Crawford 362/1

Moneyer: C. Mamilius Limetanus. 82 BC. 

Denomination: Denarius serratus

Obverse: Draped bust of Mercury right, wearing winged petasus; to left, A above caduceus

Reverse:  Ulysses (Odyseusz) wearing pileus and mariner's dress, walking right, leaning on staff in left hand and extending his right hand towards his dog, Argus, who advances toward him; C • MAMIL downwards to left, LIME(TA)N upwards to right

Reference:  Crawford 362/1

Mint: Rome

Weight: 

Notes: The obverse and reverse of this coin refer to the lineage of the gens Mamilia, who claimed their descent from Mamilia, the daughter of Telegonus, the son of Ulysses and Circe, and a descendant of Mercury. The reverse scene depicts the moment when, returning home from his long wanderings in the guise of a beggar so as to surprise and kill the many suitors of his wife Penelope, Ulysses' aged dog Argus recognizes him:

Soon as he perceived Long-lost Ulysses nigh, down fell his ears Clapped close, and with his tail glad sign he gave
Of gratulation, impotent to rise, And to approach his master as of old. Ulysses, noting him, wiped off a tear. Unmarked.
. . . Then his destiny released. Old Argus, soon as he had lived to see Ulysses in the twentieth year restored. (Hom. Od. 17.290 [Cowper's translation]).
At last, seeing his master after so many years, the old dog dies.

Collezione : 16 Roman Republic