Stater: Lion (obverse); Incuse Punches (reverse)
Unknown Artist
600–550 BCE
Medium
Electrum (gold-silver alloy)
Dimensions
1.6 × 2 × 0.8 cm
Classification
Coins
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Bruce Ferrini
Accession Number
2000.203
About this artwork
The lion, king of the beasts and an animal associated with regal and heroic power, featured prominently on the coinage of many ancient Greek city-states. Artists placed the lion in a variety of poses, sometimes including the whole body, at other times the foreparts or just the head. Although it may once have roamed nearby, for many Greeks the lion was a monster nearly as exotic as the Chimaera, of which it formed a part, together with a goat head and snake-headed tail.