Tokens in Classical Athens and Beyond

by Gkikaki, M.E.

• ISBN13: 9781837643899
• ISBN10: 183764389X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2023-11-01
• Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Summary

An Open Access edition of this book is available on the Liverpool University Press website and the OAPEN library.

A selection of essays on symbola, as the tokens of Classical Athens were called, bringing together scholars of various disciplines and professional categories (numismatists, historians, museum curators) that intends to reshape our knowledge on the roles these objects played in the Athenian Democracy. This is a series of case studies which aspires to test old theories and probe new assumptions. The first section explores the extent to which our knowledge has evolved since symbola were first distinguished from coins. Four essays demonstrate how tokens, as material manifestations of particular institutions, contributed to the formation of civic and political identity in the city-state of Athens and the roles they played in ensuring legal and political equality. The second section of the volume on new finds aims to develop expertise in studying tokens and increase relevant knowledge. Finally, a third section contains comparative studies from Sicily, Jerusalem and Ephesos, aiming to adopt a comparative methodology for a better understanding of the characteristics and roles of tokens from across the ancient Mediterranean.

Contributors: Vera Geelmuyden Bulgurlu, Tumay Hazinedar Coscun, Antonino Crisà, Yoav Farhi, P. J. Finglass, Mairi Gkikaki, Irini Karra, James Kierstead, John H. Kroll, Stamatoula Makrypodi, Christian Mondello, Daria Russo, Martin Schäfer.

Table of Contents

Mairi Gkikaki, Introduction

Section One: Symbola in Perception and Practice

1. P.J. Finglass, Tragic Tokens: Sophoclean Symbola in Context

2. James Kierstead, The Athenian Jigsaw Tokens

3. Mairi Gkikaki, The Council of Five Hundred and Symbola in Classical Athens

4. Daria Russo, Tokens and Athenian Tribes: Iconography and Contexts of Use

Section Two: New Finds, embarking on Modern Interpretations

5. Stamatoula Makrypodi, Athenian Clay Tokens, New Types, New Interpretations

6. John H. Kroll, Lettered and other tokens in the Lawcourts and the Assembly of Athens

7. Olga Dakoura-Vogiatzoglou, Tokens from the Deme of Koile

8. Irini Karra, The Lot of Lead Tokens from the Makrygianni Plot in Athens

Section Three: Athenian tokens in the aftermath of the Classical Period

9. Martin Schäfer, Nike on Hellenistic lead tokens: iconography and meaning

10. Cristian Mondello, Alexander the Great on Lead: Notes on some tokens from Roman imperial Athens

Section Four: Comparative Studies

11. Antonino Crisà, New Hellenistic and Roman Clay Tokens from Sicily: Some Case Studies from the Museum of Palermo

12. Yoav Farhi, A New Type of Roman Period Clay Tokens from Jerusalem

13. Vera Geelmuyden Bulgurlu and Tumay Hazinedar Coscun, A Group of Lead Tokens in the Ephesos Museum Collection