Thessaly. Larissa. AR Drachm (6.02g), 420-400 BC. BCD 1128; Jameson 1087. Attractively toned. Well centered and struck from very artistic dies. A lovely and interesting composition! Choice extremely fine. Acquired privately from Arnumis (Anne Demeester), Brussels; Munzen und Medaillen 1994 (79) lot 257.

The 'taurokathapsia' was a form of bull fighting that was popular at many games in the ancient Greek world, and particularly in Crete and Thessaly. Scenes of this event are represented on coins from various cities of Thessaly but it is especially prevalent in the 5th century coinage at Larissa, which provides much of the current evidence about the 'taurokathapsia' today. In the Thessalian version of the fight, a man on horseback was to chase down and subdue a bull. He first rode alongside the running bull, then grabbed the bull by the horns and jumped from his steed onto the back of the bull. Still holding the horns, he then dismounted the bull and attempted to wrestle it to the ground. A detailed account of this scene is described by Heliodorus (Aethiopica 10.28-30).