Mallos, Cilicia

[B]Mallos, Cilicia (385-333 BC.) AR Stater[/B] [u]Obv[/u]: Hermes standing facing, holding caduceus in his right hand and draping robe over left; Aphrodite standing to left of Hermes, facing left; right arm resting on Hermes' shoulder and slightly reclining against column on her left; MLL legend in left exerge. [u]Rev[/u]: Athena seated, facing left, holding spear in right hand, resting left elbow on shield; trunk of olive tree behind. [u]Attribution[/u]: SNG Levante 155; SNG France 403; SNG Cop. 166; Babelon Traite' Pl. 138, 9 [u]Provenance[/u]: ex. Barry P. Murphy (#16677), 3.17.07 [u]Weight[/u]: 10.31 gm [u]Maximal Diameter[/u]: 22 mm [u]Axis[/u]: 12 [u]Note[/u]: Mallos is placed in Cilicia by Skylax (102) and Diodorous (19.56.5). It has been identified with the urban remains on a hill above the river Ceyhan (ancient Pyramos), near the present-day village of Kiziltahta. Mallos' harbor was Magarsos and the two cities became Antiocheia on the Pyramos during the reign of Antiochos IV. The Mallotai were supposedly borne of Argos. A foundation myth involved the Argive hero Amphilochos and Mopsos (Strabo 14.5.16). There was a cult of Amphilochos in Mallos and his famous oracle there is attested in late sources (Bosworth, 1980). Alexander the Great conquered Mallos in 333 and put an end to an ongoing stasis between the citizens of the city. GK252