Thrace, Abdera, Tetradrachm ca. 352-351 BC

Artemis is undoubtedly the most beautiful element of the coin, represented here by her function as huntress (Hêgêmónê, “Leader” or Agrotera “of the wild animals of the countryside”), with her bow with notched arrow, and one of her symbolic animals (deer or doe, depending on interpretation), at her side. In her other hand, a leafy branch, interpreted as a laurel branch, could also be a myrtle or willow branch, two other plants associated with the divinity.
It has a remarkable iconography, in the typical style of the period. The city of Abdera was named after Herakles' companion, who was killed by the mares of Diomedes. According to the foundation myth, Herakles founded the city to honour him. Historically, the city was founded twice, first by settlers from Klazomenai and then, following the failure of cohabitation with the Thracians, by other settlers from its neighbor Teos a few years later. They restored its prosperity throughout the Classical and Hellenistic periods.
A city with a major commercial harbour, the city traded with all shores of the Mediterranean and minted numerous coins that are found throughout the whole Mediterranean littoral. Our example was issued in the middle of the 4th century B.C., during the transition between the independence of the city, then under Athenian influence and the conquest of the region by Philip II of Macedonia.