Obol

Methymna was the second city of Lesbos, a persistent rival to Mytilene across centuries of inter-polis friction. Unlike Mytilene, which joined the ill-fated revolt against Athens in 428 BC and paid dearly for it, Methymna sided with Athens and was rewarded with continued autonomy. This coin predates that crisis, struck when Methymna was issuing small silver on its own authority — a practice that would become increasingly constrained under Athenian imperial pressure as the fifth century wore on.