Collection record · Small worlds
Indo-Greek Coin
The collection record classifies this work as silver. It is dated c. 200–1 BCE. Recorded culture or place: Afghanistan, Bactria.
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Indo-Greek Coin
- Date
- c. 200–1 BCE
- Culture / origin
- Afghanistan, Bactria
- Materials and technique
- silver
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 3.2 x 0.5 cm (1 1/4 x 3/16 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 2011.210
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
After Alexander of Macedon succeeded in conquering Egypt and Persia in 331 BC, his ambition to rule the known world led him further east across Bactria in Afghanistan, through the Hindu Kush mountain pass, and into India. There he succeeded in defeating all the local kings of the region until his men, on the brink of mutiny, insisted that they return to Greece. Alexander left governors in charge of his territories, and after his death in 323 BC, his governors became independent kings, establishing Hellenistic cities and a Greek cultural base in the region, which lasted for almost 200 years.
The posthumous portrait of Alexander on the front of this coin depicts him wearing the lion scalp. He identified with Hercules, the mortal who became a god as a result of his superhuman feats, including the defeat of the Nemean lion.
FOLLOW THE SOURCE
Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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