Tetradrachm (Coin) Depicting the God Dionysos

mid–2nd century BCE

Greek; minted in Maroneia, Thrace

The front (obverse) of this coin depicts the god Dionysos crowned with ivy leaves, one of the attributes (along with the grapes he holds on the coin’s back) which identifies him as the god of wine. He is believed to have come from Thrace, where this coin was minted.

Many cities claimed to be the birthplace of Dionysos. One was Maroneia, on the coast of Thrace, which was said to be named after Dionysos’s son Maron. Dionysos was the city’s protective deity and appeared on its coinage crowned with ivy leaves. On the back (reverse) of the coin, the god is seen holding a bunch of grapes.

Status: On View, Gallery 151
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Artist: Ancient Greek
Title: Tetradrachm (Coin) Depicting the God Dionysos
Place: Greece (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.: 150 BCE–100 BCE
Medium: Silver
Inscriptions: Reverse: ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ (In exergue: ΜΑΡΩΝΙΤΩΝ)
Dimensions: Diam.: 3.4 cm (1 3/8 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Emily Crane Chadbourne
Reference Number: 1940.10
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/36623/manifest.json

Karen B. Alexander. “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago.” in Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago, by Karen Manchester, (Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2012) p.29.

The Art Institute of Chicago, Of Gods and Glamour: The Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art, Gallery 151, November 11, 2012 - July 10, 2015.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Dionysos Unmasked: Ancient Sculpture and Early Prints,” Gallery 150 and 154, July 31, 2015 - February 15, 2016.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Of Gods and Glamour: The Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art, Gallery 151, February 25, 2016 - present.

Emily Crane Chadbourne (1871- 1964), Paris, London, and Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1940.

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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.

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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.

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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.