Obverse: Taras astride a dolphin,
extending right arm, and holding
distaff in left.
Reverse: Nude Ephebus on horse back,
rearing right, spearing downward with
right hand.
Taras (???a?) was, according to Greek
mythology, the son of Poseidon and of
the nymph Satyrion.
Taras is the eponymous founder of the
Greek colony of Taras (Tarentum,
modern Taranto), in Magna Graecia.
Note that a harbour close by Taranto
is still called Torre Saturo (derived
from Satyrion). It was in Torre
Saturo, almost 15 km south of Taranto,
that Spartan colonists settled their
first colony in Taranto zone. Later,
around 706 BC, they conquered the
Iapygian city of Taranto.
On the coinage of the ancient city of
Taras, the son of Poisedon is depicted
on a dolphin, sometimes with his
father's trident in one hand; the same
image is depicted on the modern city
emblem.
in ancient Greece, any male who had
attained the age of puberty. In Athens
it acquired a technical sense,
referring to young men aged 18–20.
From about 335 bc they underwent two
years of military training under the
supervision of an elected kosmetes and
10 sophronistai (“chasteners”). At
the end of the first year each ephebus
received a sword and shield from the
state; probably at this stage he took
the ephebic oath. During their
service, ephebi were exempt from civic
duties and deprived of most civic
rights. During the 3rd century bc,
ephebic service ceased to be
compulsory and the duration was
reduced to one year. The ephebia
became an institution for the wealthy
classes only. By the 1st century bc
foreigners were admitted, and the
curriculum was expanded to include
philosophic and literary studies,
although the military character of the
ephebia was not wholly lost. The
system began to decay late in the 3rd
century ad. In other Hellenistic
cities the term ephebi was applied to
youths aged 15–17.
- (DK.090)
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