THE COIN COLLECTOR - World eBook Library

THE COLLECTOR SERIES
(Lycaea), which brought the whole community or their
representatives once a year thither; but other mints
were Henea in Western Arcadia, and, later on, Megalo-
polis. The cults in vogue among the Arcadians were
those of Zeus and Pan, of whom both had their shrines
on Mount Lycaeum. Within this district lay several
ancient and important townships or communities, in-
cluding Heraea and Megalopolis above mentioned (the
former rising into notice after the battle of Leuctra in
371), Mantineia, Orchomenos, and Stymphalos. Almost
all these archaic centres are rich in mythological asso-
ciations, and other coins are similarly valuable in
rectifying historical views. Stymphalos was the fabu-
lous land of the anthropophagous birds destroyed by
Herakles. Heraea is represented as having been in
primitive times a confederation of village communities.
The bear appears on the early money of Mantineia,
allusively to the legend of Kallisto; that of Pheneus
forms a long series, and the type of the feeding horse
recalls the episode of Odysseus pasturing his mares in
this country. Arcadia joined the Achaean League B.C.
243, and there are Roman imperial coins with Greek
reverse types. It is to be noted that the Arcadia and
Pan of geography and mythology do not accord with
the common poetical conception, for the climate of this
part of Northern Greece was ill-suited to pastoral and
al fresco life, while the Pan of popular belief and the
Pan of song are two very different personages.
Ceete.—The numismatic records of this island are
replete with evidences of the ancient worship of Zeus,
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