Coin: Stater, Corinth

This Greek coin is a silver Stater from the ancient city of Corinth on the Grecian Peloponnesus. It was struck in the late 4th century BCE. The obverse is a profile of Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom, war, and peace and patron of Corinth, wearing a Corinthian helmet over a leather cap. The reverse is Pegasus, a winged horse, that sprang from the blood of Medusa when she was beheaded by Perseus. It was while Pegasus was drinking from the fountain Peirene at Corinth that Bellerophon, using a magical bridle given to him by Athena, was able to subdue Pegasus. Together they slew the chimera, a beast with a snake for a tail, the body of a goat and the head of a lion that breathed fire.

Barclay Vincent Head: Catalogue of Greek Coins: Corinth, Colonies of Corinth, etc., Volume 12 of a Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum, The Trustees, 1889, (pl. XII, 5, no. 255).

Head, Barclay Vincent. Catalogue of Greek Coins: Corinth, Colonies of Corinth, etc., Volume 12 of a Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1889.