Description:
This silver coin was minted in the maritime city of Teos, which was located along the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor. Teos was a flourishing Greek seaport, with two fine harbors and was well-known for its wine, theater and splendid Temple of Dionysus. After the King’s Peace treaty between Persia and Sparta in 387 BC, the Persian Empire gained control of all the Greek cities in Asia Minor including Teos. This region would stay under Persian control until Alexander the Great set out to conquer the Persian Empire. In 334 BC, Alexander’s Greek army defeated the Persian forces at the Battle of Granicus. He then marched his army south along the Aegean coast, liberating this territory from the Persians.
The obverse side of this ancient diobol (meaning 2 obols) coin features a griffin. To the Greeks, the griffin was a symbol of great power and a guardian of the divine. This renowned creature had the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. The earliest depictions of griffins are the 15th century BC paintings, in the Throne Room of the Palace of Knossos in Crete. In Greek mythology, griffins were also known for guarding treasure.
The lyre, shown on the reverse, is a stringed musical instrument that was very popular in classical antiquity. The recitations of the Ancient Greeks were often accompanied by lyre playing.
