PHILISTIA. Central Mint. Philistian-styled, circa 420-350 BCE. Rbʾ Šql = Drachm (Silver, 17 mm, 3.54 g, 4 h). Facing head of Bes, wearing long beard and plumed headdress, flanked by two upright lions with heads turned back; below, four-row beaded collar. Rev. Lion recumbent right, head facing, above gazelle prostrate to right; all within dotted square border within incuse square. Gitler & Tal XXVIII.1Da (this coin). Hendin -. Jeselsohn 355 (same dies). Mildenberg, Palästina, pl. LVIII, 72 (this coin). Shoshana -. Sofaer -. Of the highest rarity, one of just two known examples. Somewhat rough and with a test cut on the reverse, otherwise, very fine.



As an apotropaic deity, Bes often appears in grotesque and fearsome form, his wild appearance serving to ward off evil. This is also where his close association with the lion comes into play: the animal’s strength and threatening presence further enhance the god’s protective power. On the present piece, the two lions flanking the headdress therefore intensify Bes’ apotropaic character. At the same time, the composition emphasizes his command over the animal world. On a scarab seal in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, probably Phoenician and dating to the 6th–5th century BCE (41.160.163), Bes is likewise shown standing between two lions, restraining them with his arms; compare also lot 120 below. Bes thus not only wards off evil, but also appears as master of animals.

The same hierarchy of power is continued on the reverse, where a lion appears in a dominant pose above a gazelle. Bes, the apotropaic demon, commands the lions; the lion, in turn, dominates the gazelle. The two sides of the coin thus form a clear hierarchy of power, moving from supernatural protective power to the ruler of the animal world and finally to the herbivore as prey. Particularly striking is the lion’s frontal face, which once again underscores the apotropaic character of the coin.