Acheloo nelle monete di Neapolis: un mito moderno?

Over the past century, the idea has spread that, at least in Neapolis, the human-headed bull – frequently depicted on its coinage – represented Acheloios, the river god from Acarnania, known for his battle with Herakles. This interpretation was based on later sources suggesting that Acheloios was the father of the siren Parthenope, the eponymous goddess of the city that preceded Neapolis, who, according to many, was depicted on the obverse of those coins. However, it has recently been objected that Parthenope’s depiction as a siren emerged after these coins were minted, and that the female figure on the coins, regardless of her name, displays the iconographic features of a nymph, the sovereign goddess of city-states, without the winged body typical of sirens. Additionally, there is no evidence of a cult devoted to Acheloios in Greek Neapolis. The identification of the human-headed bull on Neapolis’ coinage appears to stem from a temporary modification of the type, which occurred during the time of Hermokrates in several Sicilian mints. This variation featured a youthful head with small horns, which also appeared on two obols from Neapolis, accompanied by an inscription identifying the figure as Sepethos, the city’s river. This is paired with the image of a winged goddess holding a hydria, likely a nymph – possibly the goddess Sebethis, known from literary sources.