CILICIA. Mallos. Tiribazos, satrap of Lydia, 388-380 BC. Stater (Silver, 21 mm, 10.00 g, 1 h). Head of Aphrodite to right, wearing pendant earring and pearl necklace and with her hair bound by an ampyx in the front and a sphendone in the back. Rev. MAΛ Idealized satrapal head to right, wearing kyrbasia bound with a taenia. Casabonne Series 2, Group D. SNG Levante 150-2. SNG Paris 391-4. Weiser, Kyros, pl. XX, 37. Lightly toned and with a particularly individual portrait. Faint cleaning scratches on the obverse, otherwise, good very fine.


In his article on the earliest numismatic portraits of living human beings, W. Weiser pointed out that the satrapal heads appearing on Cilician staters in the early 4th century are not actual portraits, but rather idealized images of the Persian Grandees. This differentiates them significantly from contemporary Lycian staters, which clearly show actual portraits of the local dynasts with very individual features. Sometime around 380 BC, all satrapal portraits suddenly disappear, perhaps due to a ban from the Persian Great King, who feared competition from his unruly noblemen (see Weiser p. 294).