2516) "ΑΡΗΣ" (“Ares”), Greek God of War, Hellenic Republic ("ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΉ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΊΑ"), Greece: "ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΜΥΘΟΛΟΓΙΑ (“Hellenic Mythology”) Coin Series": A €100 Gold Collector Coin dedicated to Greek mythology and the Olympian God Ares: Date of Coin issue: 27.09.2022:
The Bank of Greece has released on the 27.09.2022 a €100 Gold Proof Collector Coin in the current series titled “Greek/Hellenic Mythology,” which features Ares, son of Zeus and Hera.
The Reverse and Obverse of the €100 Gold Collector Coin presented against a background representation of the amphora on which, Ares is depicted.
Ares is the Greek God of War and Courage.
He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent toward him.
He embodies the physical valour necessary for success in war but can also personify sheer brutality and bloodlust, in contrast to his sister, the armoured Athena, whose martial functions include military strategy and generalship.
An association with Ares endows places, objects, and other deities with a savage, dangerous, or militarized quality.
Although Ares' name shows his origins as "Mycenaean", his reputation for savagery was believed to reflect his likely origins as a Thracian deity.
Some cities in Greece and several in Asia Minor held annual festivals to bind and detain him as their protector.
In parts of Asia Minor, he was an oracular deity.
Still further away from Greece, the Scythians were said to ritually kill one in a hundred prisoners of war as an offering to their equivalent of Ares. The later belief that ancient Spartans had offered human sacrifice to Ares may owe more to mythical prehistory, misunderstandings, and reputation than to reality.
Though there are many literary allusions to Ares' love affairs and children, he has a limited role in Greek mythology.
When he does appear, he is often humiliated. In the Trojan War, Aphrodite, protector of Troy, persuades Ares to take the Trojan's side. The Trojans lose, while Ares' sister Athena helps the Greeks to victory.
Most famously, when the Craftsman-God/Smith of the Gods Hephaestus discovers his wife Aphrodite is having an affair with Ares, he traps the lovers in a net and exposes them to the ridicule of the other Gods.
Ares' nearest counterpart in Roman religion is Mars, who was given a more important and dignified place in ancient Roman religion as ancestral protector of the Roman people and state.
During the Hellenisation of Latin literature, the myths of Ares were reinterpreted by Roman writers under the name of Mars, and in later Western art and literature, the mythology of the two figures became virtually indistinguishable.
Regarded as the God of War, his children include those from his clandestine affair with Aphrodite, Harmonia, who was later wed to Cadmos, as well as his companions in battle, Phobos and Deimos, who became embodiments of fear and dread, respectively.
The Coin:
The Coin has been minted by the Bank of Greece’s own minting facilities in Athens.
The Reverse of the €100 Gold Coin is based on the depiction shown on an ancient Athenian Amphora, (from around 510–490 BC), in which Ares strides forward to defend his son Kyknos, who falls beneath the sword of Heracles.
He is depicted wearing his helmet of war, holding a shield and a spear, and dressed in a standard Greek warrior short tunic.
To the left of the design is the text "ΑΡΗΣ" (“Ares”), and to the right "ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΜΥΘΟΛΟΓΙΑ" (“Hellenic Mythology”), with the primary design surrounded by a Greek-key motif element.
The Obverse of the €100 Gold Coin depicts an ornately encircled symbol of war, which is an arrowhead at the tip of a spear, a design element prevalent on shields during this era.
The Hellenic Mint’s distinctive stylised palm leaf mintmark is seen just to the right of the spear tip. To its right is the Hellenic crest and above the primary design is the text "ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΉ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΊΑ" (“Hellenic Republic”), with the coins’ denomination "100 EYPΩ" (“100 Euro”) shown below and along the edge.
The specifications of this Gold Coin are:
Country: Hellenic Republic of Greece; Date/Year of Coin issue: 27.09.2022; Coin Series Theme: "Greek Mythology" ("ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΜΥΘΟΛΟΓΙΑ"); Coin Theme: "Ares - The God of War ("ΑΡΗΣ"); Denomination: €100 Euro; Metal Composition: .9999 Fineness Gold (Au); Diameter: 17.50 mm; Weight: 3.89 grams; Coin Quality: Proof; Edge: Plain; Packaging/Presentation: The coin is encapsulated and presented in a custom wooden/hardwood case accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity (COA); Mint: Hellenic Mint, Athens; On behalf Of: The Bank of Greece; Mintage: 1,200 pieces; Designer: M. Antonatou
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