Catalog
Stater
| Issuer | Gortyna |
|---|---|
| Year | 330 BC - 270 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Europa depicted nude to the waist, seated in three-quarter facing pose turned to the right upon a rocky outcrop, her figure rendered in the flowing Cretan style characteristic of the period. Plane tree branches arch behind her figure, referencing the mythological episode of Zeus and Europa at Gortyna. The composition is boldly modeled in high relief with fine attention to drapery folds below the waist. No legend or inscription appears in the field. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (330 BC - 270 BC) |
| Additional information |
Gortyna was one of the dominant poleis of central Crete, and by the late fourth century its coinage had achieved a level of die-cutting sophistication rivaling mainland Greek mints. The city's legal code — the Gortyn Code, inscribed around 450 BC and among the oldest surviving bodies of Greek law — reflects a civic administration wealthy and organized enough to sustain serious monetary production across generations.
Svoronos #67 falls within a period when Cretan cities were navigating the turbulent aftermath of Alexander's campaigns without being direct participants in the Diadochi wars, leaving their minting programs unusually continuous.