To the Island of Circe: Masterpieces of the Terranean Mint and their Hellenistic Derivatives

Beginning in the Classical period, master engravers of Magna Graecia struck coins of unparalleled beauty. Like other poleis, the iconography of these reflected cultural fascinations and histories relevant to divinities or personifications now considered mythic characters. Exploring the presentations of these entities on coins west of Athens from the fifth to the second centuries B.C.E. highlight not only the striking resemblance to sculpture of the time, but specifically to architectural relief carvings that well-document the transition from classical to Hellenistic art forms. I argue that the revered coin engravers of Sicily and their students not only mimicked but prescribed developing sculptural art forms that would become famous through the empire-spread of Alexander the Great. Starting with the obvious characters—Euainetos’s Arethusa and Choirion’s Apollo—this paper explores coins as relief sculpture against objects found in the Yale University Art Gallery Collection. Using coins from the classical period, empire of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic East, paired with contemporary sculptural monuments, I will argue the didactic role of coins in informing and transforming art forms in the ancient world. Rather than proscriptive elements, coins should be studied as prescriptive elements in the development of artistic function and form. Engraver depictions of cultural style, dress, and civic infrastructure will be foremost evidence of coinage pioneering typological scenes and styles celebrated in classical and Hellenistic art.