(January 14, 2011) 2,100 year-old Greek coin may have marked rare astronomical event

Unreported Heritage News ^ | Friday, January 14, 2011 | Owen Jarus

[SunkenCiv]

New research suggests that this coin marks an eclipse of Jupiter by the moon. It happened on January 17, 121 BC and was visible in Antioch, the capital of the Seleucid Empire. The coin itself show Zeus with a crescent moon above his head and a star like object hovering above the palm of his right hand... On one side is a portrait of Antiochos VIII, the king who minted it. On the reverse is a depiction of Zeus, either nude or half-draped, holding a sceptre in his left hand. Above the god's head is the crescent of the moon, and his right arm is outreached with a star like figure (that may in fact be Jupiter) hovering just above his palm. "Nobody ever re-used this iconography again -- it was a one off," said Professor Robert Weir, of the University of Windsor in Canada, who presented his research recently at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America. Antiochos VIII was ruler of the Seleucid Empire, a kingdom created by one of Alexander the Great's officers, after the great conqueror died in 323 BC. By the time of Antiochos this realm was composed of a rump of territory centred on the city of Antioch, in south-eastern Turkey. The empire had been in decline for some time, with the Parthians gaining territory in the east, the Romans in the west and the Hasmoneans, a dynasty of Jewish kings, coming to power in the south.

[SunkenCiv]

New research suggests that this coin marks an eclipse of Jupiter by the moon. It happened on January 17, 121 BC and was visible in Antioch, the capital of the Seleucid Empire. The coin itself show Zeus with a crescent moon above his head and a star like object hovering above the palm of his right hand.

[SunkenCiv]

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[Sacajaweau]

There’s an old song....”Imagination”

[Sacajaweau]

I don’t think it’s a star...I think it’s a flower..

[JoeProBono]

[Rumplemeyer]

save

[VanDeKoik]

Did people back then have a really hard time just saying exactly what they mean?

[SunkenCiv]

Why should they be any different than people today?

[COBOL2Java]

The Seleucid Empire at its zenith, ca. 275 BC

Less than 100 years later (ca. 188 BC):

Eventually the "empire" encompassed little more than Antioch and some Syrian cities. The Seleucids existed solely because no other nation wished to absorb them — seeing as they constituted a useful buffer between their other neighbors.

[madison10]

I don’t see what they are saying is there...and yes it looks like flower. I’m not even sure it’s Zeus, maybe it’s Poseidon. Maybe it’s not a crescent moon either.

Could be it’s the Nativity Star in the guy’s hand and the year is 3 A.D.

[Monkey Face]

4th of July...looks like a sparkler in his hand...or maybe a spiffy, sparkly sci-fi “prest-o/chang-o” gadget to amuse and delight...

;o]

[COBOL2Java]

Could be it’s the Nativity Star in the guy’s hand and the year is 3 A.D.

Can't be the Nativity Star. It's a Seleucid coin, and Pompey got rid of the Seleucids decades before the advent of Christ. Would be pretty cool if it was, though!

[madison10]

Could be it’s the Nativity Star in the guy’s hand and the year is 3 A.D.

Can't be the Nativity Star. It's a Seleucid coin, and Pompey got rid of the Seleucids decades before the advent of Christ. Would be pretty cool if it was, though!

So there wasn't a secret Seleucid Society watching the skies in 2 or 3 A.D. and sending out camel-riding envoys? Bummer. ;)

[afraidfortherepublic]

"Nobody ever re-used this iconography again -- it was a one off," said Professor Robert Weir, of the University of Windsor in Canada,

I thought they spoke good English in Canada...

[afraidfortherepublic]

FTA: On the reverse is a depiction of Zeus, either nude or half-draped, . I can clearly see that he is half draped -- no either/or about it. Can't you? What is the matter with this author and his poor use of the language?

[blam]

"Did people back then have a really hard time just saying exactly what they mean?"

Imagine if it had been reported in the Ebonics language?

[BigOrangeI]

Starry Night software shows that on that date, from Antioch, the moon is in Leo and Jupiter is not eclipsed but experiences a conjunction with the moon. You have to go to about 65 deg N for an eclipse to occur on that date.

[ApplegateRanch]

Sure that is a star, and not a head of popping wheat?

Or that Zeus hasn’t just stopped to smell a flower?

...and what is with that herd of spermatozoa swimming at the bottom, and around the edges, of the coin?

[Jewbacca]

I sometimes wonder what future archaelogists are going to think when they see crappy Franklin Mint coins.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks, maybe a bit wide, though. :')