How Do We Even Know When The Battle at Marathon Took Place?

On 22nd March 2021, Künker will be auctioning off an extensive collection of coins of Roman Alexandria. Among them are 14 specimens of the zodiac series of Antoninus Pius. These pieces tell us something about how we know when events took place in ancient history.

Egypt and Alexandria. A brief numismatic survey: part IV

Join us on our trip through the history of Egypt and its capital Alexandria by its coinage. This episode is about Caracalla’s bloody visit to Alexandria and the turbulent 3rd century when Alexandria became a divided city.

Egypt and Alexandria. A brief numismatic survey: part III

Join us on our trip through the history of Egypt and its capital Alexandria by its coinage. Today we will have a look at the coins of Antoninus Pius with their astrological-astronomical background and the following time which was a difficult one for Alexandria.

Egypt and Alexandria. A brief numismatic survey: part II

Join us on our trip through the history of Egypt and its capital Alexandria by its coinage. Today’s episode focuses on the conflict between the Jews and the Greeks in Alexandria.

Egypt and Alexandria. A brief numismatic survey: part I

Join us on our trip through the history of Egypt and its capital Alexandria by its coinage. Today you will learn how the Ptolemies managed to get rich thanks to their coins, and how the Jews figured into it.

The courtesan Laïs in Corinth

Sex sells. That is common knowledge to the yellow press and tour guides alike, as early as ancient times. Already the Corinthians cashed in on that and promoted a tourist attraction of a particular kind: the tomb of the famous courtesan Laïs…

Alexander of Abonuteichos – a lesson from Asia Minor about gullibility in the 2nd cent. A. D.

You are one of those people who believe than there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy? Well, you are in accordance with a deep-seated tradition and can appeal to the fact that already in antiquity there were people who thought the same as you. ..

Great is Artemis of the Ephesians

On his visit to Ephesus, St. Paul was in imminent danger to be lynched. Why was it that the Ephesians felt so threatened by this herald of a new god? Were they more pious than other Greeks? They were, in a way, since they lived on their religion…

“Sing, Muse, of the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles…”

You believe that Paris abducted Helena? Which was why the Greek destroyed Troy? What if it was completely different? The later Trojans in Roman Imperial Times adhered to an entirely different version of the story – and so they celebrated their hero Hector on their coins.

Bread for Tarsus

In the 3th cent., Asia Minor was famine-stricken. The city of Tarsus scored a coup that made the emperor leave the grain necessary for survival to it at a cheap rate. A coin tells of how that was achieved.