Lot 238:
Greek Asia. Cilicia, Mallos. AR Stater, c. 440-390 BC. Obv. Winged male figure running left, holding solar disk with both hands. Rev. MAP. Swan standing left. Casabonne Type 2 var. (swan right); SNG France 375; SNG BN -; SNG Levante -. 11.01 g. 20.00 mm. RR. A choice exaVery rare and fascinating issue. VF. The solar deity present on the obverse of this coin is sometimes identified as Kronos (a Semitic god more properly known as 'El', and distinct from the Greek Titan and father of the Olympian gods, but with whom he was syncretised by Greeks). This seems eminently logical, since the spiral attribute, used on later issues - which Robert Graves called a 'spiral of immortality' (The White Goddess, 1948), a symbol of power most likely appropriated from the Red Crown of Lower Egypt - and solar disc attributes do not belong to any Olympian deity, but to one of near-Eastern origin. It has moreover been suggested that Mallos was originally of Phoenician foundation (see IACP, 1009) on the basis of its original ethnik, a suggestion supported by the presence of other Semitic deities portrayed on the city's coinage, as well as the use of Aramaic legends.