Numismatics is one of the most important tools that an archaeologist or a historian can
use in the challenging task of unraveling the past, especially when dealing with regions and areas
that were intersections of several cultures and
civilisations
, such a
s the case of northern Greece.
The importance of coinage derives from the fact that they were objects created by the political
authorities
.
As C. M. Kraay noted, the
genitive of the
ethnic that was inscribed on the coins was
not just informative, but it wa
s a declaration of property, something that
also
applies
to
the
illustrated
iconography.
Hence
, by looking at a coin
one can trace
the message
s
that the
authorities
would like
to impart
to the inhabitants of their
territory;
th
e
se messages were
undoubtedly correlated to the
area’s
cultural
and sociopolitical
background
and the
leaders cared
to use
iconographic
types
with which people were accustomed to.
Moreover
, the coins would
pass through the hands
,
not only of the local popul
ation
,
but also of the foreigners
–
travelers,
merchants, craftsmen
,
soldiers
–
who in turn would share and spread the very same messages to
their own
lands
.
The
present
paper
examines the
depiction of
the
animal
figures
on the
coins
of the city
-
states th
at
southern Greeks founded
o
n
the Chalcidic peninsula
, and it cover
s
chronologically
the late Archaic and Classical periods.
During that time
, the animal figures
were
generally
the
predominant iconographic type on coins,
something that should come
as no surprise in view of
the fact that the animals played an important and pluralistic role in the agrarian societies of
antiquity;
they were
indeed
the backbone of people’s livelihood and wealth. The
animal figures
on the coinage
were related to the
citi
zens’
religious beliefs
,
their mythological and historical
background, while they also projected significant aspects of the city’s socioeconomic context
,
something that brings us one more step closer to a better understanding of the people and their
societ
ies.
Of great interest is
also
the evaluation of
the
differences and similarities between the
iconographic types
on the coins of the colonies
,
and those on the coins of their mother
-
cities;
some colonies
copied
the
types of their hometown, others chose utt
erly different depictions,
while in some
cases we encounter a unique
combination of
local elements
,
with elements that the
people had brought along from their place of origin.
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