Catalog
Didrachm
| Issuer | Hierapytna |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC - 67 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Bust of Tyche facing right, wearing a turreted mural crown adorned with battlements, her hair rendered in undulating wavy locks falling to the neck. The facial features are finely modelled in the Hellenistic style, with a delicate nose, slightly parted lips, and a prominent ear. A dotted border frames the design along the inner edge of the flan. |
|---|---|
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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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| 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.