Speaker
Description
Within the framework of my dissertation project on the sacred topography of the northern Greek peninsula of Chalcidice new insights on the coin iconography of Ouranopolis and Cassandreia were gained. Firstly, I will discuss the attribution of Aphrodite Ourania on the Ouranopolitan coins, and will present a new interpretation, which proposes that the coin depicts the god Helios or the personification of the sky (Ouranos) instead of the goddess Aphrodite. The second part is dedicated to the Roman colony of Cassandreia and deals with an interesting reverse type that Hugo Gaebler already mentioned in a footnote, speaking of a pantheistic connection of Ammon with Zeus and Dionysos, or with Zeus, Dionysos and Asclepios. I aim to present this syncretic phenomenon on the basis of new coin material, and to discuss thought-provoking proposals for their interpretation. Both case studies demonstrate the added value and the innovative potential of an interdisciplinary approach.
