Apameia (BC 133-48) AE 18

ca 133-48 BC. AE18 (8.58g, 12h). Andron..., son of Alkios, magistrate. Laureate head of Zeus right / ΑΠΑΜ[ΕΩ]/ ANΔPON/ AΛKIOY, cult statue of Artemis Anaïtis facing. Good VF, black patina. Ex. Alighieri Coll.

Artemis Anaïtis was a fusion of the Persian goddess Anahita and the Greek Artemis. Tacitus (Annals 62) refers to the syncretic deity simply as the “Persian Diana”, who had a temple in Lydia “dedicated in the reign of Cyrus” (presumably Cyrus the Great).