Il Selinon di Selinunte. Parte I. Da pianta a typos, da typos a symbolon: considerazioni sul selinon di Selinunte

Abstract

Although the selinon (celery) of the Selinus issues is among the best known typoi of the Greek coinage, a study entirely dedicated to the subject is lacking up. The resume of the monetary representations analysis, according to the observations made in the reference bibliography, was useful for isolating the main botanical characteristics of the leaf, in order to find their possible match with the varieties of the selinon illustrated by the sources. It will be left to the botanical study, an indispensable working tool, the opportunity to offer indications for possible correspondences with the species of the genus Apium of the Linnean taxonomy, rather than deepening the motivations that could have led Selinus to represent itself on its coinage with a leaf, which subsequently became an accessory symbol