Myth in Service of Power: Why the Greek Hero Diomedes Appears on the Roman Coins of Tyre

Abstract

The exact reasons for the appearance of motifs on city coins are not always clear to us. Mythological
subjects tend to be tied to the city’s local identity; yet it turns out that in antiquity, mythology
was also used allegorically, to express and promote global political ideas. This is the case
with Diomedes carrying the Palladion on Tyrian coin types, in spite of the fact that the hero
had no obvious connection to the city. Here, I present the reasons for the hero’s presence, and
conclude that the motif was used to emphasize the strong alliance between Tyre and Roman
rule — particularly with the Severan dynasty. The allegorical use of the motif is innovative and
the image is a unique creation of Tyre.