Octadrachm (Coin) Portraying King Ptolemy III Euergetes

Ptolemaic Period (221–205 BCE), issued by King Ptolemy IV, reign of Ptolemy III Euergetes (247–222 BCE)

Greek, Ptolemaic; minted in Egypt

Under the rule of Ptolemy III, Egypt’s realm reached its greatest geographical limits, stretching from Cyrene in North Africa to Babylon in Mesopotamia. Rather than pursue further conquests, Ptolemy concentrated on developing prosperity within Egypt. His reign marks the apogee of the dynasty’s power. Surprisingly, Ptolemy III never issued a coin with his own portrait, rather this coin was struck by his son Ptolemy IV and presents the dead king with the attributes of three gods: the crown of Helios, the sun god; the armor of Zeus; and the trident of the sea god, Poseidon.

Status: On View, Gallery 152
Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Greek
Title: Octadrachm (Coin) Portraying King Ptolemy III Euergetes
Place: Alexandria (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.: 221 BCE–205 BCE
Medium: Gold
Inscriptions: Reverse: ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ
Dimensions: Diam.: 2.6 cm (1 1/16 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Martin A. Ryerson
Reference Number: 1922.4935
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/5782/manifest.json

Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 29.
Roberta Casagrande-Kim, ed., When the Greeks Ruled Egypt: From Alexander the Great to Cleopatra. Exh. cat. (New York: Institute for the Study of the Ancient World; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014), pp. 68, 94, fig. 4-14, cat. 44.

The Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 154A, April 20, 1994 - February 6, 2012.
The Art Institute of Chicago, When the Greeks Ruled: Egypt After Alexander the Great, October 31, 2013 - July 27, 2014; traveled to New York, NY, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, October 8, 2014 - January 4, 2015.

Martin A. Ryerson (1856-1932), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.

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Octadrachm (Coin) Portraying King Ptolemy III Euergetes

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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.

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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.