Lesbos, Mytilene. EL Hecte

Lesbos, Mytilene. EL Hecte, circa 377–326 BC. Obv. Head of Dionysos right, wearing ivy wreath. Rev. Facing head of Silenos; star above; all within a linear square frame. 11 mm, 2.55 g. Bodenstedt 90; Boston MFA 1725. Ex The Bru Sale 3 (2011), lot 46.

A charming electrum hecte from Mytilene on Lesbos, struck during the city’s rich late classical period when its fractional electrum coinage circulated widely across the northeastern Aegean. The obverse presents the youthful Dionysos with luxuriant hair crowned by an ivy wreath, a type closely associated with the island’s wine culture and Dionysiac cults. On the reverse appears the facing head of Silenos, the god’s faithful and rather disreputable companion, here rendered with striking immediacy. The combination of the serene god and the rustic satyr encapsulates the dual nature of the Dionysiac world: beauty and revelry, refinement and wildness. The small star above adds a delicate decorative accent within the strict square frame, a hallmark of Mytilenaean design. Well struck and attractively preserved, this is a particularly appealing example of one of the most iconic electrum issues of Lesbos.