{"product_id":"139760-crete-stater-330-270-bc-gortyna-silver-ef-40-45","title":"Crete, Stater, 330-270 BC, Gortyna, Silver, EF(40-45)","description":"\u003cp id=\"head\"\u003eEurope, draped, seated on the trunk of a leafless plane tree on the right.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp id=\"reverse\"\u003eBull standing on the right, its head turned backward.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp id=\"comment\"\u003eRare stater from Gortyna minted on the Aeginetan standard.\n\nThe iconography of the city’s coinage is largely inspired by Greek mythology, particularly the myth of Europa and Zeus.\n\nZeus, having fallen in love with Europa, princess of Tyre, is said to have transformed himself into a bull to seduce her. Once she was on his back, he carried her to Crete. Their children, Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhadamanthus, were conceived under a plane tree in Gortyna. \n\nThe coinage of this city thus incorporates various elements of this myth. For example, we find the head of Zeus, that of Europa, the bull, the plane tree, and even the scene of Europa’s abduction on its coins.\n\nOn the obverse of our coin, we see Europa and the plane tree, and on the reverse, a bull into which Zeus transformed himself.\n\nStaters from this period depict the bull and Europa in various positions. Thus, our coin closely resembles references 56 and 57 in Svoronos’s work. It also appears that the dies used for our coin are rarely encountered.\n\nMentioned in Homer’s Iliad, Gortyna is particularly significant in mythology since it lies at the foot of Mount Ida, where Zeus grew up. Gortyna is also one of the most powerful cities in Crete and has existed for millennia. In conflict with Knossos from 323 B.C. onward, it would become the island’s most important city, particularly after 67 B.C., when the Romans conquered Crete. \n\nThis oblong stater attests to the significant influence of mythology on the iconography and identity of the cities of Crete, particularly that of Gortyna.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp id=\"weight\"\u003e11.68 gr\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"cdma","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58294106980684,"sku":"139760","price":3190.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0637\/1655\/7029\/files\/139760A.jpg?v=1785841218","url":"https:\/\/www.numiscorner.com\/products\/139760-crete-stater-330-270-bc-gortyna-silver-ef-40-45","provider":"Numiscorner.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}