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Hekte
| Issuer | Mytilene |
|---|---|
| Year | 412 BC - 378 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Hekte (14⁄3) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Helmeted head of an Amazon facing right, depicted wearing a close-fitting helmet adorned with flowing locks of hair visible beneath the brim, rendered in confident incuse relief. The bust is truncated at the lower margin and enclosed within a rectilinear incuse square formed by a double linear border. The finely modelled facial features and elaborate hair treatment are characteristic of the accomplished die-cutting associated with Mytilenean hektai of this period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (412 BC - 378 BC) |
| Additional information |
Mytilene's electrum hektes were struck under a formalized agreement with Phokaia, the two cities alternating annual issues — a monetary arrangement unique in the Greek world and documented well enough that scholars can often assign individual types to specific years. The Bodenstedt 65 type falls within the period of Mytilene's complicated maneuvering between Athenian and Spartan interests following the city's failed revolt of 428 BC, a political reality that made stable, high-quality coinage a deliberate act of civic credibility.
The Phokaia-Mytilene agreement held for roughly a century, with the natural electrum alloy composition varying slightly by issue — a detail metallurgical analysis has used to sequence the series more precisely than ancient sources alone permit.