Oinoanda, Lycia
late 2nd Century BCE
Ae unit 17mm, 3.8gms
Obv: Head of Hermes right, caduceus behind shoulder
Rev: Ares standing facing, holding spear and resting left hand on shield at his side [O over A] to left
Unpublished(?)
Oinoanda is famous today for the inscription of the philosopher Diogenes of Oinoanda. The inscription was massive, filling originally 260 square meters of wall space and containing some 25,000 words. Roughly a third of it has been found and it primarily covers Epicurean doctrines. New parts are still being found today.
The city dates to at least Hittite times, when it was known as “the land of the wine”, and from 200-190 BCE it was a colony of Termessos. It later formed part of the Kibyran tetrapolis. In 84 BCE, it became part of the Lycian League.
The ruins of the city still exist and its most notable component is the previously mentioned inscription, of which 300 pieces have been found. It must have required a tremendous effort to carve such an inscription in the rock.