Catalog
Didrachm
| Issuer | Hierapytna |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC - 67 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | An eagle with spread wings stands to the left beside a tall palm tree occupying the central field, the tree's fronds spreading prominently at the crown. The ethnic legend of the Hierapytnians is inscribed in two lines to the right of the palm, with ΙΕΡΑΠΥ appearing along the lower exergual area. The entire design is enclosed within a wreath border of olive leaves. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΣΤ ΙΕΡΑΠΥ ΝΕΩΝ |
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| Additional information |
Hierapytna, on the southeastern coast of Crete, was among the most aggressive of the island's city-states — it absorbed neighboring Praisos around 145 BC and pursued territorial expansion well into the Roman period. This didrachm series spans that entire arc of ambition, from independence through the final resistance to Roman annexation, which ended with Crete's reduction to a province in 67 BC following Metellus's campaign.
Cretan mints of this period are notoriously difficult to sequence, and Svoronos's attributions have been disputed on die-study grounds more than once since his 1890 publication.