MYSIA. Kyzikos. Circa 550-450 BC. Stater (Electrum, 22 mm, 16.00 g, 12 h). Warrior, nude but for crested Corinthian helmet, kneeling right, examining arrow held with both hands, bow leaning against his left arm; to left, tunny downward. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. BMC 79-80. Boston MFA 1490 = Warren 1511. SNG Paris 263-4. Von Fritze I, 117 and pl. IV, 3. Rare. A beautiful issue with a wonderful obverse. Struck on an oblong flan and with minor edge splits, otherwise, good very fine.


The identity of this remarkable archer remains uncertain, although Greenwell in 1887 already suggested Jason or one of his Argonaut companions. The association would be particularly appropriate at Kyzikos, whose mythical history was closely bound to the Argonautic expedition. Rather than showing combat itself, the engraver has chosen the quieter moment before action: the kneeling warrior carefully sights along his arrow to test its straightness, while his bow rests ready beside him. His heroic nudity sets him apart from an ordinary soldier. Whether a specific Argonaut was intended cannot now be established, but the subject would have carried a distinctly local resonance at Kyzikos, reinforced, as always, by the city’s tunny beside the figure.