The Coins of Athena - Exploring the Depiction of Athena Across Ancient Greek Money: By Brendan Luck
The Coins of Athena - Exploring the Depiction of Athena Across Ancient Greek Money
From the earliest days of coinage, coins have been used to promote symbolism and imagery deemed culturally important to those minting them. Long before Julius Caesar popularized depicting living rulers on coins, earlier civilizations used their money to instead showcase iconography of other things important to them: including symbols of their faith, and their civilizations.
How Greek Symbolism in Coinage Began
Patrons of art and the pursuit of excellency in all aspects of their lives, the Ancient Greeks took their money seriously too. Before Greece had any sort of centralized mint, different city-states within Ancient Greece minted their own coinage, and decided upon which symbols and figures would adorn their drachms and tetradrachms. Take the city-state of Aegina for example - located on one of the Saronic Islands of Greece. Aegina was the very first city-state in Greece to mint silver coins, and was a prominent naval power during the 7th - 5th centuries B.C.E.. What animal do you think adorned their coins?
A turtle/tortoise. Symbolic of the strong and naval nature of Aegina, the analogy was a clear one, and the other Greek city-states slowly followed suit, however with a slight twist.
Athens and Athena: A Numismatic Love Affair
That brings us to the most influential and powerful city-state of them all, Athens. In an era where gods, goddesses, and religion played an important role in the lives of all Greeks, Athens’ namesake comes from the Goddess Athena, who embodied the virtues of wisdom and war. Athens was incredibly devoted to Athena, calling her Athena Polias (Athena, Guardian of the City). They built the opulent Parthenon as her temple, they celebrated her birthday in a gigantic festival called the Panathenaea, and of course, they depicted her on their coinage.
Just as Athens became the most prominent Greek city-state, so too did their coins become the most commonly circulated in Ancient Greece. The most famous of these coins was the tetradrachm, one of the largest denominations that Athens minted.
Credits: The Getty Museum - https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/109KKJ
These wonders of the ancient world were minted as early as 520 B.C.E., and from the very beginning were dripping in the iconography of Athena. On the obverse of the coin was Athena herself, depicted in an Attic helmet adorned with olive leaves and a floral scroll. On the reverse of the coin is an owl, the the symbolic animal of Athena and an icon of the city of Athens. To the right of the owl is the inscription AOE, short for Athenaion, or “of the Athenians”. The importance of the Athenian tetradrachm cannot be understated. In Harlan J. Berk’s book entitled 100 Greatest Ancient Coins, the Athenian tetradrachm is ranked number 10! These coins are also incredibly popular with collectors, and it’s widely believed that former president Theodore Roosevelt kept one in his pocket at all times[1].
The design of the Athenian tetradrachm went through some changes during the time when it was minted, culminating in the “new style” Athenian tetradrachm which was minted circa 164 - 42 B.C.E., during which Athens was conquered by the Romans. This coin features a slightly revised portrait of Athena, with a redesigned helmet. The owl on the reverse of the coin is also slightly updated, with the owl resting atop a Greek amphora.
Athenian tetradrachms became the standard among coins within Ancient Greece, as Athens was the most powerful city-state of its time, and was renowned for the purity of silver extracted from it’s mines. The Athenian tetradrachm was a trusted coin, and one that informed the designs of Ancient Greek coinage long after Athens fell out of influence.
Other Examples of Ancient Greek Coins of Athena
The Athenian tetradrachm was far from the only Ancient Greek coin to feature Athena. Athena was one of the most popular deities in Ancient Greece, and other famous coins also featured her image.
Here’s an example of a tetradrachm from Lysimachus, one of Alexander the Great’s generals. First minted circa 308 B.C.E., on the obverse of the coin is a detailed portrait of Alexander himself, wearing a royal diadem and the ram’s horn of Ammon. On the reverse is Athena, this time seated upon a throne and holding a statuette of Nike, the goddess of victory. These coins were popular in the ancient era, and were minted far after Lysimachus himself had perished. Today they are extremely popular among collectors of ancient coins, due to their stunning artistic integrity, size, and detail.
Above we have another example of a numismatic depiction of Athena, this time on a stephanophoric tetradrachm from the city of Heraclea ad Latmon. These coins are thought to have been minted to commemorate the liberation of various Greek city-states from the Seleucid Empire. With this in mind, it’s clear why the city of Heraclea ad Latmon opted to feature Athena, the goddess of war on their coins. On the reverse, we also see a small depiction of an owl with stephanophoric wreaths and the word HPAKΛEΩTΩN inscribed within them.
Why Coins of Athena Remain Popular Today
We’ve established that coins featuring Athena were incredibly popular during the era in which they were minted, but how about their popularity today? Rest assured that coins of Athena still have a strong cult following (see what we did there?).
1. They’re Ancient Greek!
In the Ancient coin collecting hobby, Ancient Greek coins often command high values and garner strong interest due to their scarcity (especially when compared to later civilizations like Rome), metal purity, and stunning artistic quality. Additionally, coins of Ancient Greece are among the oldest coins still in existence, giving them a crucially important place in history.
2. Athena is still recognized today.
Although the mythology of Ancient Greece is not followed as a religion today, the gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece still hold root within the cultural zeitgeist of the modern world. The goddess Athena is still a recognizable name, and the beautiful depictions of her on ancient coinage still attract interest from people both within and outside of collector's circles. It helps that the Ancient Greek coin-makers showed particular devotion to Athena by spending time to create stunning artwork of her!
3. Large Coins Remain Appealing for Collectors
A lot of Ancient Greek coins that feature Athena are often larger denominations such as staters, tetradrachms, and even decadrachms. These were not only the most valuable coins in Ancient Greece, but they were also physically the largest specimens minted during that time period. Collector’s typically appreciate large coins, as they’re more attractive to the eye and more fun to show off!
Coins of Athena at Kinzer Coins
If you or someone you know is looking to own a coin of Athena, look no further than Kinzer Coins. At Kinzer Coins, our curated collections of Ancient Greek coinage include multiple stunning examples of coins of Athena!
Explore Athenian coinage today!
[1] https://coinweek.com/being-wise-about-owls-the-athenian-owl-tetradrachm/