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Didrachm - Aristratos
| Issuer | Ephesos |
|---|---|
| Year | 245 BC - 202 BC |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | Diademed head of Artemis facing right, rendered in fine Hellenistic style with elegantly waved hair swept back and secured by a diadem. The facial features are delicately modeled with a straight nose, slightly parted lips, and a well-defined jawline. A quiver is visible at her shoulder, identifying the deity as the huntress Artemis, patron goddess of Ephesos. The flan is slightly irregular at the edges, characteristic of hand-struck coinage of this period. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Forepart of a kneeling stag to right, its head turned back to left in a naturalistic pose, with antlers rendered in fine detail. To the right of the stag, a bee is depicted, the ancient civic symbol of Ephesos and a ubiquitous device on its coinage. The magistrate's name ΑΡΙΣΤΡΑΤΟΣ appears in the field to the left, arranged vertically, with the ethnic ΕΦ above, identifying both the issuing city and the responsible official. The composition is well-centered on an irregular hammered flan. |
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| Additional information |
Ephesos struck coinage under Aristratos during a period when the city changed hands repeatedly between Ptolemaic and Seleukid control — a consequence of the Syrian Wars that made civic monetary policy a function of whoever currently held the Aegean coast. Aristratos is identified as a magistrate responsible for this issue, his name appearing as the issuing authority in a system where named magistrates guaranteed the silver standard rather than any dynastic power.
The BMC Greek 91 reference places this firmly within the sequential magistrate series documented by the British Museum. Ephesian silver of this period is well-attested but individual magistrate issues survive in small numbers.