Getty Museum

Tetradrachm

Date

286–281 B.C.

Medium

Silver

Culture

Greek (Macedonian)

Department

Coins

Institution

Getty Museum

A portrait of Alexander the Great decorates the front of this tetradrachm, a four-drachma coin. The Greek goddess Athena appears on the back. Alexander is depicted wearing the ram's horns of Ammon, the great god of Egypt. The coin was not issued by Alexander, however, but by one of his successors, Lysimachos, who ruled the territory of Thrace in northern Greece after Alexander's death in 323 B.C. On the reverse of the coin, Lysimachos' high status is proclaimed by the Greek inscription "Basileus Lysimachou," meaning "of king Lysimachos." Athena, the warrior goddess and patron of Athens, is shown seated holding a winged Victory (‘Nike’ in Greek) in one hand and with a spear resting on her shoulder. The name Lysimachos means "one who ends strife," and it has been suggested that this may explain the peaceful, relaxed image of the goddess. Lysimachos died in battle in 281 B.C.

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