Æ15 - Aristaios

Ephesos struck bronze fractional coinage through much of the fourth century under shifting political pressures — Persian satrapal authority, Macedonian conquest under Alexander, and the subsequent carve-up among the Diadochi all left their mark on the city's monetary output. The Aristaios type belongs to a civic tradition Ephesos maintained with remarkable consistency despite those upheavals, issuing small bronzes for local exchange while electrum and silver served longer-distance trade.

Aristaios himself was a minor deity of Thessalian origin, son of Apollo and the nymph Kyrene, credited with teaching humanity beekeeping and olive cultivation. His appearance on Ephesian bronze is an outlier — the cult connection to this particular city remains poorly documented.