TROAS. Abydus. Severus Alexander, 222-235. Diassarion (Bronze, 25 mm, 7.35 g, 12 h). ΑΥ Κ Μ [Α] C ΑΛЄΞΑΝΔ[ΡΟC] Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Severus Alexander to right. Rev. ΛΑΙΑΝΔΡΟC ΑΒΥΔ/ΗΝΩΝ Leander swimming right through the Hellespont toward Hero standing on top of a tall tower, holding burning oil lamp in her right hand. RPC VI 3913. Very rare. Somewhat smoothed, otherwise, fine.



The tragic love story of Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite from Sestos on the European side of the Hellespont, and Leander, a young man from Abydos on the opposite shore, is one of the most enduring Greek myths. Despite his parents' disapproval, Leander would brave the perilous strait every night to visit his beloved Hero, who guided him with the light of an oil lamp from a tall tower near the shore. One stormy night, however, the wind extinguished Hero's lamp, and Leander lost his way and drowned. In her grief, Hero threw herself from the tower, joining her lover in death.