Serpentarium Mundi by Alexei Alexeev The Ancient Ophidian Iconography Resource (Mundus Vetus, 3000 BC - 650 AD)
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Figure 111 of 189 GIANT (OPHIOPODE): GALLERY | LIBRARY | REGISTRY Figure 113 of 189
Figure III-2-gio-112. Ophiopode (serpent-legged) Giant (Asterus (Asterius), Pallas, or Enceladus?) standing in a defensive posture, brandishing (hurling?) a large boulder with his raised hands, and being assaulted by helmeted Athena riding biga, carrying a shield on her lowered left arm, holding reins in her lowered left hand, and brandishing (hurling?) a thunderbolt with her raised right hand. | Opposite side (obverse): Athena's helmeted head rightward.

● Artefact
Object Category: Coin
View: Reverse
Medium: Bronze
Denomination: Unknown
Size/Diameter: ??? mm
Weight: 7.2 gm
● Context
Creator: Unknown
Mint: Athens
Region: Attica
Authority/Issuer: Commodus? (r. 176-192 AD), pseudo-autonomous
Sitter(s): Athena [Minerva]
Period: Middle Roman Imperial, Nerva-Antonine Dynasty
Date: 176-192 AD
Provenience: Unknown
● Collection
Ownership: American Numismatic Society
Location: New York
Inventory №: 1944.100.26175
 
● Iconographic Type: Hexagenic™ Nomenclature Summary
Type: III.2a.gio.5a.ath·com.0
Ontolocators
(Prefix):
volume: III. coins
chapter (part): 2. fantastic creatures (a. herpetomorphs)
Integrals
(Stem):
subject: gio. Giant (ophiopode)
feature: 5. assaulted by Athena (a. Athena driving)
Differentials
(Suffix):
idiosyncrasy: ath. Athens (com. Commodus?)
variation: 0. Ø
● Iconographic Type: Formal Semantic Indicators™
Identifiers
(Beings):
deity.1: Athena [Minerva]
hero: Ø
mortal: Ø
notable: Ø
anonym: Ø
animal.1: horse (×2) "group.1" [two-horse team]
creature.1: Giant (ophiopode) [Asterus [Asterius]?/
Pallas?/Enceladus?]
object.1: stone [rock/boulder]
object.2: thunderbolt
object.3: shield
object.4: helmet
object.5: peplos [dress]
object.6: chariot "cluster.1" [biga]
object.7: breastcollar ((×2) ×2) "set.1" [two pairs of breastcollars]
object.8: rein ((×2) ×2) "set.2" [two pairs of reins]
symbol: Ø
pair: Ø
duplet: Ø
group.1: [two-horse team] {"animal.1" [horse (×2)]}; "cluster.1" [biga]
set.1: [two pairs of breastcollars] {"object.7" [breastcollar ((×2) ×2)]}; "set.3" [horse harness]
set.2: [two pairs of reins] {"object.8" [rein ((×2) ×2)]}; "set.3" [horse harness]
set.3: [horse harness] {"set.1" [two pairs of breastcollars]; "set.2" [two pairs of reins]}
cluster.1: [biga] {"object.6" [chariot]; "group.1" [two-horse team]; "set.3" [horse harness]}
artwork: Ø
label: Ø
Descriptors
(Properties):
epithet: Ø
syncretism: Ø
prosopon: Ø
morphology.1: "deity.1" [Athena] (general: homogeneous; human; female) (head: human; female; with long hair) (upper·body: human; female; torso with two arms and two hands) (lower·body: two legs and two feet)
morphology.2: "animal.1" [horse] (general: homogeneous; equine) (head: equine; with regular eyes and regular ears) (upper·body: equine; with sturdy neck, short [cropped?/braided?] mane, sturdy torso, and two regular, hoofed [ungulate] front·legs) (lower·body: equine; with two regular, hoofed [ungulate] hind·legs and regular? tail)
morphology.3: "creature.1" [Giant (ophiopode)] (general: composite; anthropoherpetomorphic; ophiopodeᵀᴰ; small) (head: human; male; with long? hair; bearded?) (upper·body: human; male; muscular; torso with two arms and two hands) (lower·body: ophidian down from genitofemoral area; with two serpent-terminals [tails] instead of legs)
morphology.4: "object.1" [stone] (homogeneous; oblong; large)
morphology.5: "object.2" [thunderbolt] (homogeneous?; single lightning stroke?)
morphology.6: "object.3" [shield] (composite; round)
morphology.7: "object.4" [helmet] (composite; crested; Corinthian)
morphology.8: "object.5" [peplos] (homogeneous?; single piece of fabric)
morphology.9: "object.6" [chariot] (general: composite) (upper·section: carriage box undecorated) (middle·section: Ø) (lower·section: two six-spoke wheels [left·wheel obscured])
morphology.10: "object.7" [breastcollar] (homogeneous; straight; slender)
morphology.11: "object.8" [rein] (homogeneous; straight; slender)
aspect.1: "deity.1" [Athena] (general: upright; standing frontward-rightward; dressed) (head: upright; rightward) (upper·body: upright; frontward-rightward; right·arm bent, raised, with right·hand grasping; left·arm bent, lowered, with left·hand grasping) (upright; frontward-rightward; right·leg straight, extended downward, with right·foot obscured; left·leg straight, extended downward, with left·foot obscured)
aspect.2: "animal.1" [horse] (general: upright; leaping rightward-upward) (head: upright; rightward-upward) (upper·body: upright; rightward-upward; front·legs bent slightly, raised) (lower·body: upright; rightward-upward; hind·legs bent slightly, extended downward-leftward, grounded; tail billowing horizontally leftward-downward?)
aspect.3: "creature.1" [Giant (ophiopode)] (general: upright; standing frontward-leftward; unclad) (head: upright; frontward-leftward) (upper·body: upright; frontward; right·arm bent slightly, raised, with right·hand grasping; left·arm bent slightly, raised, with left·hand grasping) (lower·body: upright; frontward-leftward; two serpent-terminals [tails] extended laterally; right·tail swirling, extended leftward, with tip pointing leftward?; left·tail swirling, extended rightward, with tip pointing rightward?)
aspect.4: "object.1" [stone] (suspended aloft; horizontal)
aspect.5: "object.2" [thunderbolt] (suspended aloft; tilted; pointing downward-rightward)
aspect.6: "object.3" [shield] (suspended; vertical; backward)
aspect.7: "object.4" [helmet] (vertical; upright; rightward-upward)
aspect.8: "object.5" [peplos] (wrapped; free-flowing; folding)
aspect.9: "object.6" [chariot] (general: horizontal; upward; rightward-frontward; advancing rightward) (upper·section: horizontal; upward; rightward-frontward) (middle·section: Ø) (lower·section: horizontal; upward; rightward-frontward)
aspect.10: "object.7" [breastcollar] (stretched horizontally)
aspect.11: "object.8" [rein] (stretched horizontally)
vector.1: "main composition" (left-top →
right-bottom)
Operators
(Relations):
contact.1: "deity.1" [Athena] ⟨carrying ⟨on left·arm⟩⟩ "object.3" [shield]
contact.2: "deity.1" [Athena] ⟨wearing ⟨on head⟩⟩ "object.4" [helmet]
contact.3: "deity.1" [Athena] ⟨wearing ⟨on whole body⟩⟩ "object.5" [peplos]
contact.4: "deity.1" [Athena] ⟨standing ⟨inside carriage box of⟩⟩ "object.6" [chariot]
contact.5: "deity.1" [Athena] ⟨holding ⟨in left·hand⟩⟩ "set.2" [two pairs of reins]
contact.6: "deity.1" [Athena] ⟨driving ⟨with "set.2" [two pairs of reins]⟩⟩ "cluster.1" [biga]
conflict.1: "deity.1" [Athena] ⟨brandishing [hurling?] ⟨in [with?] right·hand "object.2" [thunderbolt] at⟩⟩ "creature.1" [Giant (ophiopode)]
conflict.2: "creature.1" [Giant (ophiopode)] ⟨brandishing [hurling?] ⟨in [with?] both hands "object.1" [stone] at⟩⟩ {"deity.1" [Athena]; "group.1" [two-horse team]}
conflict.3: "group.1" [two-horse team] ⟨trampling?⟩ "creature.1" [Giant (ophiopode)]
context: Ø
contiguity: Ø
inversion.1: obverse: Athena's head {profile; rightward; helmeted}
● Iconographic Type: Prominence
Occurrences
(Registered Instances):
very rare 1-6 specimens
sparse 7-18 specimens
common 19-60 specimens
abundant 60+ specimens
● Iconographic Type: Selected Universal Subject References
ICONCLASS
(Codes and Descriptions):
91C2(+6) the Giants, Gigantes (with serpents for feet), and their battle against the gods
(+ suffering, misfortune)
91C21(+6) battle of the Giants against the gods: gigantomachy (+ suffering, misfortune)
91C22(...)(+8) single named Giants (with NAME)
(+ attributes)

Source-Image(s): American Numismatic Society, MANTIS (www.numismatics.org; © Courtesy of the American Numismatic Society). The full list of numismatic and exonumic images' sources is available on the Coins introductory page. The detailed descriptions of artefacts (provenience, dates, etc.) are generally taken verbatim from the providers of the original source-images. Figure is prepared by Alexei Alexeev.

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