Description:
This Achaean League coin was minted in the ancient region of Elis, located along the Ionian Sea on the Peloponnese peninsula. Elis was home to Olympia, where the Olympic Games were held here every four years from 776 BC to AD 394. The first Olympic Games were in honor of Zeus, who is featured on this coin. Judges of the games, known as Hellanodikai, were elected from Elis every four years. They were renowned for their fairness and the public held them in high regard.
The Achaean League was established in 280 BC, uniting the city-states of the Peloponnese and allied with Rome against their rivals Sparta and Macedonia. In 195 BC, the League was able to finally defeat Sparta and take control of the entire Peloponnese. However, by 146 BC the League's relations with Rome completely collapsed, leading to the Achaean War. The Romans defeated the Achaeans at the Battle of Corinth and dissolved the League.
The obverse side of this ancient coin depicts the head of Zeus, wearing a laurel wreath. In Greek mythology, Zeus oversaw the universe and was the "Father of gods and men." He ruled as king of the gods on Mount Olympus and as god of the sky and thunder with the power to hurl lightning bolts as a weapon, which Zeus used to defeat the Titans. Known for his escapades, Zeus fathered many godly and heroic children including Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Perseus and Hercules. The reverse side of this coin shows the Achaean League monogram within a laurel wreath.
