The Age of King Midas - The Phrygia Kingdom

In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Turkey, centered on the Sakarya River. Legendary kings were Phrygians: Gordias whose Gordian Knot would later be cut by Alexander the Great, Midas, and Mygdon who warred with the Amazons. Phrygian power reached its apex in the late 8th century BC.

Homer's Iliad says the Phrygians were allies of the Trojans and fought in the Trojan War against the Achaeans.

The later Midas was the last independent king of Phrygia before its capital Gordium was sacked by Cimmerians around 695 BC. Phrygia then became subject to Lydia, then to Persia, Alexander the Great, Pergamon, Rome and Byzantium. Phrygians were fully assimilated by the early medieval era.

Classical Greek iconography preserved the Phrygian cap, which was worn by Mithras and survived into modern imagery as the "Liberty cap" of French and American revolutionaries.

Gordion

A spectacular array of 150 artifacts were on display in 2017. 'The Golden Age of King Midas' was an exhibition developed by the Penn Museum

Goat jug

Ivory statuette of a lion tamer found at Delphi

Golden Kingdoms: the Ancient Americas

Golden Kingdoms: Luxury and Legacy in the Ancient Americas was on view at the Getty Center in 2018. It traced the development of gold working and other luxury arts in the ancient Americas from about 1000 BC to the arrival of Europeans in the early 16th century. The exhibit revealed the ways ancient Americans used not only metals, but also jade, shell, and feathers.

Octopus Frontlet, 300–600, Moche culture

Ear Ornament Depicting a Warrior, 640–680, Moche.

It was a world where feathers were more valuable than gold. The rarest feathers, including the iridescent green feathers of the quetzal, were reserved for the Aztec emperor himself.

The MET exhibition traced the development of gold-working in the Americas from its origins in the Andes, to its expansion northward into Central America, and finally to Mexico, where gold-working comes to prominance after 1000 AD. The unprecedented exhibition featured 300 works from 53 lenders in 12 countries.

Jade plaque showing king and attendant, 600 AD

The Ilminster ring

UK metal detectorist Kevin Minto expected another corroded bronze coin of little worth when his metal detector beeped in a field in Somerset in 2018. Instead, he unearthed a 48-gram (1.7 oz) ring made of solid Roman gold. Now known as the Ilminster Ring, it features an engraved gemstone showing Victoria the Roman goddess of victory driving a biga, a two-horse chariot. The image on the stone was carved using intaglio, where the design is engraved into the surface rather than raised above it. The ring was buried around 297 C.E. with a Roman coin hoard, along with lead and pottery objects. The ring's owner could only be a person of the highest status, a governor, merchant, or wealthy landowner.

The ring dates to one of the most unstable periods in Roman Britain. Between 286 and 296 C.E., Britain broke away from the wider Roman Empire. Called the Carausian Revolt, Britania was politically isolated until imperial forces brought it back under Roman control. Carausius’s tenuous rule lasted until 293, when his finance minister, Allectus, killed him and took power. Allectus’s own reign lasted three years, ending when Roman emperor Constantius I invaded the island.

The South West Heritage Trust acquired the ring, along with the hoard of Roman coins, for £78,000. Proceeds were split with the land owner.

Rome's news readers - praeco

In the Roman Republic and Empire, the newsreader (praeco) would read aloud the Acta Diurna. These were daily, official notices and public records. They were carved on stone or metal and presented in message boards in public places. The Acta Diurna (Latin for "Daily Acts") was essentially the world's first newspaper. Initiated by Julius Caesar in 59 BC, criers would read these updates on military victories, legal proceedings, and public events to the illiterate or gathered public.

The publication covered a wide range of official and social information. Decrees, legal proceedings, and outcomes of trials were advertised. Social updates included prominent births, marriages, and deaths. General news might include gladiator event results, military victories, weather, and even human-interest stories. After a few days, the postings were taken down and archived.

Constantine I solidus

A Roman solidus of Emperor Constantine I was dug up from a field in Somerset in 2019. Constantine the Great ruled between 306 and 337 AD. The coin was found a foot below the surface of a field near Wanstrow, Somerset. The high grade example made £12k.

On the reverse is a rare portrayal of Constantine riding his horse in battle holding a spear and shield with two fallen enemy soldiers. It commemorates his victory over Maxentius at Milvian bridge outside Rome on October 28, 312. Constantine I become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire. The routed Maxentius drowned in the Tiber trying to escape.

Constantine enacted reforms. To combat inflation he reintroduced the solidus. The solidus was introduced by Diocletian in small issues and later reintroduced for mass circulation by Constantine the Great in AD 312. Constantine's solidus was struck at a rate of 72 to a Roman pound (326.6 gm) of gold or about 4.5 grams. The new gold coin became the standard for Byzantine and European currencies for more than a thousand years.

Constantine was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, which he did on his deathbed. Constantine was a ruler of major importance, and a controversial figure.

Constantine had his eldest son Crispus seized and put to death by "cold poison" at Pola (Pula, Croatia) in May or June 326. In July, he had his wife Empress Fausta killed in an overheated bath. Constantine was succeeded by his three sons born of Fausta, Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans. More bloodshed soon followed.

This Maxentius (AD 307-312) AV quaternio or medallion of 4-aurei, weighing 21.12 grams. NGC MS 5/5 - 2/5, is exceptionally rare – it is one of two known. It fetched $212k in 2022. The medallion was issued as a commemorative during the restoration of the temple of Urbis Veneris, erected by Hadrian in AD 135 and damaged by fire in 307 AD. Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (c. 283 – 28 October 312) was the son of former Emperor Maximian and the son-in-law of Emperor Galerius. The latter part of his reign was preoccupied with civil war. Defeated at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312, Maxentius was the last emperor to permanently reside in Rome.

The Empusa

The Empusa is a shape-shifting monster in Greek myth who was often depicted as a beautiful woman, who transforms into a creature with sharp teeth, flaming hair, and (in some tales) bat wings.

Empusa was said to be a demigoddess under the control of the goddess Hecate who hungers for male human flesh. The Empusa seduced young men traveling alone. Having taken the form of a woman, they would sleep with the man, sapping his strength. Once the unsuspecting youth was asleep, the creature would shift into her hideous form and devour his flesh and drink the blood for sustenance. The Empusa is probably best known for terrifying the god Dionysus as he travels to the underworld.

The Praetorians Relief

The Praetorians Relief is a Roman marble sculpture from around 51–52 AD. It originally came from the Arch of Claudius in Rome and now resides at the Louvre. It depicts 3 soldiers in high relief in the foreground, with two others in the background, accompanied by a standard bearer. They are made in bas-relief, an art style where shapes are raised above a flat background. The standard-bearer holds an aquila legionary standard. The soldiers have been identified as Praetorians due to the richness of their uniforms and helmets, and their oval shields. The Arch of Claudius, erected in AD 51, commemoratated the conquest of Britain.

The Praetorians Relief is carved from grey-veined white marble. It was originally painted in bright, vibrant colours. Any traces have faded completely due to the passage of time.

Bronze age women in Spain were textile workers

Textile related work tasks were only carried out by women during the Bronze Age (1900-1600 BC) in southern Spain, a study of dental records concludes. Researchers examined the teeth of 106 individuals buried in Granada, southern Spain, who were part of the Argaric culture 4,000 years ago. Dental wear included notches, flakes and grooves on the enamel. This came from working plant and animal fibres used in the production of textiles and baskets.

The handshake

Assyrian King Shalmaneser III shaking hands with a Babylonian ruler.

The handshake goes back to the dawn of history but the reason and origin of it are unknown. One of the oldest depictions of the handshake is from a ninth-century B.C. relief. A handshake was a symbol of loyalty and friendship in ancient Rome and clasped hands are often found on coins.

Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus

Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was a Roman general who founded the breakaway Gallic Empire. Taking advantage of Emperor Gallienus's absence, Postumus's troops in Germania declared him emperor after he executed the emperor's 18 year-old son, Saloninus. He governed Gaul, Britain, and Spain for the better part of a decade between 258–268.

Postumus ruled for nearly a decade until he was killed in 269 AD during a mutiny at Mogontiacum (modern-day Mainz, Germany). Unlike Rome, who were drastically debasing silver and gold coinages, Postumus maintained a high purity and weight for his coins. He produced spectactular issues at Western mints, primarily in Trier (Treveri) and Cologne (Colonia Agrippinensis).