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Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying King Antiochus I Soter

A work made of silver.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of silver.

Date:

281-261 BCE

Artist:

Greek; Syria

About this artwork

The Hellenistic period spans the nearly three hundred years between the death of Alexander the Great of Macedonia (323 B.C.) and that of Cleopatra VII of Egypt (30 B.C.), a descendant of one of Alexander’s generals. The term Hellenistic is derived from Hellas, an ancient Greek word for Greece. It is used to describe both chronologically and culturally the era following Alexander’s conquest of Egypt and Asia, which resulted in the spread of Greek culture across a vast area. The melding of local and Greek artistic styles with the luxurious materials captured in the conquered lands resulted in magnificent artwork, including elegant coinage.

Following Alexander’s death, his empire was divided among his generals, who established independent kingdoms in Egypt; Persia; the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea, including Syria and Palestine; Greece and Macedonia; and Thrace. Almost immediately the generals began to covet each other’s land and power.

The kingdom that Alexander’s general, Seleucus, pieced together from the old Persian Empire was enormous, but fragile. No sooner had his son Antiochos (r. 281–261 B.C.) inherited the kingship from his father than territories pulled away to form independent fiefdoms. To add to his struggles, he had to fight off an invasion of barbarian Goths, which earned him his nickname Soter (Greek for savior).

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Artist

Ancient Greek

Title

Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying King Antiochus I Soter

Place

Ancient Near East (Minted in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

281 BCE–261 BCE

Medium

Silver

Dimensions

Diam.: 2.8 cm (1 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of William F. Dunham

Reference Number

1920.725

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/141565/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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