Silver Hemidrachm from Heraea, Arcadia, 2.66 g.
Title
Silver Hemidrachm from Heraea, Arcadia, 2.66 g.
Creator
Heraea, Arcadia
Date
480-450 B.C.E.
Description
Obverse: Zeus enthroned, with scepter in left hand and releasing eagle from right hand.
Reverse: Head of Despoina in incuse square. ARKA, abbreviation of ARKAΔIKON: “of the Arcadians.”
Style/Period: Early Classical Greek
For reasons largely unknown, Heraea, a city located on the western border of Arcadia in the central Peloponnese, was entrusted with the management of the Arcadian Games at the beginning of the fifth century BCE. These games were held in conjunction with the festival of Zeus in his sanctuary on Mt. Lykaion. For each recurring festival of Zeus and the Arcadian Games, Heraea was tasked with the production of a federal coinage made for the Arcadian Confederation. This was distributed for the use of all Arcadians congregated for the athletic competitions. Although issued by the Heraeans, this coinage was not used for civic purposes and the imagery upon it bears no affiliation with the city of Heraea itself. Instead, the imagery chosen for this coinage is relevant to the greater Arcadian population.
The image on the obverse of the coin is Zeus Lykaios, an important figure of worship for the Arcadians, with his attributes the scepter and eagle. The epithet “Lykaios” means “Wolf,” and refers to an ancient Arcadian myth in which Lykaon, the mythological king of Arcadia, tested Zeus’s omniscience by serving him roasted human flesh, perhaps that of his son Nyktimus. The worship of Zeus Lykaios as a god who receives human sacrifice on Mt. Lykaion as atonement for sin is related to this myth.
The image on the reverse is Despoina, the daughter of Demeter, the goddess presiding over the fertility of the earth, and Poseidon, the god of the sea. Despoina is not a name but instead a title meaning “Mistress.” Her true name was known only to initiates of her cult in her sanctuary in Lykosoura, also in Arcadia, not far from Mt. Lykaion.
Joe Kortenhof, LU '20
Bibliography: David Gilman Romano and Mary E. Voyatzis. “Excavating at the Birthplace of Zeus: The Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project,” Expedition, Spring 2010, 9-21; C. Seltman, Greek Coins: A History of Metallic Currency and Coinage Down to the Fall of the Hellenistic Kingdoms, 2nd ed. (London 1955; reprint 1960), 97; B. V. Head, Historia Numorum: a Manual of Greek Numismatics (Oxford, 1911; reprint, Chicago, 1967) 447-448; L. R. Farnell, The Cults of the Greek States, Vol. 1 (Oxford 1896), 40-42.
The image on the obverse of the coin is Zeus Lykaios, an important figure of worship for the Arcadians, with his attributes the scepter and eagle. The epithet “Lykaios” means “Wolf,” and refers to an ancient Arcadian myth in which Lykaon, the mythological king of Arcadia, tested Zeus’s omniscience by serving him roasted human flesh, perhaps that of his son Nyktimus. The worship of Zeus Lykaios as a god who receives human sacrifice on Mt. Lykaion as atonement for sin is related to this myth.
The image on the reverse is Despoina, the daughter of Demeter, the goddess presiding over the fertility of the earth, and Poseidon, the god of the sea. Despoina is not a name but instead a title meaning “Mistress.” Her true name was known only to initiates of her cult in her sanctuary in Lykosoura, also in Arcadia, not far from Mt. Lykaion.
Joe Kortenhof, LU '20
Bibliography: David Gilman Romano and Mary E. Voyatzis. “Excavating at the Birthplace of Zeus: The Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project,” Expedition, Spring 2010, 9-21; C. Seltman, Greek Coins: A History of Metallic Currency and Coinage Down to the Fall of the Hellenistic Kingdoms, 2nd ed. (London 1955; reprint 1960), 97; B. V. Head, Historia Numorum: a Manual of Greek Numismatics (Oxford, 1911; reprint, Chicago, 1967) 447-448; L. R. Farnell, The Cults of the Greek States, Vol. 1 (Oxford 1896), 40-42.
Source
Former collection of Ottilia Buerger. Purchased from Edward Gans, 1959.
Identifier
91.076
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
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Files
Citation
Heraea, Arcadia, “Silver Hemidrachm from Heraea, Arcadia, 2.66 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/456.