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Stater
| Issuer | Kydonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 320 BC - 270 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Standing figure of the eponymous hero Kydon facing left, depicted in the act of stringing or bending a bow, his body shown in a dynamic contrapposto pose. The inscription KYΔΩΝ appears to the right of the figure in the field, identifying the hero. The entire design is enclosed within a beaded border set within a shallow circular incuse square, a format characteristic of Cretan mint issues of the late Classical and early Hellenistic periods. The reverse demonstrates the Cretan tradition of heroic mythological imagery associated with the city's legendary founder. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Kydonia, on the northwest coast of Crete, maintained its own mint with stubborn independence well into the Hellenistic period, long after many neighboring cities had abandoned autonomous coinage. The stater series to which this piece belongs spans roughly half a century of continuous local production — an unusual run for a city of its size and political exposure, given the repeated territorial pressures Kydonia faced from Knossos and later from external Macedonian influence filtering through the island.
Svoronos remains the foundational reference for Cretan coinage, his classification still unchallenged in most particulars for this series.