Aslanın Gözünden: Antik Sikkelerdeki Cepheden Aslan Tasvirleri Üzerine İkonolojik Gözlemler

Year 2023, Volume: 26, 81 - 118, 12.11.2023

Florian Haymann

https://doi.org/10.37095/gephyra.1252079

Abstract

Makale, Yunan Arkaik döneminden MÖ birinci yüzyıla kadar cepheden aslan tasvirli en önemli sikke tiplerine genel bir bakış sunmaktadır. Mızrak ısıran aslanlar çalışmaya dahil edilmemiştir ve ayrı bir çalışmanın konusu olacaktır. Antik yazılı gelenekten yola çıkan yazar, antik metinlerde defalarca bahsedilen aslan bakışının etkisini temel alarak açıklamalar sunmaktadır. İlgili arka yüzler ve temsil biçimleri de eklendiğinde, sikke resimlerinde Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Hera ve Herakles gibi dini kültlere yapılan göndermeleri tespit etmek mümkündür. Ancak yöneticiler cepheden aslan tasvirlerini de belirli amaçlar için kullanmışlardır. Cepheden verilen aslan Apollon’un güneş temsilini ifade etmek için en uygun olanı gibi görünüyordu. Aslan ve Loxías arasında özellikle yakın bir bağlantı olduğu Rhegion için gösterilmiştir. Samos örneği, bir otokratın – muhtemelen yine güneşsel niteliklere işaret etmek için – ‘cepheden aslan başı’ amblemini seçebileceğini göstermektedir. Ancak Akamenid etkisi altında aslan düzenli olarak hükümdarın kurbanı olmuştur – her ne kadar özellikle tehlikeli ve korkutucu olsa da, cepheden vurgulanmıştır. Aynı durum, imge seçimi Plinius’un tamamen aslanın görüş alanına odaklanan refleksine şaşırtıcı derecede yakın olan Lysimachos için de geçerlidir. Ayrıca aslan maskelerinin genellikle Herakles’in eylemiyle ilişkilendirildiği gösterilebilir, bu da ön yüzün özel anlam nüansları getirdiği başka sikke imgelerinin ortaya çıkmasına neden olmuştur, örneğin özel bir çabanın gösterilmesi veya iki sikke imgesi arasında anlatısal bir bağlantı gibi. Bir örnekte, bir dikdörtgenin içinden sıçrayan cepheden bir aslan Athena kültü ile ilişkilendirilmiştir. Bir başka cepheden aslan grubu ise apotropaik-demonik bir karaktere sahip olabilir ve esas olarak gözlemciye sabitlenmiş gözlerle aktarılmış olabilir. Burada Gorgoneion ile bir bağlantı görebiliriz. Çok görülen vahşi aslan imgesine gelince, İncil’deki bir kaynak hayvanların bu süreçte özellikle sinirli ve tehlikeli olduklarını öne sürmektedir. Son olarak, aslanlar ve leoparların dikkatle ayrılması tavsiye edilmiş, leoparların özellikle ‘insanı yok eden’ tanrı Dionysos’u önden perspektifle tasvir etmek için uygun olduğu belirtilmiştir.

Keywords

Aslanlar, ikonografi, numismatik, sanat tarihi, önsellik

In the Eye of the Lion: Iconological Observations on Frontal Depictions of Lions on Ancient Coins

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the most important coin types depicting frontal lions from the Greek Archaic period to the first century BC. The spear-biting lions are not included in this paper as they form the subject of a separate study. Starting from the ancient written tradition, explanations are offered based on the effect of the lion’s gaze, which is repeatedly mentioned in ancient texts. With the addition of the respective reverses and modes of representation, it is possible to identify references to religious cults: Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Hera and Heracles. But rulers also used frontal lion images for specific purposes. To express the solar aspect of Apollo, frontality seemed the most appropriate. A particularly close connection between the lion and Loxías has been demonstrated for Rhegion. The example of Samos shows that an autocrat could choose the emblem of a “frontal lion’s head” – probably also to suggest solar qualities. Under Achaemenid influence however, the lion regularly became the victim of the ruler – albeit a particularly dangerous and fearsome one, which was emphasised through its frontality. The same goes for Lysimachus, whose choice of image is astonishingly close to Pliny’s reflex, which focuses entirely on the lion’s sight. It is also shown that lion masks are often associated with the deeds of Heracles, which also gave rise to other coin images in which the use of frontality brought special nuances of meaning, for example the illustration of special effort or a narrative connection between two coin images. In one case, a frontal lion leaping out of a rectangle was associated with the cult of Athena. Another group of frontal lions may have had an apotropaic-demonic character, mainly conveyed by the eyes fixed on the observer. Here we can see a connection with the Gorgoneion. As for the frequent image of devouring lions, a biblical source suggests that the animals were particularly irritable and dangerous during this process. Finally, it was recommended that lions and leopards should be carefully separated, with leopards being particularly suitable for depicting the ‘man-destroying’ god Dionysus in frontal perspective.

Keywords

lions, iconography, numismatics, art history, frontality

Im Auge des Löwen: ikonologische Beobachtungen an frontalen Löwendarstellungen auf antiken Münzen

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the most important coin types depicting frontal lions from the Greek Archaic period to the first century BC. The spear-biting lions are not included in this paper as they form the subject of a separate study. Starting from the ancient written tradition, explanations are offered based on the effect of the lion’s gaze, which is repeatedly mentioned in ancient texts. With the addition of the respective reverses and modes of representation, it is possible to identify references to religious cults: Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Hera and Heracles. But rulers also used frontal lion images for specific purposes. To express the solar aspect of Apollo, frontality seemed the most appropriate. A particularly close connection between the lion and Loxías has been demonstrated for Rhegion. The example of Samos shows that an autocrat could choose the emblem of a “frontal lion’s head” – probably also to suggest solar qualities. Under Achaemenid influence however, the lion regularly became the victim of the ruler – albeit a particularly dangerous and fearsome one, which was emphasised through its frontality. The same goes for Lysimachus, whose choice of image is astonishingly close to Pliny’s reflex, which focuses entirely on the lion’s sight. It is also shown that lion masks are often associated with the deeds of Heracles, which also gave rise to other coin images in which the use of frontality brought special nuances of meaning, for example the illustration of special effort or a narrative connection between two coin images. In one case, a frontal lion leaping out of a rectangle was associated with the cult of Athena. Another group of frontal lions may have had an apotropaic-demonic character, mainly conveyed by the eyes fixed on the observer. Here we can see a connection with the Gorgoneion. As for the frequent image of devouring lions, a biblical source suggests that the animals were particularly irritable and dangerous during this process. Finally, it was recommended that lions and leopards should be carefully separated, with leopards being particularly suitable for depicting the ‘man-destroying’ god Dionysus in frontal perspective.

Keywords

lions, iconography, numismatics, art history, frontality

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