Art Institute of Chicago

Tetradrachm (Coin) Depicting Arethusa

Greek, minted in Syracuse, Sicily

Date

474-450 BCE

Medium

Silver

Culture

Ancient Greece

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The front (obverse) of this coin depicts the head of Arethusa facing to the head, her head circled by dolphins. On the back (reverse) is a charioteer with a winged Nike flying above to crown horses with a wreath. To escape the unwanted attentions of the river god Alpheus, the nymph Arethusa swam under the sea to the island of Sicily, where she found sanctuary. Arethusa’s path was said to explain the freshwater spring that miraculously bubbled into the nymph’s pool and that still exists in Syracuse. When this coin was issued, Syracuse was one of the most powerful cities in the Mediterranean basin. Local civic pride was emboldened by a series of ambitious tyrants, who enlarged the city’s territory and also encouraged the arts.

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.