Art Institute of Chicago

Drachm (Coin) Depicting the Goddess Hera

Greek; minted in Knossos, Crete

Date

350-220 BCE

Medium

Silver

Culture

Knossos

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The front (obverse) of this coin depicts the head of the goddess Hera facing left. The back (reverse) depicts a square labyrinth. The city of Knossos drew its civic icon from the myth of the Minotaur. The monster, born to the queen of Crete, was hidden away in a labyrinth, or maze. Yearly he devoured youths and maidens until, with the help of a ball of string, the hero Theseus made his way to the center of the labyrinth. There he killed the Minotaur and used the string to find his way out of the maze. The story was so famous that anyone seeing the labyrinth on this coin knew that Knossos was its source.

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