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Hekte
| Issuer | Mytilene |
|---|---|
| Year | 412 BC - 378 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Helmeted head of Athena facing right, rendered in fine archaic Greek style. The goddess wears a crested Attic helmet with a prominent raised crest visible above the brow, the cheekpiece framing her delicate facial features. The portrait is executed in high relief against a smooth, unadorned field, characteristic of the electrum coinage of Mytilene. No legend or inscription appears on the obverse. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Mytilene and Phokaia operated under a formal agreement — likely renewed periodically — to produce electrum hektes on a shared standard, a rare instance of inter-polis monetary cooperation in the Greek world. Mytilene's issues, including this piece, were struck in a naturally occurring gold-silver alloy sourced primarily from Lydian river deposits, though the exact ratio varied enough between issues that ancient users would have relied on weight rather than assumed fineness.
Bodenstedt 72 falls within the mature phase of the Mytilenean series, dated to the decade following the catastrophic Athenian defeat in Sicily.