boar.  An inscription beneath the motif reads – in part and in Pamphylian dialect – E†TFE(διυς στατήρ). This means 'Aspendian stater)'.


From the auction house - This illustrates the founding myth of Aspendos: According to it, the Greek hero Mopsos once came to the region of Aspendos. There were plenty of wild boars because the Eurymedon River that flows through this area had created a marshy landscape at its mouth. Wild boars love swamps in which they can wallow with relish. However, a city founder like Mopsos had to prove that he could keep the pests of agriculture – such as wild boars – at bay before founding a city that depended on the yields from its fields. Wild boars can wipe out months of farmers' labor in a single night. In fact, Mopsos managed to kill a large boar on one of the fast and enduring horses Aspendos was famous for. He sacrificed the killed boar to the patron god of Aspendos, a twin Aphrodite (Aphroditai Kastnietides). As a result of this first sacrifice, pigs were offered to this twin Aphrodite until the demise of the ancient religion. Mopsos did this on a hill above the Eurymedon River, where he then founded the Greek city of Aspendos....

 

PS @Ryro I assure you the hunter in that gif is probably not me.

[Alegandron]

Sooooweeee! Piggies!!!

Ionia Klazomenai 480-400 BC AR Drachm Pentobol 3.5g 13mm Forepart winged boar r gorgoneion incuse sq Cf SNG Copenhagen 12 Rare



Campania CAPUA AE Uncia 216-211 Diana Boar Hannibal capital Italia



RR C Hosidius C F Geta 68 BCE Diana bow quiver Boar Hound spear Sear 346 Craw 407-2



Iberia - Castulo AE14 Quarter Unit Bust - BOAR w-star 2nd C BCE



Mysia Kyzikos AR Hemiobol 480-450 BCE 0.4g Boar-Lion Sear 3850



RI Titus 79-81 CE AR Denarius Sow piglets



RR Veturius 137 BCE AR Den Mars X Oath Scene pig S 111 Cr 234-1



Marsic Confederation denarius 90-88 BCE Italia-Corfinium Oath Ceremony over pig Sear 227 SCARCE

Edited August 24 by Alegandron

[Alegandron]

17 hours ago, Ryro said:

has gone the way of the merkin

Uh, whuuuuuut???

Is that what Otho wore?

 

[TIF]

2 minutes ago, Alegandron said:

Uh, whuuuuuut???

Is that what Otho wore?

I had to google merkin and now I'm dying to use it in a sentence in every day life 🤣.

 

6 minutes ago, Alegandron said:

I love this coin.  Such a funny-looking piggy.

[Phil Anthos]

I just want to remind everyone that Peter Sellars played the President of the United States (and two other roles) in Dr. Strangelove, and his name was Merkin Muffley.  😄

~ Peter 

[kirispupis]

Great post @Ryro!

These are my only two Kalydonian boars.

Thessaly, Oitaioi
279-191 BCE
Æ 17mm 4,20g
Herakleia Trachinia mint.
OBV: Laureate head of Apollo r.
REV: OITA IWN Spearhead and jawbone to r.; monogram between, grape bunch on vine to l.
Valassiadis 14; Rogers 418; BCD Thessaly II 493.1-

 

290-220 BCE
Ae 19mm 6.4g
Obv. Laureate head of Apollo right
Reverse: Spearhead above jawbone of Calydonian boar, grape bunch to left

[Alegandron]

2 hours ago, TIF said:

I had to google merkin and now I'm dying to use it in a sentence in every day life 🤣.

 

I love this coin.  Such a funny-looking piggy.

LOL, yeah, I googled it too. Laughed my ass off. Yeah, I am going to use it too! Same thoughts exactly when I read it!

@Ryro, you snuck that into your OP…  😄 LOL

[Alegandron]

2 hours ago, TIF said:

I love this coin.  Such a funny-looking piggy.

LOL, agreed. Had to have it when I found it! Just cracked me up!

Edited August 24 by Alegandron

[Alegandron]

19 hours ago, TIF said:

Bravo!  My favorite type of history lesson 😄.

Looke like the Calydonian boar hunt scene just went on my buy list.  

No Calydonian boars but I have  bunches of other boars I won't bore you with.  Instead here is a slightly related coin, or at least it celebrates a hunt.

MYSIA, Hadrianothera. Hadrian
After CE 123
Æ 16 mm, 2.30 gm
Obv: AΔPIANOC AYΓOYCTOC; bare head right
Rev: AΔPIANOΘHPITN; head of she-bear left
Ref: AMNG 565; SNG France 1091; RPC 1629. Rare.

Hadrian was an avid hunter. From Cassius Dio's Roman History, part 69:

"He also constructed theatres and held games as he travelled about from city to city, dispensing, however, with the imperial trappings; for he never used these outside Rome. And yet he did not see his native land, though he showed it great honour and bestowed many splendid gifts upon it. He is said to have been enthusiastic about hunting. Indeed, he broke his collar-bone at this pursuit and came near getting his leg maimed; and to a city that he founded in Mysia he gave the name of Hadrianotherae. However, he did not neglect any of the duties of his office because of this pastime. Some light is thrown upon his passion for hunting by what he did for his steed Borysthenes, which was his favourite horse for the chase; when the animal died, he prepared a tomb for him, set up a slab and placed an inscription upon it. 31 It is not strange, then, that upon the death of Plotina, the woman through whom he had secured the imperial office because of her love for him, he honoured her exceedingly, wearing black for nine days, erecting a temple to her and composing some hymns in her memory. ... He was so skilful in the chase that he once brought down a huge boar with a single blow."

 

Wow, re-read your post. BEAR head, WAY cool. Not sure if I remember bears on Ancients

[TIF]

15 minutes ago, Alegandron said:

Wow, re-read your post. BEAR head, WAY cool. Not sure if I remember bears on Ancients

I know!-- it looks like a very realistic wolf head or maybe certain dog breeds.  Bear?  Sort of, I guess.  Snout is rather slender for a bear, but apparently in context of the city name and well-known Hadrian bear hunt, it is thought to be a bear.

[Ryro]

WoWiE! Thanks for all of the wonderful responses and stunning coins!

@MrMonkeySwag96 all excellent choices to post. But man do I love Roman republic coins😍

That Herakles and his boar are stunning.

Herk was somewhere between his 5th and 11th labors when helping the Argonauts. So, he was busy laboring and had already caught his own boar by the time the Argonauts ganged up on this one. But the timelines are always so mixed with Greek mythology. Go figure, when you have thousands of story tellers passing stories along orally for a millenia things get muddled.

Here's my Diana and hound

Leave it to @TIF and her show stopping collection of ancient Pink Floyd

To have an ancient freaking BEAR!!! Wild and incredibly cool coin. I really appreciate having you around. 

And @Deinomenid that Aspendos is a beauty! And I can't believe that you actually have done some boaring, which does NOT sound boring... it sounds very freaking SCARY! 

@Alegandron thanks for the slew of beautiful bacon, old buddy! You've got flying pigs, dying pigs, jumping pigs and even Spanish pigs with the same body type as the world's richest man, Elongated Muskrat (that's the full pronunciation of his name)!

These two pigs look waaaay to much alike not to be related:

Great call out @Phil Anthos. Stanley didn't pick that hilarious name on accident. And Peter Sellers is amazing as he plays half the cast in Kubrick's classic, and one of my all time favorites, Dr Strangelove.

I often accuse my wife of stealing my essence😉

@kirispupis incredible coin type that I've never seen from a place I've never heard of. Always love your additions. Thanks!

And yes, I try to slide in "Easter eggs" for those that actually read my posts to get a good chuckle. Things like Merkins, pubic toupees for 18th century prostitutes that had to shave off their muffs due to crab infestations...

4 hours ago, Alegandron said:

Uh, whuuuuuut???

Is that what Otho wore?

 

I'm pretty sure that's exactly what he wears! And deservedly so with all of the nights of debauchery he had out with old pal Nero. Fortunately we cannot see it on his coinage😉

[Phil Anthos]

A 10-1 ratio Ryro. The future looks bright!  😇

[DonnaML]

What a terrific thread! Here are some boars, pigs, and sows of my own, in chronological order:

Mysia, Kyzikos, AR Diobol, ca. 450-400 BCE. Obv. Forepart of boar left; to right, tunny [tuna] upwards. Rev. Head of roaring lion left within incuse square.  Seaby 3846 [Sear, David, Greek Coins and their Values, Vol. 2: Asia & Africa (Seaby 1979)]; Von Fritze II, Group II, No. 9 (p. 36) [Von Fritze, H., "Die Silberprägung von Kyzikos" in Nomisma IX (1914), at pp. 34 - 56]; BMC 15 Mysia 108-113 [Wroth, Warwick, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 15, Mysia (London, 1892) at pp. 34-35]; SNG BnF 361-366 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, France, Cabinet des Médailles, Bibliothéque Nationale, Vol. 5, Mysia (Paris 2001)]. 10 mm., 1.22 g., 6 h.

Roman Republic, Ti. Veturius, AR Denarius 137 BCE. Obv. Helmeted head of Mars right, TI. VET (monogrammed) and X behind head. / Rev. Youth holding pig, kneeling left, head right, between two soldiers who touch the pig with their swords, ROMA above. RSC I Veturia 1, Crawford 234/1, Sydenham 527, Sear RCV I 111 (ill.), BMCRR Italy 550. 18 mm., 3.8 g. [First Republican denarius to have head of anyone other than Roma on obverse.]  Purchased April 12, 1986 from Sarr Coin Co., Lighthouse Point, FL. 

Roman Republic, C. Sulpicius C.f. Galba, AR Serrate Denarius, 106 BCE, Rome Mint. Obv. Jugate heads of Dei Penates left, D•P•P [Dei Penates Publici]  beneath heads / Rev. Two soldiers facing each other, holding spears and pointing at sow lying down between them; S above; in exergue: C•SVL•ICI•C•F. [Indication of undertype on right of reverse, causing loss of detail.]  RSC I Sulpicia 1, Crawford 312/1, Sydenham 572, BMCRR Rome 1324, Sear RCV I 189 (ill.)  18.12 mm., 3.83 g. [See Sear RCV I at p. 108: “Crawford’s interpretation of this interesting type seems the most convincing: it refers to Aeneas’ [landing at and founding of] Lavinium (home of the Sulpicia gens) with the Penates, and the subsequent miracle of the great white sow [giving birth to 30 piglets], which foretold the founding of Alba Longa,” where the soil was more fertile, 30 years later.] (Ex. Madroosi Collection [Joe Blazick]).

Roman Republic, M. [Marcus] Volteius, AR Denarius, 78 BCE (Crawford) or 75 BCE (Harlan). Obv. Head of young Hercules, wearing lion’s skin headdress, right / Rev. The Erymanthian boar running right; M•VOLTEI•M•F in exergue. Crawford 385/2; RSC I Volteia 2; BMCRR 3158, Sear RCV I 313 (ill.); Harlan, RRM I Ch. 12, pp. 62-79 at pp. 74-77, Sydenham 775. 18.5 mm., 3.96 g., 7 h.*

*This coin, depicting Hercules and the Erymanthian boar -- one of five coins issued by M. Volteius as moneyer during that year -- relates, like the other four Volteius coins, to one of the five principal agonistic festivals which were celebrated annually at Rome, this one specifically to the Ludi Plebeii, held each year from 4 to 17 November. Hercules had a special relationship with the Circus Flaminius, which was where the Ludi Plebeii were held, and was near the temple of Hercules Magna Custos ad Circum (Hercules the Great Guardian at the Circus).  See Harlan at p. 76 for a summary of the legend of Hercules capturing the Erymanthian boar alive, the fourth of the twelve labors of Hercules. Harlan points out that according to tradition, the tusks of the Erymanthian boar were preserved at the sanctuary of Apollo at Cumae -- perhaps establishing a connection of the Erymanthian boar to the Circus Flaminius (where the Ludi Plebeii were held) and the nearby temple of Hercules Magna Custos ad Circum (which was supposedly built on the advice of the Sibyl of Cumae). This may have been the rationale for the portrayal of the Erymanthian boar on this coin rather than one of Hercules’s other labors.

Roman Republic, C. Hosidius C.f. Geta, AR Denarius, 68 BCE. Obv. Draped bust of Diana R., wearing crown and stephane[?], with bow and quiver over shoulder, GETA before, III VIR behind/ Rev. Wild boar of Calydon r., pierced in shoulder by spear and attacked by hound beneath, C. HOSIDI C F in exergue. RSC I Hosidia 1 (ill.), Crawford 407/2, Sear RCV I 346 (ill.), Harlan, RRM I Ch. 32 at pp. 189-194, BMCRR Rome 3388. 18 mm., 3.91 g.

Titus Caesar (son of Vespasian). AR Denarius 77=78 AD, Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, T CAESAR VESPASIANVS (counterclockwise from lower right) / Rev. Sow standing left with three piglets, two standing below her and one behind; in exergue, IMP XIII. RIC II.1 986 (Vespasian) (2007 ed.), RSC II 104, Sear RCV I 2443, BMCRE 227. 18.5 mm., 3.17 g.

Trajan, AE Quadrans, ca. AD 101 (Sear), Rome Mint. Obv. Diademed bust of bearded Hercules right, lion’s skin knotted at neck, IMP CAES TRAIAN AVG GERM / Rev. Boar walking right, SC in exergue. 14.5 mm., 2.30 g., 6 h. RIC II 702, BMCRE II Trajan 1062 (ill. Pl. 43 no. 10); Sear RCV II 3248, Cohen 341. Purchased from London Ancient Coins, Aug. 2022; ex Bertolami Fine Arts, London, E-Auction 92, 02.10.2020, Lot 1235.

Antoninus Pius AE As, AD 143-144, Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III / Rev. Great White Sow crouching right under oak tree, suckling four young piglets, two more at right, IMPERA – TOR II above, S C in exergue. RIC III 733, BMCRE IV Antoninus Pius 1624, Sear RCV II 4302 (ill. p. 237), Cohen 450. 28.5 mm., 14.83 g. Purchased Nov. 24, 2023  from Zuzim, Inc., Brooklyn, NY.* 

 

*The large sow suckling her piglets refers to the myth of Aeneas’s landing at and founding of Lavinium with the Penates, and the subsequent dream of the great white sow giving birth to 30 piglets, which foretold the founding by Aeneas’s son Ascanius, 30 years later, of the city of Alba Longa [“Long White”] in the Alban Hills, where the soil was more fertile and where Romulus and Remus were born. See John Melville Jones, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (Seaby, London 1990), entry for “Aeneas” at p. 6: “The scene is defined by the presence of a sow and piglets; this illustrates the story of the dream sent to Aeneas, which told him that when he came across a white sow with thirty piglets they would mark the spot where thirty years later [his son] Ascanius would found a city, Alba Longa, from which Rome itself was eventually to be founded.” Subsequently, Aeneas found the sow under an oak tree and sacrificed it. See the relevant portion of a translation of the Aeneid, Book VIII, beginning at line 26, at https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/VirgilAeneidVIII.php ).

Gallienus, Billon Antoninianus, 267-268 AD, Rome Mint, 5th Officina, 10th emission (Göbl & Reinhardt). Obv. Radiate bust right, GALLIENVS AVG /Rev. Boar running right, HERCVLI CONS AVG; in exergue, Є [Epsilon = 5th Officina]. RIC V.1 202 (sole reign); RSC IV 317; Sear RCV III 10228; Wolkow 16a5 (ill. p. 69 & Pl. XXIV) [Cédric Wolkow, Catalogue des monnaies romaines - Gallien - L'émission dite "Du Bestiaire" - atelier de Rome (BNumis, édition 2019)]; Göbl MIR [Moneta Imperii Romani] Band 36, No. 729b [ill. at http://www258.pair.com/denarius/coinage.htm & in Reinhardt at p. 126 no. 3 [Frank Reinhardt, José de Sousa, & Heidemarie Bieker, Gallienvs Antoninianii, The Antoninianii Collection of Gallienus by Frank Reinhardt (Eng. trans. 2022), available at https://www.academia.edu/77282280/GALLIENUS_ANTONINIANII_English_version_PDF]. 20 mm., 3.24 g., 6 hr. Purchased at Roma Numismatics Ltd. E-Sale 107, 16 Mar. 2023, Lot 1126.

Egypt, green faience amulet (turned brown on one side) of sow, representing the sky goddess Nut,* Third Intermediate (Late) Period, ca. 600 BCE, 30 mm. L. Purchased from Collector Antiquities (Dr. Bron Lipkin), London, UK, 04/04/2021; ex Christopher J. Martin, London, UK, 1992 (from Israeli collection).

*From dealer's description: "The sow is thought to be a reference to Nut’s role as the sky goddess giving birth to, and then devouring the sun each day, as some sows devour their young." Yum!

[Qcumbor]

Wow @Ryro, I really envy and admire your imagination, culture and humor to build the most informative and hilarious threads all around !!

Thank you for that
I too had to google "merkin", resulting in throwing my morning coffee off of my nose : merkins can be painful, if you want to know 😄 😄 !!

To my shame I'm completely boarless, so I'll have to show off Otho's merkin ( @TIF and @Alegandron, mind you, I've already used the word merkin three times today (four now 😉 )) : look at that fart face !!

 

And a Diana to boot

 

Q

[Sulla80]

not a boring post @Ryro! I can't resist pulling this coin out again:

more here: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/heroes-gods-wild-boars

[taja1948]

 

ISLANDS off IONIA, Samos. Circa 526-522 BC. AR Drachm (13mm, 3.60 g, 8h). Forepart of winged boar left / Lion scalp facing in dotted square within incuse square. Barron Class A ii, 59a (DA27/DP45 – this coin); HGC 6, 1177. Toned, light deposits. VF.

From the St. George Collection. Ex Alexandre Carathéodory Pasha (1833-1906) Collection (Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 351, 20 May 2015), lot 307.

[Roman Collector]

Wow, what a fun thread! That's because it's a multi-media extravaganza from @Ryro!! This, my friend, is a COOL COIN!

I have only one boar coin. And y'all have seen it so many times, I assume you're "boared" with it! 

Philip II as Caesar, 244-247 CE.
Roman provincial Æ 25 mm, 7.7 g.
Phrygia, Laodicea ad Lycum, Sardis Workshop, 244-247 CE.
Obv: •Μ•ΙΟVΛΙ••ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟϹ•Κ•, bare headed, draped and cuirassed bust of Philip II, right, seen from front.
Rev: ΛΑΟΔΙΚЄ|ΩΝ ΝЄ|ΩΚΟΡΩΝ, river Caprus as boar and river Lycus as wolf seated back to back, heads facing each other.
Refs: BMC 25.324,260 (same rev. die); RG 6326 (same obv. die); RPC VIII unassigned, ID 20777; SNG Cop 607; SNG Leypold 1678.

[ACCLA-Mike]

Thank you Ryro for your fun and educational write up. Here is an extremely rare Parthian portrayal of a wild boar. An early, unlisted, dichalkous of Phraates IV (ruled 38-2 BCE) from Mithradatkart. 

Edited August 25 by ACCLA-Mike

[Ryro]

Talk about the gift that keeps giving! Thanks again for all of the awesome replies... and coins that they entail. I would wager that a third of my coins are purchased thanks to friends showing off theirs and then I add it to my "need to have" list. 

Thank you @DonnaML and what a lovely bunch of piggies! Your RR Geta's reverse of the killing of the Calydonian boar is fantastic. And I've always wondered why the Trajan Quadrans featuring Herakles doesn't state that it's the Erymanthian boar. These quadrans feature a god or goddess and imagery from their stories. It's gotta be Herk's forth labor, right?

Here's my, less visually appealing versions:

And the inevitable upgrade:

And I've already shared my Gallienus pig, the second rarest of the zoo coins, but again yours is a stunner. Don't get me started on that beautiful Egyptian amulet of yours and my envy🟢

And thanks so much for the kind words, that really made my day, and for the two Roman beauties @Qcumbor! If ever there was a smug face that said I just farted while wearing my pubic wig on my head to cover my bald spot and you're all welcome, it's the look on your wonderfully preserved Otho (seriously, that's gotta be one of the best Otho's I've seen).

LMAO @Sulla80! Dope gif!

Man, everyone showing off their Volteius is giving me Volteius envy. "Needs to get" list update...

And @taja1948 thanks so much for sharing that Archaic showstopper. That might be one of the coolest flying pigs I've seen! And I've seen a lot of flying pigs. I live in America and have to travel for work😉

Thanks @Roman Collector! That reverse is AMAZING! I love the river gods being personified by beasts.

@ACCLA-Mike that indeed is a excellent rarity. That boar looks on the ready to attack!