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Stater
| Issuer | Gortyna |
|---|---|
| Year | 330 BC - 270 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Europa seated in three-quarter view to the right within the branches of a plane tree, her garment draped about her lower body; she raises her veil with her right hand in the gesture of the anasyrmenos while her left arm extends outward in a defensive posture against the advances of Zeus in the guise of an eagle. The mythological scene is rendered with considerable plastic depth, characteristic of the finest Cretan die-engraving of the fourth and third centuries BC. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Gortyna was one of Crete's dominant poleis during this period, controlling the fertile Mesara plain and maintaining enough political autonomy to strike an independent silver coinage even as Macedonian power reshaped the broader Greek world. The city's mint output was never prolific — surviving examples across all major collections run to only a few hundred specimens — making any stater a relatively scarce piece by Greek civic coinage standards.
The Dewing reference places this among a tightly grouped die study. Cross-referencing SNG Copenhagen 443 with BMC 29 suggests a mid-series emission, likely third century rather than the earlier end of the range.