Art Institute of Chicago

Coin Depicting the Goddess Tyche

Greek; Tarsus, Cilicia

Date

2nd-1st century BCE

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Ancient Greece

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The front (obverse) of this coin depicts the goddess Tyche, wearing a crown, and facing to the right. On the back (reverse), the god Sandan stands on a lion. In antiquity, the goddess Tyche symbolized cities. Her identifying feature is a crown shaped like the walls of a city. Some cities chose Tyche as their emblem, but often they also selected another divinity as their particular patron and protector.

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