Seleucis & Pieria, Larissa ad Orontes
Struck 85/4 BCE (?)
AE 8.06g, 20mm
Laureate head of Zeus right
Throne of Zeus, monograms below. “ΛAPIΣAIΩN THΣ IEIAΣ”, “ZKΣ”= year 227 (Seleucid Era?) = 85/4 BC
Lindgren 2109
Larissa ad Orontes was supposedly founded by cavalry regiments under Alexander the Great, who named it after the Larissa in their native Thessaly. However, its history is known from well before, since under the name of Sezar it was mentioned in Egyptian letters from the 14th century BCE.
In Hellenistic times, it was known for its horse breeding, likely due to its Thessalian settlers, who were famous for it. The area was later conquered for Rome by Pompey.
Today, an important fortress stands on the site, though its foundation was much later. In 1958, the city’s inhabitants were forcibly moved to allow for archeological excavations.