Crawford 407/2

Moneyer:  C. Hosidius C.f. Geta; 68 BC

Denomination: Denarius

Obverse:  Diademed and draped bust of Diana right, with bow and quiver over shoulder 

Reverse:  Calydonian Boar standing right, pierced by spear and harried by hound below.

Mint: Rome

Reference: Crawford 407/2

Weight:  3,77 g

Notes:  The Calydonian boar hunt is one of the great heroic adventures in Greek legend. It occurred in the generation prior to that of the Trojan War. The purpose of the hunt was to kill the Calydonian boar which had been sent by Artemis to ravage the region of Calydon in Aetolia, because its king Oeneus had failed to honour her in his rites to the gods. The hunters, led by the hero Meleager, included many of the foremost heroes of Greece. In most accounts it is also concluded that a great heroine, Atalanta, won its hide by first succeeding in wounding the boar with an arrow, although Meleager finished it off, and offered the prize to Atalanta, who had drawn first blood. This outraged many of the men, leading to a tragic dispute.

Diana is a goddess in Roman and Hellenistic religion, primarily considered a patroness of the countryside and nature, hunters, wildlife, childbirth, crossroads, the night, and the Moon. She is equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, and absorbed much of Artemis' mythology early in Roman history, including a birth on the island of Delos to parents Jupiter and Latona, and a twin brother, Apollo,though she had an independent origin in Italy.

Collection : 16 Roman Republic