Denomination:    AE Bronze                                                                     

Mint: Syracuse, Sicily                                                                                           

Date: Circa 275-215 BCE 

Grade: NGC 5872603-272 - CH VF 

Mount: 14K gold

Description:  AE Bronze - Time of Hieron II. Obverse: Head of Poseidon left, wearing taenia Reverse: EPW-NOS, trident head, with scrolls decoration between prongs; lotiform shaft, flanked by dolphins.

History: Poseidon (Greek: Ποσειδῶν) was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon. He was venerated at Pylos and Thebes in pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, but he was integrated into the Olympian gods as the brother of Zeus and Hades. Poseidon has many children.  There is a Homeric hymn to Poseidon, who was the protector of many Hellenic cities, although he lost the contest for Athens to Athena. According to the references from Plato in his dialogue Timaeus and Critias, the island of Atlantis was the chosen domain of Poseidon. Syracuse, Sicilian: Sarausa, Ancient Greek: Συράκουσαι – transliterated: (Syrakousai) is a historic city in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is famous for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheaters, architecture and association to Archimedes, playing an important role in ancient times as one of the top powers of the Mediterranean world; it is over 2,700 years old. Syracuse is located in the south-east corner of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Syracuse next to the Ionian Sea.

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