The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Hemidrachm: Gorgoneion (obverse); Bull (reverse)

c. 400 BCE

Greek, minted at Parion

(Mysia)
silver
Diameter: 1.3 cm (1/2 in.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1917.991
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Ancient Parion (Latin Parium) lay in the region of Mysia, now northwest Turkey, on the Hellespont.

Description

Like the coins of several other ancient cities, those of Parion feature the gorgoneion, or frontal face of Medusa, surrounded by serpents. On the reverse, a bull looks back across its body, with the letters Ρ Ι between its legs. More centrally struck examples preserve two more letters above—Π Α, to give ΠΑΡΙ (PARI), identifying the mint of Parion. The name recalls that of the Cycladic island Paros, one of Parion’s colonizers (with Miletos and Erythrae).
  • (Charles T. Seltman)
  • "Accessions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 4, no. 4 (1917): 64-67. Mentioned: p. 64 www.jstor.org
  • {{cite web|title=Hemidrachm: Gorgoneion (obverse); Bull (reverse)|url=false|author=|year=c. 400 BCE|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1917.991