Abstract/Summary

This thesis examines the equine iconography which dominates Thessalian coinage issued between ca. 479-320 BC and it seeks to determine the reasons behind the choice of a particular coin type: political, economic or religious. The numismatic corpus is analyzed with close reference to the coinage of other mints in the Greek world and neighbouring regions, as well as other visual media, literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence. The arguments presented in this thesis contribute to current scholarship on Thessaly by demonstrating the connectivity of the Thessalians, not only with other parts of the Greek world, but also further afield. This study takes a fresh approach which moves away from the traditional view of the horse as a status symbol and builds on recent work by emphasising the importance of regional variation. Taking a chronological approach, I examine the start of coinage in Thessaly after the Persian Wars, and the role played by the horse in the construction of both polis, regional, and ethnic identity which was closely linked to the cult of Poseidon Petraios. This tells us much regarding the relationship of the minting cities to each other, and to the physical environment. Attention is drawn to the use of coinage in the marketing strategies of the Thessalians to promote the female and the male horse both for breeding and as economic products. An examination of images of the horse under a rider on the battlefield, hunting and in scenes taken from daily life, reveal rare evidence for apparel and the training of the horse. Overall, it is my contention that Thessalian coinage takes us away from a simplistic perception of the horse and gives us a deeper appreciation of its central role in Thessalian society.