4th-3rd centuries BCE
Æ 14.5mm, 4.91g, 7h
Helmeted head of Athena r. R/ Bull standing r.
head lowered and slightly facing; monogram below
HGC 7, –
The actual name of Myrleia is Apamea Myrleia, named after this coin was minted by Prusias II in honor of his wife. However, that often causes confusion with the city Apamea (and there are multiple), so in numismatics it’s usually referred to as Myrleia. It was originally founded by settlers from Kolophon in the 8th-7th centuries BCE.
During recent excavations, a beautiful mosaic was unearthed and the local population hopes to turn the ruins into a tourist attraction.
Little is known about the city during the 4th and 3rd centuries when this coin was minted, but it may have been influenced by Athens based on this coin’s obverse.
Approximate foundation of Myrleia by settlers from Kolophon.
Mithridates I is slain in Kios after appearing to shift his allegiance from Antigonos Monophthalmos to Kassander. He had also ruled Myrleia.
Kios and Myrleia destroyed by Philip V, which enrages the Aetolian League.
Myrleia is fortified by Prusias I of Bithynia and renamed to Apamea in Bithynia.