Cleveland Museum of Art

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

Date: 297–281 BCE
Medium: silver
Culture: Greek, Macedonian, minted at Lysimachia (Thrake), reign of Lysimachos
Department: Greek and Roman Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

A contemporary of Alexander the Great and one of his generals, Lysimachos used coins like this one to emphasize his connections to the fallen leader. The images of the goddesses Athena and Nike, or Victory, on the reverse, together with an inscription naming King Lysimachos, further legitimize his reign, first in Thrace and then in parts of Macedonia and Asia Minor. Although Alexander the Great appears on this coin, the inscription on the reverse identifies its issuer as Lysimachos.

View at Cleveland Museum of Art ↗

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