Bergaios or Bergaeus ( el, Βεργαῖος), 400 – 350 BC, was a
Thracian
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...
king in the
Pangaian region. He is known mainly from the several types of
coins
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...
that he struck, which resemble those of
Thasos
Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area.
The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate r ...
. Bergaios could mean literally, 'a man from
Berge but the legend on the coin is a personal, not a place name.
[The Odrysian kingdom of Thrace By Zofia Archibald Page 130 ]
Coins of Bergaios
Image:Bergaios thracian king.jpg, Coin of Bergaios, Silver drachma
The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:
# An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, f ...
depicting satyr
In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, σειληνός ), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exa ...
carrying a nymph
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...
. Reverse: inscription ΒΕΡΓΑΙΟΥ round quadripartite square, 400 - 350 BC.
Image:Bergaios 05.jpg, Head of bearded Seilenos
In Greek mythology, Silenus (; grc, Σειληνός, Seilēnós, ) was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue (''thiasos''), and sometimes considerably older, in which ca ...
or satyr. Reverse: inscription ΒΕΡΓ beneath fish.
See also
*
Pistiros
Pistiros (Ancient Greek, ''Πίστιρος'') was an inland Ancient Greek emporion, or trade center, in Ancient Thrace. It is located near the modern city of Vetren, in the westernmost part of the Maritsa River valley.
The identification of the ...
*
Thracians
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...
*
Antiphanes of Berge
Notes
External links
Ancient Coinage of Thracian Kingdom
Thracian kings
Coins of ancient Greece
4th-century BC rulers
Ancient Macedonia
{{Ancient-Thrace-stub