including the remarkable type of the tomb of Lais. The coins of the “colonies” of Corinth form a long and important series, struck by Acarnanian towns with Corcyra, and in the west by Locri Epizephyrii in Italy and Syracuse. Some of these cities were not strictly colonies of Corinth, but the Pegasus staters struck by them form a homogeneous group. They range from the time of Dion (357 B.C.) to nearly the end of the 3rd century. The coins are distinguished by the absence of the koppa, and bear the names or monograms of the cities.
There are bronze coins of Patrae as an important Roman colonia, and silver and bronze money of Phlius, both of the period of good art. The coinage of Sicyon, on the Aeginetic standard dominant in the rest of the Peloponnesus, is disappointing for a famous artistic centre. It begins shortly before the period of fine art; in that age the silver is abundant and well Patrae, Skyon, &c. executed, but the leading types, the Chimaera and the flying dove within an olive-wreath, are wearying in their repetition, and good work could not make the Chimaera an agreeable subject. Small coins with types of Apollo are the only subjects which suggest the designs of the great school of Sicyon.
The money of the Eleans is inferior to none in the Greek world in its art, which reaches the highest level of dignified restraint, and in the variety of its types, which are suggested by a few subjects. The leading types are connected, as we might expect, with the worship of Zeus and Hera and Victory, the divinities of the great Panhellenic contest at Olympia, and the coinage is rather the money Elis. of Olympia than of the Eleans as a civic community. The prevalent representations are the eagle and the winged thunderbolt of Zeus, the head of Hera and the figure of Victory. The series begins early in the 5th century B.C. with coins, some of which are didrachms (Aeginetic), having as subjects an eagle carrying a serpent or a hare, and on the reverse a thunderbolt or Victory bearing a wreath—archaic types which in their vigour promise the excellence of later days. From 471 to 421 B.C., while Elis was allied with the Spartans, such types continue; the eagle and Victory (sometimes seated) are both treated with great force and beauty, and the subject of seated Zeus is remarkable for its dignity. The Argive alliance (421–400 B.C.) seems marked by the pre-eminence given to Hera, whose head may suggest the famous statue of Polycleitus at Argos. About the same time was issued a didrachm with a noble head of Zeus (Pl. II. fig. 4), which probably recalls, though it is not a copy of, the Zeus of Pheidias. This alliance broken, the old types recur. Magnificent eagles, some admirably designed on a shield, and eagles’ heads (see Pl. II. fig. 5), the seated Victory, and fantastically varied thunderbolts mark this age. Among the artists’ signatures at this time is ΔΑ, which may represent the sculptor Daedalus of Sicyon. In 364 B.C. the coinage is interrupted for a year, the Pisatans, who conducted the festival then, issuing small gold coins; these are immediately followed by Elean money with the heads of Zeus and the nymph Olympia. Aristotimus, who was tyrant in 272 B.C., issued coins with his initials. The coinage closes with imperial money, some types of which have a local interest, notably two of Hadrian bearing the head and figure of Zeus, copied from the famous statue by Pheidias.
Cephallenia gives us the early silver coins of Cranii, the money of Pale, of charming style, with the figure of Cephalus on the reverse, and that of Same, all cities of this island. Of the island of Zacynthus there are silver pieces, usually of rather coarse work, but sometimes of the style of the best Cephallenian money. Some struck in 357 bear the name of Dion of Syracuse, who Cephallenia, &c. collected the forces for his expedition in this island. The coins of Ithaca are of bronze. They are of interest on account of their common obverse type, which is a head of Odysseus.
Returning to the mainland, we first notice the money of Messene,
or the Messenians. The earliest coin is a splendid Aeginetic didrachm,
having on the obverse a head of Persephone, and excels in
design the similar subjects on the money of Syracuse, from
which it must have been copied, for it is of about the time of Epaminondas.
It shows the purer style of Greece, which, copying Syracusan
Messene.
Laconia.
work, raised its character. On the reverse is a figure of Zeus, inspired
by the work of Hageladas. The other silver coins are of about the
period of the Achaean League. The bronze money is plentiful, but
not interesting. Lacedaemon, as we might have expected,
has no early coins, the silver money being mostly of the
age of the Achaean League, but the King Areus (309–265 B.C.) and
the tyrant Nabis (207–192 B.C.) are represented by Attic tetradrachms.
On a tetradrachm of the time of the former is a figure of
the Apollo of Amyclae. Among the types of the autonomous bronze
pieces may be noticed the head of the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus,
with his name. The series of Argos in Argolis begins early in the
5th century. The standard is Aeginetic. The first pieces
are the drachm and smaller denominations with a wolf,
half-wolf or wolf’s head on the obverse, and Α on the reverse. A rare
iron coin was issued with these types. At the end of the 5th century
begin the didrachms, which have for the obverse type the head of the
Polycleitan Hera—a design which is not equal to that of the coins of
Elis, the style being either careless or not so simple. The reverse Argolis.
type of the drachm represents Diomedes stealthily advancing with
the palladium in his left hand and a short sword in his right. A 4th-century
drachm of Epidaurus represents the famous seated figure of
Asclepius by Thrasymedes of Paros.
Of the money of Arcadia some pieces are doubtless among the most ancient struck by the Greeks; and the types of these and later coins are often connected with the remarkable myths of this primeval part of Hellas, showing particularly the remains of its old nature-worship. The first series to be noticed is that of the Arcadian League; it begins about 500 B.C. with hemidrachms Arcadia. having the type of Zeus Lycaeus seated, the eagle represented as if flying from his hand, and a female head. Of a later time, from the age of Epaminondas, there are very fine coins (issued from Megalopolis) with the head of Zeus, and Pan seated. The coins of Heraea begin deep in the 6th century B.C. The earliest have for obverse type the veiled head of Hera, and on the reverse the beginning of the name of the town. The silver coins of Mantinea (beginning early in the 5th century) have on the obverse a bear, representing Callisto, the mother of Arcas, who was worshipped here, and on the reverse the letters ΜΑ, or three acorns, in an incuse square. Later coins, especially the bronze, have subjects connected with the worship of Poseidon at this inland town. The silver coins of Pheneus must be noticed as being of fine work. The didrachms of the age of Epaminondas have a head of Persephone, and Hermes carrying the child Arcas. The obverse type is interesting as a copy of the Syracusan subject, as in Locris and Messene. As in Locris, the merit is in the greater force and simplicity of the face, here most successful, the hair being treated more after the Syracusan manner than after that of the Messenians, who simplified the whole subject. The finest coin attributed to Stymphalus is a magnificent didrachm of the age of Epaminondas, with a head of the local Artemis laureate, and Heracles striking with his club. The smaller silver coins have on the one side a head of Heracles and on the other the head and neck of a Stymphalian bird. There were representations of these birds in the temple of Artemis. The series of Tegea is not important, but two of the reverse types of its bronze coins are interesting as relating to the myth of Telephus and to the story that Athena gave a jar containing the hair of Medusa to her priestess Sterope, daughter of Cepheus, in order that she might terrify the Argives should they attack Tegea in the absence of Cepheus, when Heracles desired his aid in an expedition against Sparta. Iron coins were issued by Tegea, and also perhaps by Heraea.
The peculiar position of Crete and her long isolation from the political, artistic and literary movements of Hellas have been already touched on. It is not until the age of Philip V. that Crete appears in the field of history, and then only as the battle-ground of rival powers. The most remarkable influence of this age was when Athens, by the Crete. diplomacy of Cephisodorus, succeeded about 200 B.C. in drawing the Cretans into a great league against Philip V. of Macedon. That this project took actual shape is proved by the issue at all the chief mints of the island of tetradrachms with the well-known types of Athens, to be distinguished from the Atticizing types of other cities at this time.
The oldest coins are probably of about 500 B.C., but few cities seem to have issued many until a hundred years later. Then there is a great outburst of coinage, sometimes beautiful, sometimes barbarously careless, which lasts until the age of Alexander, when the local currency was probably in great part replaced by Alexandrine coins. At the end of the 3rd century the local coinages are revived until the Roman conquest (67 or 66 B.C.). The chief issue is of silver; bronze is less abundant; and gold is all but unknown. The Cretan types have a markedly local character, yet they copy in some instances other coinages. The chief divinities on the pieces are Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Heracles and Britomartis, and the leading myths are those of Minos, the story of the Minotaur and the labyrinth being prominent, and also that of Europa. There is frequent reference to nature-worship as in Sicily, yet with a distinctive preference for trees, the forms of which, however, lend themselves readily to the free representation of Cretan art, which may in part explain their prominence. The peculiarity of Cretan art lies in its realism. At some places, as Aptera, Polyrrhenium and Cydonia, we find engravers’ signatures. The weight is at first Aeginetic of reduced form; and in the resumption of the coinage after Alexander’s time it is Attic.
Of the island in general there are Roman silver and bronze coins of the earlier emperors, some of which are of fine work for the period. The most interesting types are Dictynna and
