Ancient Greece - AR Tetradrachm - Thasos Dionysos - Circa 148 BC

Denomination: AR Tetradrachm                                                              Mint: Thasos     Date: Circa 148 BC  Weight: 15.40 gm Grade: Very Fine Mount: 18K gold Description: Thasos, Dionysus. Obverse: Head of young Dionysus. Reverse: Herakles standing, with lion-skin and club. History: Thasos was an island inhabited from the Paleolithic period onwards, and was colonized at an early date by the Phoenicians, attracted by its gold mines. The island was also important in the wine trade and Thasian wine was quite famous in antiquity, which explains why the obverse of this type depicts the head of the wine god Dionysus. Dionysus was a mainstay of Greek mythology and the god of the grape harvest, wine, winemaking, and ritual madness & ecstasy. Dionysus’ portrait shows his intricately styled hair which has been adorned with grapes. The famous god Heracles was introduced to the island through the Phoenicians, who originally colonized the island sometime around 650 B.C.E. O