Ancient Coin Stories

This one is a bit more controversial, but my reasoning comes from this passage in Pausanias.

About a stade distant from Kaphyai is a place called Condylea, where there are a grove and a temple of Artemis called of old Condyleatis. They say that the name of the goddess was changed for the following reason. Some children, the number of whom is not recorded, while playing about the sanctuary found a rope, and tying it round the neck of the image said that Artemis was being strangled. The Kaphyaians detecting what the children had done, stoned them to death. When they had done this, a malady befell their women, whose babies were stillborn, until the Pythian priestess bade them bury the children, and sacrifice to them every year as sacrifice is made to heroes, because they had been wrongly put to death. The Kaphyans still obey this oracle, and call the goddess at Condyleae, as they say the oracle also bade them, the Strangled Lady from that day to this.

There are two known provincials of Kaphyai that depict Artemis. One is this one, with a veiled Artemis that I initially mistook for Artemis with a rope over her head. The depiction of a veiled Artemis this way is relatively common, especially in the Peloponnese. The other contains Artemis standing upright and holding two torches.’

Imhoof-Blumer and Gardner chose the latter as the more likely representation of Hanging Artemis (Artemis Kondylaia), but I’m not so sure. They did mention by type under “Other types at Caphyae”, suggesting that they too were unsure.

Both coins were minted at roughly the same time. Mine has Septimius Severus, while the other has his wife Julia Domna. Geta seems to have continued my type.

Although I’m searching for things here, the veil could be a sign of respect to Artemis, in a bid to not lose any more children.