Silver Drachm of Larissa, Thessaly, Greece, 6.10 g.

Silver Drachm of Larissa, Thessaly, Greece, 6.10 g.

Larissa, Thessaly, Greece

c. 360-350 BCE

Obverse: Facing head of nymph Larissa.

Reverse: Grazing horse facing right; ΛΑΡΙΣΑ: Larissa abbreviated.

Style/Period: Greek (ancient)

Larissa, one of the principal towns of Thessaly, was one of the first cities of the area to issue coins and remained an important mint until it was absorbed by Macedonia (see also 91.063). The first coins used federal types shared with other Thessalian towns, but at the end of the fifth century Larissa adopted its own obverse type, the head of the local nymph, Larissa. The facing nymph shows the obvious influence of the facing nymph Arethusa on the coins of Syracuse, introduced by the famous die-engraver Kimon in the last decade of the fifth century (see 93.007). This version of Arethusa was imitated by numerous mints in Greece and even in Persia and became the stereotypical type for nymphs, as useful in Thessaly as in Sicily.
The reverse depicts a grazing horse, probably a reference to the horses and the cavalry for which Thessaly was famous. Thessaly was a country of plains which provided excellent grazing ground for its cattle and horses.
--Peter A. Martens, LU '96

Bibliography: C.M. Kraay, Greek Coins (New York 1966) 338.

Former collection of Ottilia Buerger. Bought from Spink and Son, 1972.

91.064

Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890

Greek, nymph, Larissa, horse, youth, Larissa, Thessaly, Greece