Numizmatičke Vijesti, Vol. 64 No. 75, 2022.
Original scientific paper
Zoomorphic, theriomorphic and tetramorphic symbols on coins, Part 5
Robert Smajlagić
; Croatian numismatic society, Zagreb, CRO
Abstract
In the fifth part of this work, the author studies the symbolism of the lion on coins.
As in the case of the bull symbol, which he treated in Part 4, the lion is a zoomorphic
symbol that underwent many changes and transformations throughout history, sometimes
within the same areas and in the same cultures. These transformations used to alternate
with the change of lunar (bull) to solar (lion) beliefs, which led to changes in the
symbolism. It is this symbolic connection between the bull and the lion that the author
deals with in most of the work. Since the lion was, to the best of our knowledge, the
first motif to appear on coins, special attention is paid to that aspect. The work covers
the period from the very beginnings of coin use to the end of Antiquity. In the Middle
Ages, the lion symbolism lost its "hidden" meanings since it was usually a symbol of
Christ, Mark the Evangelist, or part of a heraldic motif.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
302748
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2022.
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