TYPE Ancient Greece, Ambrakia (Epeiros), 238-168 BC, AE18 DESCRIPTION . Obv: Head of man-headed bull (river-god Acheloos) to r. Rev: Bull butting left, Greek legend [A]MBRA, [...]NA (?) in ex. REFERENCE: SG -, LE -, L3 -, Pl -, Cop 28 var. GRADING: VF, olive green patina, slight surface roughness on obv. (cheek), bull's head off flan, rare ORDER INFO: G2124, $75 A rare issue and general type altogether, with an artistically pleasing rendition of a (characteristically, in fact) young and beardless man-headed bull and a bold, if slightly off-center rendition of his counterpart in the animal kingdom on the reverse. Additionally puzzling for the fact that Ambrakian coinage, while displaying a number of themes in both metals, does not typically have an association with the devices shown here. However, the legend does appear to uniquely identify it, and the city's general proximity to the river Acheloos, the longest in Greece and personified by the supreme of all river-gods (father of the Sirens, springs and much more), would seem to support this interpretation. Many legends are associated with this important deity, usually considered the oldest of three thousand sons of Oceanus (though some consider Helios his father). Among the more prominent ones are his showdowns with the very Herakles, over the hand of the beautiful Deianira. Acheloos didn't fare well in these, but a twist in these myths brings into the picture another famous object, cornucopia - the magic horn of plenty, which Acheloos had to surrender in exchange for his own broken horn - whose abundance and fertility were associated with the real gifts fresh water bestowed throughout the Mediterranean realm.