Art Institute of Chicago

Solidus (Coin) of Leo V

Byzantine, minted in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey)

Date

813–820

Medium

Gold

Culture

Byzantine Empire

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The imagery of Byzantine coins, as well as their use—or not—of religious imagery, reflects the different attitudes toward representation of divine figures as a result of the Iconoclastic (from the Greek eikon, or image, and klao, to break) Controversy, a fierce debate among Byzantine theologians over the appropriate role of images in religious worship that raged in Byzantium for over 100 years from about 730 to 843. On both sides of his coin, Leo V (r. 813–20) holds a small cross. Christian imagery is downplayed, not surprising given the emperor’s stance as a staunch opponent of the use of images in religious worship.

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