L. VALERIUS ACISCULUS. Denarius (45 BC). Rome.

Obv: ACISCVLVS.
Diademed head of Apollo right; star above, acisculus (double-headed ax) to left.
Rev: L VALERIVS.
Europa, holding billowing veil, seated on bull trotting right.

Crawford 474/1a; CRI 90.

In Greek mythology, the bull is generally associated with river deities, who were depicted with horns; with Poseidon (the black bull), with Dionysus, and with divine youths born with horns, such as Zagreus, and above all with Zeus (the white bull). In this form, the lord of the gods seduced Europa, and it was said that he had been raised on the island of Crete. Europa was the only daughter among the otherwise entirely male offspring of Agenor and Telephassa. Zeus fell in love with her and abducted her on the beach, after attracting her attention while disguised as a pure white bull, unusually gentle and willing to be caressed by the ‘broad-faced’ maiden (this is the meaning of the name Europa, probably referring to the full moon). With the terrified girl on his back, he swam to Crete, where he transformed into an eagle and raped her in a grove of willows or plane trees. Her brothers, following the orders of their inconsolable father, searched for her everywhere, encountering various adventures. From the union of Zeus and Europa began the royal dynasty of Crete, as Europa bore him Minos, Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon. In myths and stories connected with Crete, the image of the bull appears repeatedly. Here Minos, the natural son of Zeus, asked the gods to legitimise his succession to the throne by sending him a bull. The animal that rose from the waters off the island, with powerful limbs and a gleaming white coat, was so beautiful that Minos refused to sacrifice it to Poseidon, as he had promised. Instead, he sent it to graze with his own herd and sacrificed another in its place.

Condition: Near extremely fine.

Weight: 4.06 g.
Diameter: 19 mm.

Estimate: € 250