CILICIA. Tarsos (?). Circa 450-400 BC. 1/3 Stater (Silver, 13 mm, 3.12 g, 1 h). Forepart of a winged hippocamp to right. Rev. God Nergal advancing left, holding bow in his right hand and spear in his left; all within dotted border within incuse square. Müseler -, cf. 9.5.6 (Nergal advancing right). SNG Copenhagen -. SNG Levante -. SNG Paris -, cf. 204 (Nergal advancing right). SNG von Aulock -. Extremely rare. Struck from worn dies, otherwise, about very fine.


Embodying of the annihilating heat of the sun, the ancient Mesopotamian god Nergal was the ruler of the underworld Kurnugia and primarily associated with war, disease, and death. His worship is attested since the early 3rd millenium BC, while the extremely rare Cilician coins from the Achaemenid period such as this one, which show the god holding a bow and a spear, are among the last evidence of his cult.