Founders and Foundation Myths on Civic Coins from Late Hellenistic and Roman Ascalon

Abstract

This article reevaluates the numismatic evidence for the depiction of mythological founders
at Ascalon (modern Ashkelon/Ashqelon) between the second centuries BCE/CE. I focus on
three figures connected to Ascalon in ancient mythological traditions who had previously been
identified on Ascalonian civic coinage: the Lydian generals Moxos and Ascalus and the local
goddess Derceto. My analysis highlights how the civic coinage asserted and negotiated political
and cultural identities through the use of founders and related symbols.