Tetradrachm (Coin) Depicting a Charioteer

Art Institute of Chicago

Tetradrachm (Coin) Depicting a Charioteer

Greek; Rhegium, ItalyLinkedCulture matchlcp-37fb2151e739

Date
5th century BCE
Medium
Silver
Culture
Reggio di Calabria
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Institution
Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID
36616

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

The front (obverse) of this coin depicts a seated charioteer, bearded, riding behind two mules walking right; in the field below is an olive leaf. The back (reverse) of the coin depicts a hare leaping to the right. When Anaxilas, son of Cretines, seized power at Rhegium (modern Reggio Calabria in southern Italy) in 494 BCE, along with parts of Sicily soon after, he adopted the image of a leaping hare on his coinage as early as 480 BCE. Aristotle (quoted by Pollux, Onomasticon 5.75) reported that Anaxilas introduced hares to Sicily for the sport of hunting and also that he was victorious in the Olympic games. The image of his mule-chariot (biga) on the front of the coin commemorates this victory. The olive leaf in the field below the chariot symbolizes the olive crown awarded to victors at the Olympic Games. The hare may also symbolize the speed of Anaxilas' chariot.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line
Gift of Emily Crane Chadbourne
Provenance
Emily Crane Chadbourne (1871- 1964), Paris, London, and Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1940.

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Object type
AAT300037334

Part of a LinkedCulture topic

  • Representative object from the topic Ancient Greek Silver Tetradrachms
    Ancient Greek Silver Tetradrachms

    These objects are all tetradrachm coins, a standard ancient Greek silver denomination, depicting various deities and symbols from Greek city-states and territories across the Mediterranean.

    333 objects from 3 institutions

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