Art Institute of Chicago

Stater (Coin) Depicting a Land Tortoise

Greek; minted in Aegina, Greece

Date

404-350 BCE

Medium

Silver

Culture

Greece

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Coins of Aegina depicted images of sea turtles on their coins when the island of Aegina was the supreme sea power among the Greek city-states. The sea turtle represented its naval strength and resiliency. After its defeat by Athens in 458 BCE, Aegina ceased using the sea turtle and substituted the land tortoise, seen here, to symbolize its lost sea power. On the back (reverse) of this coin is a geometric design of a square divided into 5 triangles.

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