Coin of Mazaeus with Baaltars
Coin of Mazaeus with Baaltars About 340 B.C., Mazaeus (Persian “Mazdai” ), Cilicia’s Persian governor, minted this stater in Tarsus. It depicts local Baal variant “Baaltars,” named in Aramaic characters (obverse). The reverse features a common Tarsus motif—a lion, representing mother goddess Kybele, attacks a bull representing divine Attis, Kybele’s dying and rising consort. Attis combined elements the Greeks divided between Adonis and Dionysus. The Aramaic inscription reads “Mazdai over Eber-Nahara [the Persian Empire west of the Euphrates] and Cilicia.” Tarsus was Paul’s birthplace, and home for part of his childhood. Judg 2:11 , Acts 9:11 , 30 , Acts 11:25 , Acts 21:37–39 , Acts 22:3 , 2 Macc 4:30