Kilikia, Koropissos
Commodus. 177-192 CE
AE 18mm 4.33g
Obv: ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ ΚΟΜΟ[ΔΟΝ], bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust right.
Rev: ΤΗϹ ΚΙΗΤωΝ (sic) ΜΗΤΡ, Zeus standing facing, head left, holding patera and bunch of grapes in right hand, long scepter in left; at feet left, eagle.
RPC IV.3 Online 5798 corr. (rev. description); SNG Levante 589 corr. (same); SNG Copenhagen Supp. 570 corr. (same)
While Strabo mentioned that Koropissos was located on the boundary between Lykaonia and Cappadocia, it’s now believed the city was located in western Cilicia. The ruins at Dağpazarı are believed to be theirs.
The city name literally means “Metropolis of the Keti” and minted coinage over a long period, though today’s it’s uncommon. Only under Hadrian were multiple times minted under the same emperor, and so perhaps that was its heyday. Near the Temple of Olympian Zeus, an extant inscription honors Hadrian from the city of Koropissos.
(This statue of) Emperor Trajan Hadrian CaesarAugustus Olympios(was erected by) the Council and People of the Koropisseans,mother-city of the Kietans, through the envoys Gaius Ninnius and Athenion son of Clemens, also called Lykiskos, in the priesthood of Claudius Attikos.
Thus, it appears that something happened under Hadrian’s reign to result in a boon to the city, and they wanted to ensure their gratitude.