Description:
This coin was minted in the Hellenistic city of Pergamon, which was located in modern-day Turkey. This great city became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC. They were loyal supporters of Rome and were rewarded with much of the former Seleucid domains from the conquests of Alexander the Great in Asia Minor. The Attalids ruled with intelligence and generosity and the Greek cities in this Kingdom maintained a level of independence. When the ruler Attalus III died without an heir in 133 BC, he bequeathed the whole of Pergamon to Rome in order to prevent a civil war.
Pergamon was one of the great cultural centers of the Greek world, home to the Temple of Dionysus and the Acropolis of Pergamon, which was modeled after the Acropolis in Athens. The city’s theater had a seating capacity of 10,000, with the steepest seating of any known theater in the ancient world.
Athena, who was the favorite child of the king of the gods Zeus, is featured on this coin wearing a crested Corinthian helmet. She was the Greek goddess of wisdom, peace, warfare, strategy, handicrafts and reason. Among her gifts to man were the inventions of the plow and the flute, the arts of taming animals, building ships along with making shoes. An armed warrior goddess, Athena appears in Greek mythology as a helper of many heroes, including Odysseus, Jason and Hercules. The reverse side of this 2nd century BC Pergamon coin shows a trophy consisting of a helmet and cuirass armor.
