The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Stater: Head of Athena (obverse); Lion (reverse)

Stater: Head of Athena (obverse); Lion (reverse)

c. 340–334 BC
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Nearly worn away above the lion are the remains of a flying owl.

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.
  • ?-1917
    (Charles T. Seltman, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1917-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • "Accessions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 4, no. 4 (1917): 64-67. Mentioned: p. 64 www.jstor.org
  • Stories From Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
  • {{cite web|title=Stater: Head of Athena (obverse); Lion (reverse)|url=false|author=|year=c. 340–334 BC|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1917.996