Last month I added a Valentine's Day posting to this blog, in which I remarked
about how little we human beings have changed in the past three millenniums, as it
is evidenced by our same unchanging obsession with love and romance. But that
is not all that we still have in common with our "ancient" Greek cousins. The deadly
influenza outbreak which has begun to erupt across our country, has created fear,
panicky hording, and a steep decline in commerce, which is lowering the value of
our stocks and currencies, a situation which the residents of Athens, in 430 BC,
would have been all too familiar. That was when the famous Plague of Athens
took place, while the city was besieged by Sparta, during the Peloponnesian Wars.
It is estimated that over twenty five percent of the population died, including their
commander Pericles and his sons. Athens was so weakened after the epidemic
that its final attempt to outmaneuver Sparta ended in a disaster and total.defeat.
All shares in businesses, and currencies are only as valuable as the strength of
the companies and nations they represent, and they quickly become worthless when
companies and countries fail and fade away. But the coins which are produced
at that time do at least retain the intrinsic value of their metal content, if not the
original intended buying power of the coin. The more ephemeral instruments
of commerce are soon lost to time, but some of the old coins still remain as
testaments to history.
The drawing below is a fairly accurate rendition of the design of a silver,
two-drachma coin from Greece during the time of the Peloponnesian Wars.
I have darkened the silver background of the coin to help the figure be more
distinct. It is a tiny rendition of the sun god Apollo, who was also the god of
such things as music, dance, poetry, and, interestingly, also the god of disease
and healing. Historians reported that the citizens of Athens were appealing
to Apollo for help during the disastrous plague, but as their dire situation only
worsened, they felt that he actually favored the Spartans. All gods seem to
become deaf during epidemics, but at least some of them are a bit more
entertaining than others.
In this little vignette, Apollo is evidently out for a stroll, on a nice sunny day
(naturally) and he has paused to kneel down and pick a flower, to admire its
beauty. He is also carrying his lyre, in case he decides to rest in the shade by
a peaceful stream, and compose a few top-forty, hit songs, which would
of course be instant classics.
Considering the very small design created for the coin, the skill of the artist-
craftsman, has to be admired. He had to engrave it into a solid surface, to serve
as the mold, to accept the measure of molten silver, and then press that in with the
reverse, designed side of the coin, And he had to do all that without the aid of
modern tools or magnification assistance.
Now we are hunkering down in our homes, hoping that the war against this
new pandemic will be successful, so that we will never have to endure anything
near what those poor, trapped people suffered in Athens, twenty five hundred
years ago. And, as we wait, let's all try to be kind and considerate to our fellow
over-stressed and worried citizens.
Eugene P. McNerney
