Amisos (AD 198-217) AE 33 - Caracalla

Caracalla, 198-217 AD. AE33 (18.65g, 7h). Dated CY 241 (209/10 AD). ΑΝΤΩΝΙΝΟC CЄΒΑCΤ, laureate and cuirassed bust left, holding spear and shield; countermark: capricorn / ΑΜΙCΟ ЄΛЄΩΘЄΡΑ, Amazon standing left gathering fruit, at foot of tree Amazonian shield and bipennis; in exergue, ЄTCMA. Very Fine. Extremely Rare.

The figure in this image can be identified as an Amazon on account of the axe and the shape of the shield set against the tree, which conforms to Roman ideals of Amazonian apparel. A close parallel may be found on a relief adorning a marble sarcophagus in the Capitoline museum (inv. scu 726), in which an Amazon battles Greeks armed with such a shield and double-bladed axe. Here we see this Amazon in a moment of rest, gathering fruit from a laden tree she has come upon. According to Apollonios of Rhodes' in Argonautica, the mythical Amazons lived just to the east of Amisos in three towns near Themiscrya near the mouth of the Thermodon (modern Terme) river.