Greek Coinage and the Polis pg4

Many poleis also depicted their local heroes, especially those associated with their foundation. This was particularly true of the Greek colonies in Italy, which were anxious to establish heroic pedigrees for their settlements. Leukippos was probably the historical founder of Metapontion (no. 3). Herakles was credited with the founding of Kroton (nos. 5, 6), and the Trojan War hero Protesilaos was regarded as the founder of Skione (no. 24). Coins of Taras depict the colonist Phalanthos, who was shipwrecked before reaching Taras but carried ashore by a dolphin, or the city's eponymous hero, Taras (no. 2).

Another way of establishing the local identity of a coin was with the depiction of a symbol of the economy of the polis or a reference to a site or event for which the polis was known. The most common approach was to depict or to refer to the most important product of the polis. On the coins of Metapontion, the ear of barley remained a constant type, although over time the city frequently changed the heads of various deities and heroes that accompanied it (nos. 3, 4). Similarly, grains of barley surround the lions' heads on coins of fertile Leontinoi (nos. 12, 13). The coins of Kyrene depict the rare silphium plant (no. 40), source not only of the city's wealth but also of its fame. The reverse of the Athenian "owls" depicts a sprig of olive, an attribute of the Athena on the obverse but also the mainstay of the Athenian economy (no. 30). The reverses of the coins of Larissa depict the horses that the Thessalian plains were famous for breeding (nos. 28, 29). Sicilian Naxos, which derived its wealth from wine produced from vineyards on the slopes of Mt. Etna, used Dionysiac types throughout (no. 14). Other coins refer to local attractions. The satyr bathing under a waterspout on the reverse of coins of Himera (no. 11) probably refers to the hot springs in the vicinity. The torch on the reverse of coins of Amphipolis (no. 25) refers to its torch races, the Lampadephoria, part of the festival of the local cult of Artemis Tauropolis.

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