Numismatic and Pictorial Landscapes CHEILIK, MICHAEL Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Fall 1965; 6, 3; ProQuest pg. 215

Numismatic and Pictorial Landscapes 
Michael Cheilik 

THE PROBLEM OF THE ORIGIN of the landscape on Greek Imperial 
coinage is part of the broader problem of the origin of land­
scape in ancient art. This subject has long been a matter of 

controversy. Those who would attribute most of the refinements in 
Roman art and literature to the Hellenistic culture of Alexandria 
maintain that landscape in Roman art was Alexandrian in origin; 
those who believe that Roman civilization was dynamic, that it 
created new forms from what it absorbed instead of passively accep­
ting and slavishly copying Hellenistic cultural elements attribute the 
landscape to Italy. There is, in fact, little or no literary or archaeo­
logical evidence pointing to Alexandria as the source of this genre.1 

Italy, on the other hand, has provided a wealth of landscape paintings 
and reliefs. In addition, numismatic evidence may be adduced which 
lends support to the theory that landscape was of Roman origin. 

The first instance of a landscape type appearing on an extant 
ancient coin is on a denarius issued at Rome ca 60/59 B.C. by the 
moneyer C. Considius Nonianus (fig. 1),2 apparently minted to com­
memorate the aid in construction, or reconstruction, of the temple of 
Venus Erycina at Rome by an ancestor of this moneyer.3 The goddess 
appears on the obverse wearing a diadem, and on the reverse a view 
of the mother temple of Venus at Eryx is represented. It is on top of 
a rocky hill in the center of which there appears a cave or hollow. 
Below, the hill is surrounded by a masonry wall which has a tower 
on each side and a gateway in the center. 

The kind of landscape represented on this denarius as well as those 
struck on other Roman and Greek Imperial coins most closely 

1 See C. Dawson, Romano-Campanian Mythological Landscape Painting (Yale Classical 
Studies IX [1944J) chap. I-n; Blanche Brown, Ptolemaic Paintings and Mosaics, and the Alexan­
drian Style (Cambridge [Mass.J 1957) 88. 

I H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910) 473 no. 
3830; A. AlfOldi, "Studien zur Zeitfolge der Milnzpr1igung der romischen Republik." 
Schweiz. Num. Rundschau 36 (1954) 28. 

a Grueber, Coins of Roman Republic. 473 n.Z. 

4-G•R •B•S• 215 



216 NUMISMATIC AND PICTORIAL LANDSCAPES 

resemble relief scenes such as those on the Ara Pacis' and the Schreiber 
reliefs.5 The nature of coin-making precludes the subtle range of 
melting shadows and colors found in painted scenes. In addition, the 
limited tondo of a coin surface precludes spectacular compositions 
such as those found on the walls of Livia's Garden Room at Prima 
Porta6 or the Odyssey Landscapes.7 Still, the great bulk of numismatic 
landscapes closely resembles one of the categories of painted com­
positions of which the grotto scene in the alcove of the cubiculum in 
the Villa of Fannius Sinistor is an excellent example.s A definition of 
painted landscapes is thus valid for numismatic representations: "The 
composition of the landscape is based on nature, but elements are, 
on the whole, arranged in such a way as to make the scene show up 
to best advantage ... The painters use both aerial and linear per­
spective ... In the separate buildings the laws of perspective have 
been applied rather arbitrarily. The buildings and figures moving in 
the various planes nevertheless help greatly to create an impression 
of spatial depth, particularly on monochrome paintings, in which the 
possibilities of aerial perspective are greater."9 This form becomes 
canonic on coins and shows few radical changes throughout the his­
tory of the Roman Empire. 

The first time a landscape appears on a coin outside of Rome is 
within the period 36 to 9 B.C., on a series of bronze coins struck at 
Eusebeia (formerly Mazaca) in Cappadocia, during the reign of 
Archelaus, where a view of Mt. Argaeus is shown.1o Sometimes an 
eagle surmounts it; sometimes the mountain appears alone (fig. 4). 
The styles of the Argaeus type vary considerably,n but they are 
generally akin to the representation of the mountain at Eryx on the 
Roman denarius. The series which bears the legend EYCEBEIAC 
cannot be dated more accurately than by using the beginning of 
Archelaus' reignU as a terminus post quem, and by the date 12 to 

4 See E. Nash, Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Rome I (Tiibingen 1961) 69 fig. 66. 
5 M. Bieber, The Sculpture of the Hellenistic Age2 (New York 1961) fig. 659 and p. 155. 
8 M. Gabriel, Livia's Garden Room at Prima Porta (New York 1955) passim. 
7 P. von Blanckenhagen, "The Odyssey Frieze," RM 70 (1963) 100-146. 
8 P. Lehmann, Roman Wall Paintings from Boscoreale in the Metropolitan Museum of Art 

(Cambridge [Mass.] 1953) pI. xx. 
9 W. J. T. Peters, Landscape in Romano-Campanian Mural Painting (Assen 1963) 193; for a 

full bibliography of landscape painting see Lehmann, Roman Wall Paintings, 135 n.S. 
10 E. Sydenham, The Coinage of Caesarea in Cappadocia (London 1933) 26 nos. 4, 5; 27 nos. 

11, 12, 14, 15. 
11 Cf. Sydenham, Caesarea, 31 fig. 3. 
III The coinage of Eusebeia was not dated. There is no coinage from Eusebeia before 

36 B.C., although Cappadocia itself had minted coins for centuries. 



MICHAEL CHEIUK 217 

9 B.C., when the city's name was changed to Caesarea, as a terminus 
ante quem.13 The influence of Rome was very strong during this time, 
for Antony chose Archelaus as king and the city's name was changed 
to honor Julius Caesar. Cappadocia was no more than a vassal state 
of Rome during this period and its independence was nominal. 
Finally, in A.D. 17 Tiberius deposed Archelaus and annexed the 
kingdom as a Roman province.14 

It is small wonder that types of coinage of Eusebeia-Caesarea 
issued under Archelaus are Roman in character. They are quite 
different from the coins issued in Cappadocia prior to 36 B.C.u; The 
older coinage was of the common Hellenistic type: a portrait of the 
king on the obverse and such magistrates' symbols as Pegasus or 
Nike on the reverse. The first coins of Eusebeia, the Cappadocian 
capital which became the mint for the entire country with the advent 
of Archelaus, are distinctly different. The obverses are struck with 
Gorgon heads, Tyche and Athena, while on the reverses there are 
such un-Hellenistic types as temple fa<;ades of Roman style16 and Mt. 
Argaeus. There is a typological connection between the first land­
scape coins of Rome and Eusebeia. On most of the obverses of the 
early Mt. Argaeus coinage there appears a bust of Athena (fig. 4). 
This representation of the goddess, with a Corinthian helmet and 
aegis, is almost identical to a Roman obverse type of Minerva struck 
on a denarius of C. Considius Paetus in 45 B.C. (fig. 3),17 It is clear 
that C. Considius Paetus was of the same family as C. Considius 
Nonianus, who minted the Eryx coin, since Paetus issued a denarius 
with exactly the same type of Venus as appears on the Eryx coin 
(fig. 2).18 The relationship can be summarized as follows: (1) obverse 
Venus, reverse Mt. Eryx (60/59 B.c.)~(2) obverses Venus and Minerva 
(45 B.c.)~(3) obverse Athena, reverse Mt. Argaeus (cf figs, 1, 2, 3, 4). 
In light of the extant evidence, one may conclude that the rocky 
landscape which appears for the first time on a Roman coin of 60 B.C. 

is connected with the rocky landscape which appears for the first time 

13 The earliest coins which read KA1CAPE1A have the dates of the years 12-9 B.C. on 
them; cf E. Sydenham, Caesarea, 2; W. Wroth, Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British 
Museum: Galatia, Cappadocia and Syria (London 1899) xxxv. 

14 A. H. M. Jones, Cities of the Eastern Roman Provinces (Oxford 1937) 177. 
15 Catalog: Galat., pIs. VI-VII. 

16 Catalog: Galat., pI. VIII,2. 

17 Catalog: Rom. Repub., no. 4091. 
18 Catalog: Rom. Repub., no. 4087. 



218 NUMISMATIC AND PICTORIAL LANDSCAPES 

outside of Rome, on a series of bronze coins of Eusebeia, struck 
between 36 and 9 B.C. 

During the Empire the use of landscape on the obverses of coins 
spread throughout the Hellenized East. In many cases a landscape 
became one of the blazons of a minting city. This coinage consists of 
two major types: the <semi-autonomous' issues which were minted 
with a Roman obverse type and local reverse, and the <autonomous' 
coins which were struck with both obverse and reverse of local type. 

The <autonomous' issues display great conservatism on their 
obverses. For example, the head of Athena present on Athenian coins 
of the Imperial period seems to have developed directly from the 
independent new-style coinage.19 Another example, the obverse 
types of Hermes or Pan on the coins ofDocimeum, struck as late as the 
reign of Gordian III, display a close resemblance to Hellenistic types.20 

The reverses of all Greek Imperial coins are even more conservative 
than the obverses of the 'autonomous' mints. The reason for this lies 
deeply imbedded in the history of the Hellenized East, and in the 
tradition of its coinage. From the very first coins minted through the 
coinage of the Greek Imperial mints, most city-states had their own 
blazons appearing on their money. These remained constant for 
long periods of time, and thus the stylized seal of Phocaea, the turtle 
of Aegina, the sphinx of Chios and the bee of Ephesus are but a few 
of the devices used continually as city badges on the earlier Greek 
coinage.21 The origin of these types is in doubt. Macdonald suggests 
that these blazons "must be heraldic in character."22 It is quite possible 
that the idea of stamping a coin with such a heraldic device originated 
from the widespread use of seals, which stamped the blazons of a 
state, a king or an individual on clay or wax. These reverse types 
became universal, and survived as long as the Hellenic city-states 
maintained at least a nominal amount of autonomy. Athens is a good 
example of this type of conservatism: it continued the use of its 
traditional owl type throughout the old and new-style coinage. During 
the Roman domination of the Hellenized eastern Mediterranean, the 
old traditional badges seem to have taken on a different function, or 

19 B. V. Head, Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum: Attica (London 1888) cf pI. 
XIV,5 with XIx,6. See also M. Thompson, The New Style Silver Coinage of Athens [ANS Numis­
matic Studies no. 10] (New York 1961) passim. 

10 B. V. Head, Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum: Phrygia (London 1906) 189 
nos.9,1O. 

U C. Seltman, Greek Coins (London 1960) pIs. IfI. 
U G. Macdonald, Coin Types, their Origin and Development (Glasgow 1905) 71. 



MICHAEL CHEILIK 219 

disappear entirely in most city-states. Pegasus no longer appears on 
Corinthian money as the sole exemplary blazon; the bee all but 
vanishes from the coinage of Ephesus during the Imperial period.23 

The landscape, as a new type of city emblem, may replace or share 
the reverse of coins with the old badge. On issues of certain mints 
organized during the Roman period, such as Eusebeia in Cappadocia, 
the landscape becomes the only symbol of the city. 

Landscapes appear fairly often on Greek Imperial coins, and when 
used they may assume the same functions as the old city blazons. In 
some instances, as occasionally in the case of Corinth, the new type is 
combined with the old. The new type, a view of Acrocorinth sur­
mounted by the temple of Aphrodite, makes its appearance on the 
reverses of some coins struck during the time of Claudius (fig. 5).24 
The old Pegasus remains on the coins of Corinth, now a colony of 
Rome, but its function seems to have changed and the winged horse 
must share the duties as city badge with the new type, the landscape 
view of Acrocorinth. It is not unreasonable to suppose that the off­
spring of Medusa takes on a subSidiary role, representing the past 
greatness of Corinth. The landscape seems to symbolize the new city 
rebuilt by the Romans.25 This is suggested by the fact that during 
the Imperial period both Pegasus and Acrocorinth appear on various 
reverses depicting allegorical and mythological scenes. The winged 
horse does not appear in a detached symbolic fashion as does the 
landscape; it is always part of an episode. The rocky citadel is fre­
quently depicted as a disengaged badge. On a coin of Septimius 
Severus,26 the spring Peirene is personified where she pours forth her 
sacred stream from an amphora and Pegasus stands before her, 
drinking; he is an integral part of the scene. Above is Acrocorinth as 

23 On one series of coins, possibly tesserae, from Ephesus during the Imperial period, 
there is struck on the obverse a kneeling stag with his head tUIned back; on the reverse, a 
bee with the legend KHPIAICWt.EnpOnAA YP. B. V. Head, Catalogue of Greek Coins in the 
British Museum: Ionia (London 1892) 70 states that it was probably a magic formula used 
against diseases. 

2& B. V. Head, Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum: Corinth (London 1889) 66 no. 
541; see also pI. XVII,2. 

25 The owl on Athenian coinage takes on a function similar ro the Pegasus of Corinth. 
During the Imperial period, it rarely appears alone. It is very frequently part of a scene. 
For example, it appears perched on a tree between Poseidon and Athena (]. N. Svoronos, 
Les monnaies d'Athenes [Munich 1923-6] pI. LXXXIX, 1-10). It is also depicted on a table with 
bust of Athena (Svoronos, pI. XCI, 1-45). 

26 Catalog: Corinth, 86 no. 653; see also pI. XXI.16; the coin is too worn for satisfactory 
reproduction. 



220 NUMISMA TIC AND PICTORIAL LANDSCAPES 

a detached type, apparently functioning as a sort of coat-of-arms. A 
landscape serving such a function appears on a number of other 
Corinthian coins of the Imperial period, as well as on the money of 
other Roman-dominated dty-states of the Hellenized East. 

Neapolis in Samaria makes use of the landscape in the same way. 
This dty began minting semi-autonomous coins during the reign of 
Domitian.27 Throughout its history, the money of this mint displays 
a predominating reverse type: a view of Mount Gerizim, the holy 
mountain of the Samaritans, located near the dty (fig. 7).28 This land­
scape type is meant to be a badge for the city, as is clearly shown on 
the money issued by the Roman colony founded at Neapolis during 
the reign of Philip Senior. The coinage uses the typical symbolism of 
Roman colonies and dominions: the eagle,29 Romulus and Remus 
being suckled by the she-wolf,30 and the quadriga.31 To show that the 
colony was located at Neapolis, and not in Antioch, Bura or Cyrene. 
Mt. Gerizim appears in a detached form, but in all its details, above 
the Roman types (fig. 6). 

A parallel development is shown by money of Caesarea in Cappa­
doda. Mt. Argaeus is represented on the reverse of the coins of this 
dty throughout the Roman period (fig. 8).32 This mountain, like Mt. 
Gerizim at Neapolis, was located near and was revered by the city. 
In several instances, besides its continual appearance as a type taking 
up the entire reverse, Mt. Argaeus is represented in a detached 
fashion. On a coin of Alexander Severus the emperor appears in a 
quadriga, above which the mountain is depicted in full detail (fig. 
9).33 It thus seems clear that when landscapes are represented on 
Greek Imperial coins, they represent dty badges. If this were not the 
case, these landscapes would not be depicted in a detached manner, 
and certainly not in full detail. 

During the Imperial period, coins of Corinth, Neapolis, and Caesa­
rea continually appear with representations of a local landscape. 
Other dties only occasionally struck coins with reverses in this genre. 
These types served a similar function: they too were dty badges, 

27 G. F. Hill, Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum: Palestine (London 1914) xxvi. 
28 Catalog: Palestine, pIs. V-VII. 

II Catalog: Palestine, 63 nos. 116, 117. 
80 Catalog: Palestine, 66 no. 129. 
31 Catalog: Palestine, 68 no. 138. 
82 E. Sydenham, Caesarea, paSSim. 
38 Sydenham, 122 no. 546. 



MICHAEL CHEILIK 221 

although not necessarily their city's sole symbol. Their representation 
on coinage, since it is rare, might point to the commemoration of an 
especially important event. Amisos in Pontus minted a relatively 
small series of semi-autonomous coins whose reverses consisted of 
various types, both Imperial and loca1.34 No landscape of any type is 
depicted until the year A.D. 97/8, when a lush countryside appears 
(fig. 10). It consists of a very stylized view of three wooded hills,35 in 
the foreground of which is a temple; to the left is a flaming altar. 
Although Amisos had a fortified acropolis, it was not represented as 
the symbolic view of the city, as in the case of Corinth. The land­
scapes on Greek Imperial coins often depict the important local temple 
or temples. Sometimes these shrines appear on the acropoleis, as On 
coins of Argos,36 Troezen,37 and Athens.3s Sometimes a temple is 
represented on a holy mountain, as in the case of Neapolis. The temple 
on the coin of Amisos is located below the hills. 

An explanation for the sudden appearance of this landscape in the 
year A.D. 97/8 is suggested by the status of this city itself. In 32 B.C. 

when Augustus liberated Amisos from the tyrant Strato, it became a 
civitas libera, a 'free' city. Because of this, coins issued by the mint at 
Amisos frequently bore the legend, AMICOY EAEY8EPAC.S9 This 
status seems to have been strengthened or renewed during the time 
of Trajan, for Pliny wrote to the emperor from Bithynia: Amisenorum 
civitas et libera et foederata beneficio indulgentiae Wae legibus suis utitur.40 

In other words, the emperor had guaranteed the City'S autonomy by 
means of a formal treaty. The exact date of the treaty, not otherwise 
known. may be established by means of numismatic evidence. In the 
year 129 of Amisos (A.D. 97/8), a bronze commemorative coin was 
minted,41 on whose obverse is a Nike holding a crown and a palm 
frond instead of the usual portrait of the emperor (fig. 11).42 Two 
figures are represented on the reverse. To the left is Amisos; Roma 
stands facing her. According to Waddington these two personifica-

3' w. H. Waddington, Recueil general des monnaies grecques d'Asie Mineure II (Paris 1904) 
43-73. 

35 Waddington, 61 no.25. 
38 P. Gardner, Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum: Peloponnesus (London 1887) 

pi. xxvm,17. 
37 Catalog: Pe/op., pI. XXXI,8. 

38 Catalog: Attica, pI. XIx,6-8, 
39 Waddington, Recuei/, 44. 
40 Pliny, Epistulae, 10.92. 
n For the dating of the calendar see Waddingron, Recuei/, 53 n.4. 
n Waddington 61, no. 75. 



222 NUMISMATIC AND PICTORIAL LANDSCAPES 

tions appeared on the coinage of this city when it made an alliance 
with Rome.43 Thus Amisos must have struck a treaty of alliance with 
Rome in A.D. 97/8. The bronze coin with the landscape is also datable 
to A.D. 97/8. Its obverse is not of the ordinary type representing the 
emperor, for it was struck with a Nike type very similar to the one 
which appears on the alliance issue. It must be concluded that the 
landscape coin was minted to commemorate the alliance with Rome 
and that two aspects of the alliance were meant to be stressed. The 
landscapes on Greek Imperials were often badges, and since Amisos 
was a civitas et libera et foederata, the appearance of the landscape on 
this coin must signify the libera or free aspect of the city's status. By 
the same token, the appearance of Amisos and Roma approaching 
each other would emphasize the foederata or allied aspect. 

The landscapes on the coins of Caesarea in Cappadocia and Neapolis 
in Samaria seem to have been conceived in a manner slightly different 
from those of Amisos. In the first case a mountain which was holy 
per se to the local populace appears continually on the coinage, while 
in the second instance, only a temple on a rarely minted landscape 
type indicates a religious cult. Still, it seems that both of these land­
scape types can be traced back to a common source: the denarius 
issued at Rome 60/59 B.C. by the moneyer C. Considius Nonianus. 
Since there is no extant instance of a landscape represented on a coin 
before this date, it would seem that Rome must have contributed to 
the appearance of this type. 

The origin of landscapes on Greek Imperial coins appears to be 
intimately connected with the origin of this genre in ancient art. We 
have seen that the first landscape on an ancient coin appeared at 
Rome in 60/59 B.C. This is roughly contemporary with the earlier 
landscapes in Roman painting such as those found in the Villa dei 
Misteri outside of Pompeii (ca 80-50 B.C.)44 and the Villa ofP. Fannius 
Sinistor at Boscoreale (ca 40-30 B.C.).45 Iflandscape had been a product 
of Hellenistic civilization, it surely would have appeared on at least 
some coins of that period, but such is not the case. No reverse or 
obverse struck during the Hellenistic era can be said to "create an 
impression of spatial depth"46 by means of a unified composition of 

.a Waddington, 53 n.l. 
"A. Maiuri, La Villa dei Misteri (Rome 1947) 202ff; W. J. T. Peters, Landscape, 7 and pI. 

1,1. 
U Peters, Landscape, 10; P. Lehmann. Roman Wall Paintings. pI. xx. 
,. Peters, Landscape. 193. 



CIIEILIK PLATE 7 

2 ~\R 

3 AR 

5& 
() ,10 

7 DRAWII\G 

CONCORDAi\CE TO FIGURES 

Coins llfC showl! aetaal size 

British i\luSCUl1l (f-I. "\. Crucbcr, Coills of the I{OI1l£lIl l\epllb/ic ill the 131~iLis/l ;'IltlSCltl1l 

[London 1910J pI. xLVII,21) 

2 British I'vIllselllll (Crllcbcr, 1\0111£111 l\cl'lIhlic, pl. LIf,16) 

3 British :\[llsellll1 (Crllcbcr, 1\"lIlali l\cl'tlb/ic, pI. uf,1 H) 

-I British i\IlISClllll W. Sy,lcnh<llll, 'f'ilt' COill[lc~C llj'Caesarea ill Cal'p£ld,)cia LLondon 19~13J 27 

fig~ 1) 

5 British 1\lllSC1Il1l (B~ \'~ f-Icad~ Calliloglle or Greek Coills ill the Bl'itish .\/IISCIIIII: Corillth, 
Co/,)Ilies or C(ll~illt" l'tc~ [London IHH9j pI. :-;vII,2) 

() British \lllSClIlll (C. r. I Iill. ('£I{d/"S,IIt' ('j' Gr('('k ('('ills ill till' HI~i{is/l .\ /IIS,'III1I: I'diestilll' 

[London 191-1J pI. \!l,13) 
7 Cabinec des t-.ledailles (T. L. Donaldson, :irc/zitccttlJ"a XlIlIliSlIIlltica [London 1859J facing 

p. 106 !l0. 33) 



PLA TE 8 CHEILIK 

8£ 

10 iE 

13 in 

CONCORDANCE TO FIGURES 

Coins are sllown actHal size 

8 British Ivluseulll (Sydenham, Caesarca, 116 fig. (1) 

9 British Ivluseull1 (Sydenham, Caesarea, 122 fig. 9~) 

12 AR 

11m 

10 W. H. \Vaddington ct aI., R<'wei! ghlhal des llwJ11wies glw'lHes d'.lsie ,\)incure (Paris 1(04) 

61 no. 76; pI. YIn,25 
11 \Vaddingron, Recllei!, pI. YIII,24 

12 British :\lllSClllll (HC'ld. Gllidc to tile Pril1cipal Coins of tilt' G)'ct'i.:s [London 19591 pI. 
xxx,2I) 

13 British I\luseul11 (Head, GHide, pI. XLYIlI,I~) 



15 .£ 

17 RELIEF 

CO:\COIW.\:\CE TO FIGURES 

Cuills drt S"O\\'/1 dctlwi si:ze 

14 American Numismatic Socic(\" 
15 ;\mcrican 0: ul11ismalic Socicl \" 
16 .\mcric,lll i\iumislllCllic Socie!\ 

CIILlLlK PL \ TE <) 

16.1 

17 Villa ;\Ibani, Romc (~L Bicbcr, The SClLiptILre of the Hellenistic .\~<' L"'c\\ l(}rk 1Wil] 

fig. (49) 



MICHAEL CHEILIK 223 

natural and architectonic elements depicted in aerial or linear 
perspective. There are of course coins which show landscape elements, 
such as a tree or rock. Elements are not landscapes; they are single 
components of the many to be found in a single view. A coin minted 
at Gortyna in Crete (ca 300 B.C.) demonstrates the closest approach to 
landscape by a coin type of this period (fig. 12),47 Britomartis or 
Europa is represented seated on a lush tree; yet this depiction is not 
a unified scene, since a single tree is shown isolated on a blank back­
ground. The execution of the scene is almost identical to that of a 
Hellenistic relief from the second or first century B.C.48 in the Villa 
Albani. Polyphemus is seated on a rock under a leafy oak (fig. 17). 
This group, like Europa on her tree, is represented on a flat dimen­
sionless background with little attempt at depth. Even an idyllic 
landscape from the Hellenistic period such as a relief from Capri in 
the Naples Museum,49 which shows a couple on horseback led by a 
cloaked figure near a tree and a statue on a column, has no element of 
depth. The only unifying element is the ground line. 

A comparison of a landscape on a Greek Imperial reverse with the 
coin of Gortyna will illustrate even more clearly the completely 
different conceptions of out-of-doors scenes during the Hellenistic 
and Roman periods. On a coin of Ephesus minted during the Imperial 
period (fig. 13),50 Zeus Hyetios is represented seated on the rock 
Tracheia. This component alone is equivalent to the Hellenistic types 
of Britomartis (Europa), but it is only one element in a unified scene 
representing foreground and receding background. In the fore­
ground lies the mountain god Peion and in the plane between Peion 
and Zeus a temple, possibly of Athena,51 is depicted in profile. Zeus 
stretches his arm through the plane of this temple, and sprinkles 
Peion with rain. The planes behind the Father of the Gods are filled 
with various architectural features, and a cypress tree rising from the 
horizon shows that the background recedes far behind Zeus. A 
comparable genre oflandscape can be found on painted examples from 
Pompeii, such as Paris on Mt. Ida.52 Here the Phrygian shepherd is 

47 B. V. Head, Historia Nummorum (Oxford 1911) 466; Head, Guide to the Principal Coin$ 
of the Greeks (London 1959) pI. xxx,21; cf. Dikaios, Kadmos I (1962) 140 n.4. 

48 M. Bieber, Sculpture, 153 and fig. 649. 
" Bieber, Sculpture, 153 and fig. 648. 
so Catalog: Ionia, pI. XllI,9. 

51 Catalog: Ionia, see 79 no. 237. 
52 C. Dawson, Romano-Campanian Mythological Landscape Painting, pI. VI no. 18. 



224 NUMISMATIC AND PICTORIAL LANDSCAPES 

seated on a rock in the central plane with figures and vegetation in 
front and behind him. These scenes are quite different from Brito­
martis (Europa) on a tree or Polyphemus on a rock. The Hellenistic 
conception is of a figure with landscape elements isolated on a flat, 
blank background while the Roman conception is of a unified view 
with a receding background and advancing foreground. 

Not only is there no example of landscape appearing on any coin 
during the Hellenistic period, but there is no instance in which a 
landscape appears on a coin of Alexandria in any period.53 Only 
landscape elements are present on money of that city. On many coins 
of the Imperial period, the river god Nile is depicted as reclining 
(fig. 14)54 and holding a reed. Sometimes he is supported by rocks, but 
these are only elements of landscape. The closest approach by the 
coinage of Alexandria to a unified scene is on a series with Isis Pharia 
on the reverse, issued during the second and third centuries. On a 
coin with Faustina on the obverse (fig. 15),55 the goddess is depicted 
riding over the sea toward the lighthouse. Three elements, Isis, a 
ship's prow, the Pharos, are isolated against a flat background which 
lacks depth and has little unity; the composition is very close to that 
of the Capri relief. A series oflandscape medallions and coins depicting 
mythological scenes was issued at Rome during the reigns of Hadrian 
and Antoninus PiUS.56 A scene such as Orpheus singing to the beasts 
and trees is the type of myth which is germane to the landscape genre, 
and it is found on a coin of Alexandria with Antoninus Pius on the 
obverse (fig. 16).57 Instead of a landscape, however, there is a loose 
arrangement of elements: Orpheus sits on a rock, various isolated 
animals float around him. There is no distinction of plane and there 
is no unifying natural or architectural framework. The conception is 
Hel1enistic. It is most likely that if landscape originated and flourished 
in Alexandria, it would at least have appeared on coins minted during 
the Roman period, when there were many occasions for using this 
genre. During this time many city-states of the Hellenized East 

58 Indeed, the only landscape to be found at Alexandria appears to be from the Roman 
period; see H. Riad, "Tomb Painting from the Necropolis of Alexandria," Archaeology 17 
(1964) 169-72. 

Ii' American Numismatic Society, Coin Cabinet, Alexandria-tray: Trajan, yr. 18 (A.D. 

114/5). 
56 ANS Cabinet, Alexandria-tray: Faustina. 
58 ANS Cabinet, Alexandria-tray: Antoninus Pius, yr. A.D. 143/4. 
57 Cf. Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum: Alexandria (London 1892) pI. Xl no. 

1373. 



MICHAEL CHEILIK 225 

adapted various types of landscape for special occasions on coins and 
medallions. 

Landscapes on coins thus seem to add more evidence to support the 
theory that the landscape was created at Rome and not Alexandria. 

HUNTER COLLEGE OF THE ClTY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK 

October, 1965