Today's note is all about the pomegranate and more than 300 years of coins from Side (Σίδη), Pamphylia (Παμφυλία).
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The ancient Greek word Σίδη came from an Anatolian language word and means pomegranate.
Side was founded in the 7th century BCE by Greek settlers from Kyme in Eolia, a land located in the north-western part of Anatolia. The patron goddess of the town was Athena, whose head was depicted on the coins minted in Side. However, the Greek origins of Side inhabitants were quickly forgotten, and the descendants of Greek colonists took over the language and customs of the local people. That language, examples of which have been discovered on the inscriptions from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, has not yet been understood by researchers. However, it is known, that the name of the city meant pomegranate in the local dialect.
-Turkish Archaeological News: SideSide was situated on the fertile Pamphylian plain, a region known for its rivers and tiered terraces. It had access to a navigable river system and a favorable coastline, making it suitable for agriculture and trade.
Pomegranates in Poetry
In Greek mythology, pomegranate seeds play a key role in the story of Persephone, who is tricked by Hades, the god of the underworld, into eating six pomegranate seeds, thus binding her to the underworld and forcing her to spend six months a year there with him. This story was used to explain the origins of the seasons.
-Homer, Hymn to Demeter, 8th or 7th century BCE
-Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273 CE), 13th century Persian poet
-DH Lawrence, Pomegranate, 1928
Persia to Macedonia
Side was under Persian, Achaemenid, control until Alexander the Great swept through Asia Minor and defeated Darius III of Persia at the Battle of Issus (333 BCE). After Issus, Alexander continued along the southern coast, securing key cities in Pamphylia, including Side and Perge. Alexander effectively expelled Persian forces and influence from Asia Minor. Alexander replaced Persian satraps with his own governors and integrated the region into the Macedonian empire.
Origins of the Pomegranate
The present scientific name Punica granatum is derived from two Roman names for this fruit: it was first called "malum punicum" (punic apple or apple of Carthage) and later Pomum (fruit) granatus (grainy), or seeded fruit. The pomegranate is one of the first five domesticated edible fruit crops along with fig, date palm, grape and olive and are belived to have been domesticated first The pomegranate is believed to have first been domesticated in the Iranian Plateau and northern India, with evidence of its cultivation dating back to at least 5000 years.
Pomegranates are classified as a berry because of the structure, with seeds embedded in a juicy pulp enclosed in a leathery skin. A pomegranate typically contains around 200 to 1,400 seeds (called arils), but tradition claims each fruit has exactly 613 seeds, corresponding to the mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah.
Pomegranates on the Coins of Side
This first stater is the oldest coin of this region that I have to show from a period of Persian control of the region.
Pamphylia, Side, circa 460-430 BC, AR Stater (19mm, 10.93g, 3h)
Obv: Pomegranate; dotted guilloche border
Rev: Helmeted head of Athena right within incuse square
Ref: Atlan 16 (O15/R14); SNG BN –; Weber 7353 (same dies)
Pamphylia, Side, circa 400-380 BC, AR Stater (22mm, 10.72g, 6 h)
Obv: Athena standing left, holding owl on her right hand and shield with her left; to left, pomegranate; to right, spear.
Rev: Apollo standing left, holding laurel branch over altar in his right hand and bow in his left; to right, raven; behind, ethnic in Sidetic; all within incuse square.
Ref: Atlan, Group V, 72. SNG Paris 637-8 var. (ethnic).
Macedonia to the Roman Republic
After Alexander's death Pamphylia came under control of Seleucus I Nikator, and then after the Treaty of Apamea (188 BC) forced Antiochus to cede all of Asia Minor north of the Taurus Mountains to Pergamum, eastern Pamphylia and Side were left in a state of uncertain freedom. Cilician pirates used Side as their naval base in the 1st century BC, and Pompey after defeating the pirates, brought Pamphylia under Roman influence in 67 BC.
Pamphylia, Side, circa 205-100 BC, AR tetradrachm (30mm, 16.42g, 1 h), DI magistrate, circa 205-190
Obv: Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet
Rev: ΔΙ Nike advancing left, holding wreath in her right hand; in field to left, pomegranate.
Ref: Seyrig, Side, 11. SNG Paris 685-8.
Pamphylia, Side, circa 75–25 BCE, AR Tetradrachm (29mm, 15.88g.)
Obv: Head of Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet, facing right.
Rev: ΚΛΕ - ΥΧ; Nike flying to the left, holding a wreath; a pomegranate depicted in the left field.
Ref: SNG Paris 696.
Pomegranates in Art
Pomegranates appear in a wide range of contexts over millennia. In Greek and Roman art, pomegranates are associated with the myth of Persephone and symbolize the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. In Jewish traditions it is symbol of righteousness and often featured on Torah finials and prayer shawls. In Christian art pomegranates are associated with the Resurrection of Christ and eternal life. In the Islamic tradition, the pomegranate is mentioned in the Quran as a fruit of paradise and is often a symbol of divine creation and bounty.
References in addition to those linked above.
Chandra, Ram & Babu, Dhinesh & Jadhav, Vilas & Teixeira da Silva, Jaime. (2010). Origin, History and Domestication of Pomegranate. Fruit, Vegetable and Cereal Science and Biotechnology. 4. 1-6.
Langley P. Why a pomegranate? BMJ. 2000 Nov 4;321(7269):1153-4. doi: 10.1136/bmj.321.7269.1153.
Seyrig, Henri. "Monnaies hellénistiques." Revue Numismatique, vol. 5, 1963, pp. 7-64.
Olson, Roberta J. M. “An Old Mystery Solved: The 1487 Payment Document to Botticelli for a Tondo.” Mitteilungen Des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz, vol. 39, no. 2/3, 1995, pp. 393–96.
Atlan, S. (1967). Sidenin Milattan Önce V. ve IV. Yüzyıl Sikkeleri Üzerinde Araştırmalar: Untersuchungen über die sidetischen Münzen des V. und IV. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi.
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