Hellenistic Drachm of Rhodes

Hellenistic
Early 2nd Century BCE

5/8 in. x 5/8 in. x 1/8 in. (1.55 cm x 1.6 cm x 0.3 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.
• coins - Pieces of metal stamped by government authority for use as money.
• drachmas - Small, silver Greek coins originally equivalent to six obols and issued from the 6th century BCE; usage continued by the Parthians and Sassanians until the 7th century CE.
• Helios
• incuse - Use to describe a design or part of one, as on coins, that is rendered in intaglio rather than in relief.
• Rosa - Genus containing over 100 species of erect, climbing, or trailing shrubs. The great majority of species are native to Asia, with a few native to Europe, North America, and northwest Africa. However, they are cultivated in all corners of the world for their beautiful, fragrant flowers, and are known in large numbers of varieties and hybrids. The aggregate fruit of the rose is the berry-like rose hip, consumed by humans and animals.
• 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.