Ilion (AD 161-180) AE 35 - Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius, 161-180 AD. AE35 - “Sestertius” (22.12g, 1h). AVT KAI MA AVPHL ANTΩNEINOC A, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / IΛIEΩN, Ganymede, wearing chlamys and Phrygian cap, seated right on rock outcropping set on ground line, leaning back on right hand and extending left hand to large eagle standing left; behind eagle, low column surmounted by statue of Athena Ilios standing left. VF, blue-black patina, light roughness on obverse. Extremely rare and struck with dies of fine style. Ex Wagner Coll.
Ganymede was the son of Tros, founder of Troy. A youth of great beauty, he was abducted by Zeus while the young man was tending his flocks on Mt. Ida. Carried to Olympus either by an eagle, or Zeus himself in aquiline form, Ganymede served as the god’s cupbearer in place of Hebe, as well as his eromenos. This arrangement angered Hera to such a degree that she would abandon the Trojans in their war against the Greeks. To recompense Tros for the loss of his son, Zeus provided him with a pair of horses so swift, they could cross over water, and which were the ancestors of the horses for which the Trojans were renowned.