Exceptional Ephesian Cistophorus
Claudius. AD 41-54. AR Cistophorus (26mm, 11.57 g, 5h). Ephesus mint. Struck circa AD 41-42. TI CLAVD CAES AVG, bare head left / DIAN EPHE, temple of Diana Ephesia: cult statue of Diana of Ephesus within tetrastyle temple of the Ionic order on podium of four steps, pediment decorated with figures flanking a central table with disk above, two tables and recumbent figures in angles. RIC I 118; RPC I 2222; BMCRE 229-30; BN 298-301; RSC 30. Superb EF, toned. Fine style. Exceptional portrait.
A distinct form of Diana (Artemis) was worshipped in Ephesus, where a huge temple complex, ruins of which survive today, was devoted to the goddess. The famous cult statue housed in the temple was distinctly Anatolian (i.e., non-Greek) in form: mummiform in shape and covered with a multitude of breasts that signify the original association of the goddess with fecundity. With the arrival of the Greeks, the popular tales of Artemis were transferred to this mysterious Ephesian goddess.