Review of Erickson, The early Seleukids, their gods and their coins

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: The early Seleukids, their gods and their coins

Kyle Erickson, The early Seleukids, their gods and their coins. London; New York: Routledge, 2018. Pp. 190. ISBN 9780415793766 $49.95.

Review by
Oliver Hoover, American Numismatic Society. ohoover@numismatics.org

... Kyle Erickson’s The Early Seleukids, their Gods, and their Coins represents a recent addition to the rapidly expanding secondary literature on the iconography (by necessity heavily based on coins) and ideology of the dynasty. It is a revised version of the author’s 2010 University of Exeter PhD dissertation that, over the course of four chapters framed by an introduction and conclusion, aims to delineate the process by which a Seleukid dynastic identity—in contrast with a purely personal charismatic kingship—was created through multivalent religious images disseminated primarily by coins. ...

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the Seleucid era and its importance for biblical and ancient Jewish studies, start here and follow the links. For posts on Seleucid coinage, see here and links. Cross-file under Numismatics.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.