IONIA. Smyrna. Pseudo-autonomous issue. Assarion (Bronze, 19 mm, 4.40 g, 1 h), time of Septimius Severus, 193-211. ΟΜΗΡΟϹ Homer seated to right, holding scroll in his left hand and resting his right on seat. Rev. ϹΜΥΡ/ΝΑΙ/ΩΝ in three lines within laurel wreath. BMC 225-6. RPC V.2 online ID 28099. SNG von Aulock 7989. Extremely rare. Minor traces of corrosion, otherwise, nearly very fine.


‘Sing, Goddess, of the wrath of Achilles, son of Peleus.’

Thus opens the Iliad, which, together with the Odyssey, is considered one of the greatest works of Western literature, composed by the most famous of Greek poets: Homer. So great was his reputation that other ancient authors often simply referred to him as 'the Poet'. Despite this fame, ancient scholarship was already rife with contention about Homer’s life and works. Several cities, for instance, claimed to be the poet’s birthplace, many of which were in western Asia Minor, such as Chios, Kolophon, Kyme, Temnos and Smyrna. This even became the butt of jokes, as an anonymous poet in the Anthologia Palatina (16.299) asks Homer where he is from, to which the latter replies that he would not tell, as he was sure to earn the enmity of all the other cities.

In the Hellenistic period, and continuing under the Romans, this rivalry took on a new dimension as civic communities would vie with one another culturally through grand building projects, festivals, and games. Coinage, it seems, was another way to compete, as several cities produced coins such as this piece, featuring Homer, clearly in order to lay claim to his legacy.