A Bunch Of Grapes From Soloi

Apart from a small chip on the obverse, and the obverse portrait being off centre, this little coin from Soloi (Soli) has survived well considering it was minted in the mid 4th century.

There were two cities called Soloi, one in Cyprus and one in Cilicia. This coin is from Cilicia. Soloi was founded in c. 700 BC, and Diogenes Laertius wrote that Solon founded Soloi as an Athenian colony, and named the city after himself. However this conflicts with the work of Strabo and comparative archaeological studies of the region. The only mention I can find of Solos says he was not born till around 630 BC. Though largely discredited, the word solecism, derived from soloikos, "speaking incorrectly", was attributed to Soloi, as the dialect of Greek spoken there was thought to be a corrupted form of Attic Greek. Soloi may also be derived from the word solos, meaning "metal ingots".

The location in Southern Anatolia, on the edge of the timber-rich Taurus Mountains and fertile Cilician alluvial plain, coupled with the city's good harbour and proximity to the Cilician Gates, ensured that Soloi was consistently of strategic importance throughout ancient history. In present-day Turkey, Soli is part of Mezitli municipality, a part of Greater Mersin.

Soloi enjoyed considerable local autonomy, minting its own coinage and largely conducting its own affairs. After Alexander the Great's death in 323 BC, Soloi fell under the control of Ptolemy I Soter, and was attacked unsuccessfully by Demetrius I Poliorcetes. Cilicia traded hands between Alexander's successors until the end of the Fifth Syrian War in 197 BC, at which point Soloi was held by the Seleucid Empire.

Tigranes the Great of Armenia sacked Soloi during the Seleucid Empire's collapse in 83 BC, and removed the populace to inhabit his newly founded capital Tigranocerta. Around 67 BC, Pompeius Magnus, after subduing the Eastern Mediterranean pirates, resettled some of them in the abandoned Soloi, and renamed it Pompeiopolis.

Cilicia, Soloi, mid-4th century BC.
Obverse: Head of Athena right, in crested Athenian helmet. Reverse: Bunch of grapes on stalk with leaves and tendrils; CH in lower left field. Bronze. Diameter: 12 mm. Weight: 1.75 gr.
Sear 5618v.