Art Institute of Chicago
Stater (Coin) Depicting a Land Tortoise
Greek; minted in Aegina, GreeceLinkedCulture matchlcp-f361a7e68202
- Date
- 404-350 BCE
- Medium
- Silver
- Culture
- Greece
- Department
- Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Object ID
- 9648
From the Art Institute of Chicago record
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.
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- Gift of Mrs. William Nelson Pelouze
- Provenance
- Mrs. William Nelson (Helen T.) Pelouze (1866-1953), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1923.
Linked open data
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- Object type
- AAT300037334
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