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Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying Demetrios I Soter

A work made of silver.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of silver.

Date:

162-150 BCE, Reign of Demetrios I Soter

Artist:

Greek; minted in Apamea (near modern Hama, Syria)

About this artwork

The Hellenistic period spans the nearly three hundred years between the death of Alexander the Great of
Macedonia (323 BCE) and that of Cleopatra VII of Egypt (30 BCE), 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 Seleucid dynasty eventually came under the thumb of Rome. As a child Demetrios (r. 162–150 BCE) was sent to Rome as a hostage to insure the good behavior of his father the king. When he finally escaped and seized his inheritance, he spent the rest of his reign in wars that made enemies of the kings of Egypt and Pergamon who saw to it that he died in battle.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Greek

Title

Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying Demetrios I Soter

Place

Syria (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.

162 BCE–150 BCE

Medium

Silver

Inscriptions

Reverse: Baileos, Demetrius, Sotheros ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΗΜΤΡΙΟΥ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ

Dimensions

Diam.: 3.2 cm (1 5/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. William Nelson Pelouze

Reference Number

1923.1166

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/9736/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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