PHRYGIA, Apameia
AE16. 3.31g, 16.5mm
MINTED: PHRYGIA, Apameia, circa 133-48 BC
REF: SNG Cop 193; HGC 7, 674
OBVERSE: Turreted head of Artemis as Tyche right, bow and quiver over shoulder.
REVERSE: Marsyas, walking right on maeander pattern, naked, but for cloak behind, playing aulos (double-piped reed flute), APAME right; PANKP ZHNO (magistrate) left.
 
Notes:
Dark green patina.   
Interesting mythological type. Marsyas was a satyr who was famed for his ability to play the aulos (double-piped reed flute).  He dared to compete in a musical battle with the god of music himself, Apollo, which he ultimately lost.  For his hubris in challenging a god, Apollo flayed him alive and had his skin nailed to a pine tree by the river that came to bear his name.
 
Historical Notes:
Apameia was an ancient city in Anatolia situated at the confluence of the rivers Marsyas and Meander.  It was named by the Seleukid king Antiochos I in memory of his mother, Apama.  Due to its location between Greece and Rome and Egypt and the lands of the east, the city became an important trade hub known also by the sobriquet Kibotos, meaning 'the Chest'.  This name was likely a reference to the ubiquitous wooden packing crates that were used by the city's merchants when they re-packaged goods they handled.