Classical Zeus or Barbarian Taranis?

God and His Wheel on the Celtic Coinage

Authors

  • Branislav Živković University of Belgrade

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14232/suc.2022.3.251-276

Keywords:

La Tène, Classical, Zeus, Taranis, Wheel, Celtic coinage

Abstract

While the Mediterranean civilization reshaped protohistoric communities with the introduction of the coinage, it is fairly interesting in which way the Celts embraced the Classical iconography of Zeus and the compound messages behind it. Initially, they were made for interaction with a Greek or a Roman and not a Celt. The author of this article questions whether the La Tène’s wheel motif had penetrated the coin’s imagery from the warrior’s thought – to whom, the lighting wheel, in combination with other signifiers, could stand as an ‘Amalgamation Switcher’ for the thunder-deity Taranis and his forgotten lore. For that reason, after examination of available historical and archaeological data, an alternative term for the obverse’s bearded figure will be proposed.

Author Biography

Branislav Živković, University of Belgrade

is a MA student of archaeology, specializing in ancient numismatics at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade, Serbia. The topic of his thesis is about a possible votive aspect of the Celtic coinage. His main focus is concerning the iconography of Indo-European religions (with a particular fondness for comparison between the Celtic and Proto-Slavic myth) applying linguistic, archaeological, and historical sources. Outside academia, Branislav enjoys recreational Latin and a cup of coffee, often simultaneously.

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Published

2023-05-22

How to Cite

Živković, B. (2023). Classical Zeus or Barbarian Taranis? God and His Wheel on the Celtic Coinage. Sapiens Ubique Civis, 3, 251–276. https://doi.org/10.14232/suc.2022.3.251-276