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Tetradrachm - Athanaeon
| Issuer | Byzantion |
|---|---|
| Year | 240 BC - 220 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Veiled and turreted head of Demeter or Kore facing right, rendered in fine Hellenistic style with wavy locks escaping beneath a veil that drapes elegantly over the crown and nape. The hair is elaborately arranged with a wreath of grain, and delicate curls frame the face and neck. The portrait is modelled in high relief with smooth, naturalistic facial features characteristic of late third-century BC Macedonian-influenced coinage. The field is plain and uninscribed. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Byzantion's coinage of this period reflects the city's extraordinary strategic position controlling the Bosphorus strait, where it levied tolls on Black Sea grain shipments feeding the Greek world. The Athanaeion issue — named for the sanctuary of Athena — was produced during a stretch when Byzantion was navigating shifting pressures from Macedonian successor powers and the expanding Galatian threat in Asia Minor.
The weight standard follows the Rhodian reduced standard rather than the full Attic, a deliberate choice that facilitated trade with western Anatolia.