Both sides of an irregularly shaped gold coin with relief decoration on each side.　
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

On the side of the coin on the left is the head of a woman facing left, wearing a necklace, her hair is tied back with tendrils hanging down. Small dots surround the border along with the Greek characters: K A. The other side of the coin depicts a kneeling man facing right wrestling a lion. The man’s right arm wrapped around the lion’s head, its paws bracing itself on man’s knee.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1972.222
Title
Hundred Litrai Coin of Syracuse
Classification
Coins
Work Type
coin
Date
405-400 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Syracuse (Sicily)
Period
Classical period, High
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/195257

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3400, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Greece in Black and Orange
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Gold
Metal
AV
Technique
Struck
Dimensions
5.83 g
Die Axis
2
Denomination
one hundred litrae
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Obverse Inscription: KA

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
de Ciccio 20

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Frederick M. Watkins
Accession Year
1972
Object Number
1972.222
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Obverse: Head of Arethusa, to left, surrounded by dolphins.; Reverse: Herakles wrestling Nemean lion

Publication History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1973)

Exhibition History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 01/31/1973 - 03/14/1973
  • Re-View: S422 Ancient & Byzantine Art & Numismatics, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/12/2008 - 06/18/2011
  • 32Q: 3400 Greek, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Coins

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu