Honey Bee on Ancient Coins

 

Before mankind developed agriculture and lived in organized settlements, honey gathered from the hives of bees was valued as a precious commodity. The honeybee is native to the areas around the Mediterranean Sea. Domestication of the honeybee as a pollinator was important for the growth of many fruit crops. The importance can be seen in the hieroglyph for ''bee'' (a profile of the insect) that started to be used as a symbol for the ruler of Lower Egypt.

                                           

Ephesos, silver Retradrachm, 350-340 BC,

Ephesus and Artemis. Images of the bee as a symbol appear very early in Greek coinage, in particular, the prosperous city of Ephesus in Ionia (on the Aegean coast of Turkey) adopted the bee as is civic emblem. Ephesus was the location of a famous temple of the goddess Artemis (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world). The high priest of the temple was known as the ''king bee''. Greeks believed the queen bee was male and the priestesses were called melissae (honeybees). There are many different known types of bee and stag and few bee and Artemis coins from Ephesus, from 550 BCE onwards.

                                            

Location of Ephesus on the coast

                                           

Temple of Artemis. If visited now you can only see the ruins of the foundations of this construction entirely made of marble. Remains of this temple are exhibited in the London British Museum. Date back to 6th century BC. The new Artemis has been rebuilt in the 2nd century BC and is located on top of the previous one. Now, one of the Seven Wonders of the world

 

Bees have two pairs of wings, but conventional ancient representations of the bee, as viewed from above, typically only show one pair.

                                         

Ephesos, 480-450 BC, AR Drachm, weight 3.4 gm, Obverse: Bee with curved outlined wings, curls on either side, Reverse: Quadripartite incuse square.
 

Early in the classical era (480-450 BCE), the bees on Ephesus coins were drawn with curved wings, giving the insect a funny appearance. By the 4th century BCE, with better skill, realistic bees were being engraved. These coins are inscribed with the abbreviated name of the city on the obverse, and the stag on the reverse. These coins were issued to about 133 BCE.

                                          

Ephesos, silver Tetradrachm, 350-340 BC, weight 15.1 gm, Obverse: E-O, Bee, Reverse: Forepart of stag right, head turned to look back, in left field, palm tree, in right field, magistrate's name

                                           

 

Troas, Gentinos, 4th century BC, weight 1.9 gm, Obverse: Female (Artemis ?) head right, Reverse: Bee, palm tree to left

  

                                            

Ephesos, Ionia, 305-288 BC, Obverse: female head left, Reverse: E-O, Bee

                                            

Ephesos, Ionia, civil issue, 390-300 BC, Obverse: Head of Artemis left, astragalos behind head, Reverse: Bee with squared wings

The bee disappears from the Ephesian coinage after Ephesus became part of the Roman empire as the capital of the province of Asia. The image of the Emperor appeared on the obverse of the Roman provincial coins.

As other towns and cities had ties with Ephesus, they too adopted the bee as an image on their coins as well. In 202 BCE, Ephesus established an alliance with the Phoenician city of Arados (now Arwad), a small island off the Syrian coast. Coins of Arados can be distinguished by the name of Aradion inscribed in Greek on the reverse. The alliance evidently continued for decades.

                                               

Phoenicia, Arados, AR Drachm, 172-110 BC, weight 4 gm, Obverse: Bee, monogram, date CY 88, / 172 BC to left, monogram to right, Reverse: Stag standing right, palm tree behind   

The town of Gentinos in the area of Troas used a bee and palm tree on its 4th century BCE local bronze. 

Honey Bee on Ancient Coins