4th Century BCE
AR Obol 10.44mm .64g
Obverse: Boeotian shield
Reverse: T-A, forepart of horse galloping right
SNG Copenhagen 229
Tanagra was long one of the most powerful cities in Boeotia outside of Thebes. After Thebes’ destruction by Alexander the Great, it took its place at the top.
Pausanias describes Tanagra in depth. He mentions that its founder was Poimander, who descended from Apollo via Eleuther and Poseidon via his daughter Aithouse. The city received its name from his wife Tanagra. She lived so long that people eventually just called her the “Old One” and the city was called Graia, from which the word “Greek” comes. Graia was mentioned by Homer, though even ancient writers disagreed whether Tanagra and Graia were the same.
Per Peter Levi, who translated my copy of Pausanias, Tanagra was famous for small painted terracottas that were used in burials. Pausanias mentions it contains the memorial to Orion, who is mostly known today for being a constellation. The mountain nearby was where Hermes was born.
Per Pausanias, their top two attractions were the Temple of Dionysos, on which site an old church now stands, and the Triton. Triton was a monster that attacked women who were performing Dionysos’ secret rites, so Dionysos fended it off. Triton also used to carry off cattle as they were being driven to the sea and attacked even their boats.
One day, the locals came up with a plan and placed some wine out for it. Triton drank the wine, then lay on the beach where one of them chopped off his head. In Pausanias’ time, the body of Triton was still preserved by pickling. Pausanias mentions that another Triton was on display in Rome. He describes the monster, then discusses various other creatures.