Phoenicia, Byblos, Diadumenian Rouvier 699
Diadumenian, Caesar, mid May 218 - 8. June 218
AE 24, 10.81g
obv. M OP DIADYMENIANOC KAI 
bare head, bust, cuirassed, r. 
rev. BYB - LOY / IERAC (in exergue) 
distyle temple, covered by an arch decorated by shell-like swags, in which Astarte is standing r., with polos on head, spear in r. hand and foot on prow, crowned with wreath by Nike, standing on column r. before her.
BMC 40-43; Rouvier 699 
scarce, about VF(?)

ASTARTE, a major Northwest-Semitic goddess, was cognate with the East-Semitic goddess Ishtar. She was connected with fertility, sexuality and war. She was accepted by the Greeks under the name of Aphrodite. Cyprus, one of Aphrodite's main cult centers supplied the name Cypris as Aphrodite's most common byname. 

BYBLOS , one of her important cult centers and therefore called 'the Holy Byblos', in ancient times was the most important port of export for Egyptian papyros to Greece. Therefore Greek biblos = book, and The Holy Bible!


Contributed by Hans-Joachim, 2006.