LYDIA, Maeonia
Pseudo-autonomous issue
AE19. 2.99g, 19.4mm
MINTED: LYDIA, Maeonia, circa 2nd century AD
REF: RPC III 2428A
OBVERSE: Bearded head of Herakles left.
REVERSE: MAIO-NΩN, Omphale walking right, wearing lion skin and holding club with right hand over shoulder.
 
Notes:
Greenish patina.   Some light scratches on surfaces. 
An intruging mythological reverse type that features Omphale, a legendary Lydian queen.  In one of the myths of Herakles, the great hero was commanded by the Oracle of Delphi to serve in the house of Omphale as a slave for the period of a year.  There, in a reversal of traditional gender roles, he was made to wear a dress and do household chores, while Omphale put on Herakles's attire.  In time, Omphale freed Herakles and made him her husband and the two had a son together.  This coin depicts Omphale carrying Herakles' lion skin and fabled club as a homage to the legend. 
 
Historical Notes:
In antiquity, the name Maeonia seemed to have been used to refer to Lydia, and was perhaps an older name for the kingdom that occupied most of western Anatolia (in modern day Turkey). During the Roman period, Maeonia was also the name of a town at the foot of Mount Tmolus that was peopled by the original Maeonians.  In Greek mythology, Tmolus was a king of Lydia, son of the god Ares and the original husband of Omphale, who after his death ruled in her own right .