Ancient Greek Gorgoneion AR Drachma Bracelet

Ancient Greek AR Drachma in 14Kt yellow gold bezel on diamond cut Sterling silver flex hook bangle bracelet. Obverse: Upright anchor; to thr right the letter A for Apollonia; to the left a crayfish.  Reverse: Gorgoneion with protruding tongue, surrounded by S-shaped snakes.

Apollonia Pontinca (modern day Sozopol) was a Black Sea port and  a colony of Miletos which boasted  a fine temple of Apollo with a large statue by the sculptor Kalamis. Apollonia Pontica was located in the Gulf of Burgas on the Thracian coast, about 200 miles south of the mouth of the Danube River. It served as an olutlet for the grain and timber of the hebros and Danube valleys. The final Thracian campaign of Phillip of Macedon (father of Alexander the Great), brought about the mention of Apollonia since they feared losing their monopoly of the Black Sea trade.

The anchor and crayfish design on the reverse attest to the city's reliance on maritimecommerse for its economy, and the anchor depicted on these coins is actually one of the first anchors ofmodern desigh rendered in Greek art. The letter A is undoubtedly an abbreviation for the city name of Apollonia.

The Gorgon comes from thr Greeks, meaning Terrible. In Greek mythology, a gotgon was a terrifying female creature with a horrific stare and snakes emerging out of her skull. The most infamous gorgon was the dreaded Medusa. with eyes of fire and a head of serprnts, Medusa had the ability to turn any creature she looked at into stone. The Greeks were convinced that they could harness these horrific maidens and use them to scare off other evil spirits. Because of this, the Greeks incorporated gorgons onto a number of buildings, naval ships and - as in the caseof this silver drachm - coins. Just as the jack-o-lantern's original purpose was to scare off evil spirits lurking ourside one's door, these sculptures and artistic renditions of gorgons were meant to keep the Greeks safe from harm. One of the most dangerous anf frightening places for ant Greek would have been the open ocean. Stamped sometime after 350 BCE at the propontis (Sea of Marmara) port of Parion, This silver Drachm would most likely have been in the pocket of a sailor or merchant who wanted to keep evil spirits away from his ship.