Artwork Page for Drachm: Forepart of Lion (obverse); Head of Aphrodite (reverse)

Details / Information for Drachm: Forepart of Lion (obverse); Head of Aphrodite (reverse)

Drachm: Forepart of Lion (obverse); Head of Aphrodite (reverse)

465–449 BCE

Greek, minted at Knidos

(Karia)
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Medium
silver
Measurements
Diameter: 1.6 cm (5/8 in.)
Weight: 6.156 g (0.22 oz)
Credit Line
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1917.994
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The forepart of a lion on Knidian coins is thought to represent Apollo.

Description

The lion, king of the beasts and an animal associated with regal and heroic power, featured prominently on the coinage of many ancient Greek city-states. Artists placed the lion in a variety of poses, sometimes including the whole body, at other times the foreparts or just the head. Although it may once have roamed nearby, for many Greeks the lion was a monster nearly as exotic as the Chimaera, of which it formed a part, together with a goat head and snake-headed tail.
A silver drachm consists of two circular sides. One side depicts the front half of a lion facing our right, featuring a layered mane, open mouth, and muscular foreleg. The other side depicts the head of Aphrodite in profile facing our right, set within a recessed square. Her hair is arranged in rows of small bumps and tied at the nape. She wears a thin necklace and her lips curve upward into a smile.

Drachm: Forepart of Lion (obverse); Head of Aphrodite (reverse)

465–449 BCE

Greek, minted at Knidos (Karia)

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