copy, exhibit case layout
Object label written for the reinstallation of the Greek and Roman Galleries of the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art.
Unknown artist, Greek
Stater coin, ca. 360 - 350 BCE
Silver
The people of Corinth honored the winged horse Pegasus depicted on the obverse of this coin. The hero Bellerophon was believed to have first bridled the horse at the peak of the city’s mountainous citadel, the Acrocorinthus. There, Pegasus was thought to have stamped his hoof and opened up the Peirene spring, an important source of water for the city. The reverse of the coin shows the goddess Athena, a deity of wisdom who was worshiped across the ancient world. This coin therefore exemplifies the varying nature of Greek religion, as it honors both a local animal hero and a universal deity.