Art Institute of Chicago

Tetradrachm (Coin) Depicting the Goddess Tyche

Greek; Arados, Phoenicia (now Syria)

Date

80-79 BCE

Medium

Silver

Culture

Jazirat Arwad

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The front (obverse) of this coin depicts the goddess Tyche wearing a turreted crown. On the back (reverse), the goddess Nike stands facing left while holding a palm branch. In antiquity, the goddess Tyche symbolized cities. Her identifying feature is a crown shaped like the walls of a city. Some cities chose Tyche as their emblem, but often they also selected another divinity as their particular patron and protector.

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