Danake
The danake or danace (
The term as used by archaeologists is vague in regard to denomination. A single coin buried with the dead and made of silver or gold is often referred to as a danake and presumed to be a form of Charon's obol. Numismatists have also found the danake an elusive coin to identify, speculating that the Greeks used the term loosely for a demonetized coin of foreign origin.[4]
In Persia, the danake was originally a unit of weight for bulk silver, representing one-eighth of a shekel (1.05 gm).[5] This use of the word became obsolete. In the Hellenistic period and later it designated the silver Attic obol, which originally represented the sixth part of a drachma; in New Persian dâng means "one sixth".[3]
Customary use
The danake is one of the coins that served as the so-called Charon's obol, which was placed on or in a dead person's mouth to pay the
Although Charon's obol is usually regarded as
Funerary context
Gold danakes are frequently found in graves. In a
In archaeological investigations of Greece since the mid-1990s, danakes have tended to be found in cemeteries. At a
In investigations reported 2004–2005, a single gold danake was found along with bronze coins and
Later use
The word "danake" continued in use into the Middle Ages as Arabic daneq, Persian transl. fas – transl. dangh or trmmdaneh, and post-classical Sanskrit \tanka.[21] The name has been connected to the silver tangka of India, which had the same weight.[22]
See also
References
- ^ Albert R. Frey, A Dictionary of Numismatic Names (New York 1917), p. 60; A.D.H. Bivar, "Achaemenid Coins, Weights and Measures", in The Cambridge History of Iran (Cambridge University Press, 1993), vol. 2, p. 635.
- ^ A. Cunningham, "Relics from Ancient Persia in Gold, Silver, and Copper", Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 50 (1881), p. 167.
- ^ a b A.D.H. Bivar, "Achaemenid Coins, Weights and Measures", in The Cambridge History of Iran (Cambridge University Press, 1985), vol. 2, p. 622.
- ^ Ernest Babelon, entry on "Danaké", Traité des monnaies grecques et romaines, vol. 1 (Paris: Leroux, 1901), pp. 514–518 full text online.
- ^ A.D.H. Bivar, "Achaemenid Coins, Weights and Measures", in The Cambridge History of Iran (Cambridge University Press, 1985), vol. 2, p. 622, citing the evidence of the Persepolis tablets.
- ^ Albert R. Frey, A Dictionary of Numismatic Names (New York 1917), p. 60.
- ^ Aristophanes, Frogs 270; Juvenal 8.97; Apuleius, Metamorphoses 6.18; Albert R. Frey, A Dictionary of Numismatic Names (New York 1917), p. 158.
- ^ Hesychius, entry on δανάκη, Lexicon, edited by M. Schmidt (Jena 1858–68), I 549, as cited by Gregory Grabka, "Christian Viaticum: A Study of Its Cultural Background", Traditio 9 (1953) p. 8.
- ^ Entry on δανάκη, Suidae Lexicon, edited by A. Adler (Leipzig 1931) II 5f., cited by Gregory Grabka, "Christian Viaticum", Traditio 9 (1953) p. 8.
- ^ Susan T. Stevens, "Charon's Obol and Other Coins in Ancient Funerary Practice," Phoenix 45 (1991), pp. 217, 219–220.
- ^ A.D.H. Bivar, "Achaemenid Coins, Weights and Measures", in The Cambridge History of Iran (Cambridge University Press, 1985), vol. 2, pp. 622–623, with citations on the archaeological evidence in note 5.
- ^ A.D.H. Bivar, "Achaemenid Coins, Weights and Measures", in The Cambridge History of Iran (Cambridge University Press, 1985), vol. 2, p. 622. Bivar calls it a "bookman's notion" that danake was the correct name for the boat fare and blames a misunderstanding of a line in Callimachus.
- ^ K. Tasntsanoglou and George M. Parássoglou, "Two Gold Lamellae from Thessaly," Hellenica 38 (1987) 3–16. For more on this particular burial, see article Totenpass.
- ^ David Blackman, "Archaeology in Greece 2001–2002", Archaeological Reports 48 (2001–2002), p. 91.
- ^ David Blackman, "Archaeology in Greece 1999–2000", Archaeological Reports 46 (1999–2000), p. 67.
- ^ David Blackman, Archaeological Reports 45 (1998–1999), p. 78, with photograph of coin fig. 93.
- ^ James Whitley, "Archaeology in Greece 2004–2005", Archaeological Reports 46 (2004–2005), p. 37.
- ^ James Whitley, "Archaeology in Greece 2004–2005", Archaeological Reports 46 (2004–2005), p. 49.
- Typical vase shapes for holding perfume oils are the lekythos and alabastron; but see also "Unguentarium."
- ^ James Whitley, "Archaeology in Greece 2004–2005", Archaeological Reports 46 (2004–2005), p. 64.
- ^ Albert R. Frey, A Dictionary of Numismatic Names (New York 1917), p. 60.
- ^ A. Cunningham, "Relics from Ancient Persia in Gold, Silver, and Copper", Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 50 (1881), p. 168.