Ancient Coin Stories

Kolophon may have been the most ancient of the twelve Ionian cities. It’s name means ‘summit’ in Greek, and from that you may surmise the city’s location.

Legend has it that the seer Kalchas died at Kolophon shortly after the Trojan War. He had prophesied that he would meet his end when he met a better seer, and when he ran up into Mopsos they had a ‘seer contest’ and Mopsos was the better, so Kalchas died. Kalchas lost on a question concerning a fig tree. He asked Mopsos how many figs were on a small tree, and Mopsos answered that it was enough to fill a medimnos (roughly 51.84 liters) but one fig wouldn’t fit. When they discovered that this was the truth, Mopsos died. Personally, I would have stuffed it in.

Strabo mentions there was an ancient saying “he put Kolophon to it” because the city possessed such a notable navy and cavalry that, whenever a battle between two foes went on for a long time, Kololphon would join the dispute and it would be resolved quickly.

Famous people from Kolophon included Mimnermos, who was a flute player and poet, and Xenophanes, who was an important philosopher. There was also Polymnastos, who Pindar stated was one of the best musicians.

Until the 7th century BCE, Kolophon was the major power in the area. However, by the time Alexander the Great arrived, the city had been eclipsed by Ephesos and Miletos.

In the 3rd century BCE, Kolophon was destroyed by Lysimachos.

The obverse of this coin depicts Apollo, who was by myth the father of Mopsos. Around the time this coin was minted, there was an oracle to Apollo Klarios in Kolophon. Ruins of the temple remain today.