CHAP. XIL] THE INFLUENCE OF ANCIENT GREECE. 437 



power. The colony of Massilia was a centre from which 

 the Greek culture passed through Gaul, and ultimately 

 made itself felt even in the remote parts of Britain, at- 

 tracted by the tin mines, and possibly also the gold, 

 silver, and iron mentioned by Strabo and Caesar. 1 The 

 existence of a Greek commerce is proved by the designs 

 on the first coins which appear in Britain, modelled upon 

 Greek originals, and shown by the researches of Mr. 

 Evans 2 to be, for the most part, imitations of those of 

 Philip of Macedon. In his masterly work on ancient 

 British coins he has traced them through Gaul into 

 Britain. They were not imported directly, but were 

 copied over and over again by the tribes who used 

 them, becoming more illegible the farther they were re- 

 moved from the Greek influence. This process went on 

 until the inscription and the figures are represented by 

 imitations so barbarous, that they would not have been 

 recognised had it not been for the whole series showing 

 the intermediate changes. 



The gold staters of Philip of Macedon (B.C. 360) were 

 highly esteemed by the neighbouring peoples, and passed 

 into circulation far away from the limits of Greece, and 

 were looked upon among the outer barbarians of Gaul, 

 Germany, and Britain as a medium of exchange like the 

 Maria Theresa dollars among the Abyssinians. As these 

 coins passed northwards, they departed more and more 

 from the original types. In Gaul the head of Apollo 

 on the Philippus came to be represented by fragments, 

 among which the laurel crown is most prominent, while 

 on the reverse a rudely-stamped horse and wheel stood 

 for Victory in her chariot. In one Gaulish imitation 



1 Strabo, iv. 278 ; Csesar, v. c. 10, Clarke's edition, c. 12, Doberentz 

 edition. 2 Ancient British Coins, c. ii. 



