 Obverse of silver coin of Adramelek ,
King of BYBLOS (ca.340.B.C)
Galley (eye-shaped hawse-hole);
Prow terminating in lion’s head
Containing three *hoplites with
Crested helmets and round shields;
Zigzag line of waves
Below: *Hippocamp and *Murex
Above: Hippocamp’s tail initials: -/ #
Interpretation by the sculptor Mr Nabil Basbous
Private Collection: Louis Cardahi Foundation.
* The Hippocamp was a
sea horse that was half horse, half fish with a
serpents tail. Hippocamp is depicted as the
mount of the nereid Thetis and drawing the
chariot of the sea God *Poseidon.
* The Purple Dye Murex (Bolinus Branderis) are
rare shellfish found on the Mediterranean
coastline of Tyre. Each animal yielded a small
drop of purple dye. The term "royal purple" was
coined because of the labor and expense required
to extract the dye from these rare creatures.
* The Hoplites:
The Greek word for weapon is hoplon, and so a
Hoplite was literally a man at arms'. The
Hoplite proved a formidable force for several
centuries of Mediterranean and Near Eastern
history. ... It was these heavily armed
fighters, known as Hoplites, who fought either
in the armies of their own cities.
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