Moesia Inferior. Nikopolis ad Istrum
Diadumenian, as Caesar. 217-218 CE
Statius Longinus, legatus consularis
AE 25mm 11.60g
Obv.: M OΠEΛ ΔIAΔOΥMENIANOC K, bare-headed, draped, and cuirassed bust right.
Rev.: VΠ CTA ΛONΓINOΥ NIKOΠOΛITΩN ΠΡOC ICTPON, Artemis walking right, holding bow and reaching for an arrow from the quiver at her shoulder.
AMNG I, 1, 467, 1842
I believe this depicts the same statue of the famed “Diana of Versaiiles”, which was modeled after a lost sculpture by Leochares, a 4th century Greek scultpor. While the pose is exactly the ame, with Artemis drawing her bow and reaching behind her for an arrow, the Diana of Versailles also includes a doe, here not present.
I therefore wonder if the doe was added later, since this coin probably depicts either the original statue, or a more recent copy of it. Or, the copy this coin used as a model simply did not include the doe.
Leochares was the sculptor who created the famed statues of Philip II, Alexander III, Amyntas III, Olympias, and Eurydike I that resided in the Philippeion at Olympia. It was erected by Philip II himself after his victory in the Battle of Chaeronea, but today only the temple’s base can be seen.