Hellenistic Stater of Anactorium

Hellenistic
325 BCE - 300 BCE

13/16 in. x 13/16 in. (2 cm x 2 cm)

This object has the following keywords:

• Animalia - Kingdom containing multicellular organisms having cells bound by a plasma membrane and organized into tissue and specialized tissue systems that permit them to either move about in search of food or to draw food toward themselves. Unable to make their own food within themselves, as photosynthetic plants do, they rely on consuming preformed food. They possess a nervous system with sensory and motor nerves, enabling them to receive environmental stimuli and to respond with specialized movements.
• Athena
• coins - Pieces of metal stamped by government authority for use as money.
• female - Referring to the sex that normally produces eggs or female germ cells.
• helmets - Any of various forms of protective coverings for the head, usually made of a hard material, including the outside steel layer of helmets that consist of inner and outer parts.
• Pegasus - Added June 2010 by M. Weldon
• silver - Pure metallic element having symbol Ag and atomic number 47; a malleable, ductile, white metal with characteristic sheen, considered a precious metal. Silver is widely distributed throughout the world, occurring rarely as metallic silver (in Peru, Norway) but more often as silver-gold alloys and silver ore. Today silver is obtained as a byproduct in the refinement of gold, lead, copper, or zinc ores. Silver was smelted from the ore galena as early as 3800 BCE. As a pure metal, silver is second to gold in malleability and ductility, can be polished to a highly reflective surface, and used -- typically in an alloy -- in jewelry, coinage, photography, mirrors, electrical contacts, and tableware.
• staters - Refers to any of various electrum, gold, or silver coins primarily of the East Greek world in use from the 6th to the late 3rd century BCE.
• Strigiformes - Order containing around 180 species in two families of nocturnal raptorial birds with hooked beaks, strong talons, and soft plumage. All owls have the same general appearance, which is characterized by a flat face, small hooked beak, short tail, round wings, and large, forward-facing eyes. The bird became associated with Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and also owls became symbolic of intelligence because it was thought that they could forsee events. Also, because of their nocturnal existence and hooting sounds, owls have also been symbols associated with the occult. In the Middle Ages, the owl became a symbol of the darkness before the coming of Christ.
• tripods - Refers generally to three-legged supports of any kind. The word may be applied variously to objects such as stools, tables, light stands, stands for cameras, or pedestals. Ancient, antique, or classical forms are associated with religious or symbolic altars, or sacrificial vessels. The seat of the Delphic oracle was in the form of a tripod.