Cleveland Museum of Art

Tetradrachm: Head of Athena (obverse); Owl (reverse)

Date

449–407 BCE

Medium

silver

Culture

Greek, minted at Athens (Attica)

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Incorporating the first three letters of the city name—ΑΘΕ—with then-iconic images of the patron goddess Athena and her owl, the Athenian tetradrachm was among the most widely traded and most recognizable coins of the ancient world. The olive leaves on Athena’s helmet and the small crescent moon behind the owl date this coin after the Persian Wars. The basic design of Athenian tetradrachms is now back in use, on Greek one-Euro coins.

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