Stater (Coin) Depicting a Sea Turtle
510-485 BCE
- Medium
- Silver
- Classification
- Coin
- Dimensions
- Diam.: 2 cm (13/16 in.)
- Culture
- Aegina
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
- Credit line
- Gift of William F. Dunham
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Coins of Aegina depicted images of sea turtles on their coins when the island of Aegina was the supreme sea power among the Greek city-states. The sea turtle, seen here on the front (obverse) of this coin, represented its naval strength and resiliency. After its defeat by Athens in 458 BCE, Aegina ceased using the sea turtle and substituted the land tortoise to symbolize its lost sea power. On the back (reverse) of this coin is a geometric design comprised of a square with a windmill-like pattern.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
