Æ16

Eleusis retained autonomous coinage rights well into the fourth century despite sitting squarely within the Athenian sphere — a reflection of the sanctuary's pan-Hellenic status rather than any genuine political independence. The site's religious authority, rooted in the Eleusinian Mysteries, afforded it economic privileges that a purely civic settlement of its size would never have commanded. This issue falls within a period of significant pressure on that autonomy, as Macedonian influence under Philip II began reshaping the political geography of Attica.