Greek Coin: Hemidrachm

Inv. No.: c003
Provenance: Thebes
Date: 426-395 B.C.
 
Obv.: Boeotian shield.

Rev.: Kantharos with club above, all within incuse square.

When the Boeotian League rose again under the leadership of Thebes in 447 B.C., the Theban mint entered a peiod of sustained activity. The Boeotian shield was universal on the obverses of Theban coins until the city was destroyed by Alexander in 335 B.C. The choice of this type is apparently due to the fact that the kind of shield depicted was made from ox-hide, and, according to ancient grammarians, the words Boeotia and * (Gk. x? are etymologically linked.

The club on the reverse is an attribute of Herakles, one of the city two favourite deities. The other, Dionysus, is represented by the kantharos.

Comparanda:
BMCG, Central Greece, Thebes 78.