Browse Items (299 total)

Damates (ca. 407 - 362 BCE) was the satrap (Persian governor) of both Cappadocia and Cicilia under the Persian Great King Artaxerxes II (405-359 BCE). Proving his worth through many bloody battles, Damates became the most powerful satrap of…

Though never mentioned in Homeric epic, Thessaly claimed its founder was none other than Aiakos, the grandfather of Achilles, making it the Homeric Phthia, also the birthplace of Achilles.
Later in time, probably around 60 CE, Thessaly was…

The Athenian “owl” is one of the most recognizable coins of the ancient world. First minted in 515 BCE, the “owl,” featuring Athena on the obverse and, her symbol, the owl, on the reverse, was continually minted by the Athenians until they gave up…

Alexander III of Macedon is more commonly known as Alexander the Great. A powerful and very successful military leader, Alexander’s gold coinage is symbolic of his kingship over a unified Greek state against the Persian barbarians.

The helmeted…

The island of Thasos, just off the coast of Thrace in the north Aegean Sea, was a cultic center for the worship of Dionysus. This motif is a common one for northern Greece, an area famed for its wine.

The variations of this style include some…

Ptolemy II Philadelphos was the first of the Ptolemy’s to adopt the title of Pharaoh. This was not the only custom he acquired from the Egyptians as he also married his sister, a practice that was usually taboo among the Greeks. Similar to what…

Antiochus II inherited the throne from his father, Antiochus I, when the Seleucid Empire was in the throes of defeat. Pergamum, the victor, was a burgeoning kingdom that would grow over the next hundred years at the expense of the Seleucids. This…

Aspendos in Pamphylia was a Greek colony founded by the Argives on the modern-day southern coast of Turkey. In the fifth century BCE, the city began minting coins according to the Persian standard - a different weight system that determined the value…

A statue of Augustus found in Villa Livia in 1863. From the 1st c. CE and made of white marble, this is one of the most well-known statues from the Roman empire.

A medieval copy of an Etruscan wolf statue. The figure of Romulus and Remus were added in the 15th century AD by Antonio Pollaiuolo. This statue has become an iconic image of Rome, depicting the mythical beginnings of the city.