Tetradrachm (Coin) Depicting a Charioteer
5th century BCE
Medium
Silver
Dimensions
Diam.: 2.6 cm (1 1/16 in.)
Classification
coin
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
36616
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The front (obverse) of this coin depicts a seated charioteer, bearded, riding behind two mules walking right; in the field below is an olive leaf. The back (reverse) of the coin depicts a hare leaping to the right. When Anaxilas, son of Cretines, seized power at Rhegium (modern Reggio Calabria in southern Italy) in 494 BCE, along with parts of Sicily soon after, he adopted the image of a leaping hare on his coinage as early as 480 BCE. Aristotle (quoted by Pollux, Onomasticon 5.75) reported tha...
About the Artist
Ancient Greek
The artist known simply as "Ancient Greek" represents the anonymous masters of Attic vase painting, a cornerstone of Classical Greek art from the Archaic and Classical periods (circa 700–300 BCE). Little is known of their personal life, as ancient Greek potters and painters rarely signed their works or left biographical traces; early life and training remain not well documented. These creators ope...