File talk:Coin Temple of Aphrodite Paphos.png
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Indentification
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The inscription of the coin reads "Koinon Kyprion", which translates as "Cypriot Confederation", which proves to be a worthwhile startingpont.
- "During the Roman period it became the centre of the newly established 'Koinon Kyprion', (the 'Confederation of the Cypriots'), which dealt with religious affairs and the cult of the Roman emperor and controlled the island's bronze coinage. The religious and cultural activities at the sanctuary of Palaipafos ceased in the 4th century A.D." Cyprus Department of Antiquities
- A very simular looking coin can be found in Ancient coin collecting IV: Roman provincial coins Google books This coin is dated to the reign of Caracalla, 197-217 AD, and shows the Temple of Aphrodite at Paphos. "The portrayal of this site (Temple of Aphrodite, Kleuske (talk)) on rare issues of the "Koinon Kyprion" is one of the most popular architectural coin types".
- The symbolical language of ancient art and mythology has an entry (#263) which describes this coin "to a tee", including the doves appearing on either side of the temple and one onthe courtyard. The central figure is named as "Aphrodite".
- "Of special importance were, in the Roman times, the coins of silver or bronze which had on the reverse the inscription "KOINON KYPRION" or the temple of Aphrodite and Paphos. These coins were struck in Cyprus as from the 1st century A.D." Philatelism.com
All in all more than enough to dismiss the claim that the coin depicts the Temple of Solomon with its bronze pillars. The coin is cypriotic and dates from the 2nd/3rd century A.D.
