Silver Stater, Sicyon, 330 BCE

Silver Stater, Sicyon, 330 BCE; Obverse: Chimaera left, wreath above. ΣΕ below (SE = abbreviation for Sicyon).
Silver Stater, Sicyon, 330 BCE; Reverse: Dove flying left with laurel wreath. I before neck.
Unidentified Artist, Greek

Type/Object Name: Ob:Chimaera left, wreath above. ΣΕ below (SE = abbreviation for Sicyon). | Re: Dove flying inside an olive wreath. 'I' underneath the dove's head.

Dates: 330 BCE

Medium: Silver, Stater

Dimensions: Weight 12.18 g

Credit Line: Courtesy of John Nebel

Notes: The chimaera on the obverse of this coin was a fire-breathing monster part lion and part goat (some versions give it a snake for a tail, too). It lived in Lycia and was slain by Bellerophon with the help of Pegasus, but Greek legend described it as the offspring of the Lion of Nemea and the Hydra of Lerna, two districts that flank the territory of Sicyon. Aphrodite was worshiped at Sicyon, and the dove on the reverse of this coin was sacred to her. Sicyon was a center of art, famous for its painters and birthplace of the sculptors Polycleitus and Lysippus. The chimaera here demonstrates also the artistic virtuosity of its coin carvers.

Similar to CUAM 2014.06.150, 2014.06.151, 2014.06.152

Collection: Coin, John Nebel

Bibliography: BCD 219; BMC 56.