Theo'dotus
artists.
1. A medallist, whose name is found on some very interesting coins of Clazomenae, which have been recently discovered. They are of silver, of a small size, and of extremely beautiful workmanship, bearing a head of Apollo on the obverse, with the words in minute characters, in two lines, by the side of the head,
ΘΕΟΔΟΤΟΣ ΕΠΟΙΕΙ. Their discovery was first published by Abeken, in the
Bullet. dell' Instit. Archéol. for 1839, Nos 8 and 9, pp. 137, 138, and they afterwards came into the possession of the Duc de Luynes, by whom they were again published in the
Nouv. Annal. de l'Instit. Archéol. pl. xxxv. Nos. 25, 26.
In style and type they are closely similar to the medals of Mausolus II. prince of Caria, and there can be no doubt that they belong to the same age, namely the middle of the fourth century B. C. They are valuable as affording one among other proofs of the fact, which has been contested, that medallists were sometimes permitted to inscribe their names upon coins executed by them. For this reason, and on account of their great beauty, M. Raoul-Rochette pronounces the opinion that they " ought to be ranked among the most precious archaeological discoveries of our age."
Further Information
R. Rochette,
Lettre à M. Schorn, pp. 73, 97, 98, 2d edition.
An engraving of the best preserved of these medals is given on the title-page of R. Rochette's work, Vignette 3.
