![]() ![]() Art Institute of Chicago, “CLEOPATRA THE ANCIENT WORLD,” Computer Program (Art Institute of Chicago, 1997).Theresa Gross-Diaz in John Griffiths Pedley, Greek Art (Museum Studies: Ancient Art at The Art Institute of Chicago 20, no.Ryerson Reference Number 1922.4924 IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. " King Lysimachus" Dimensions Diam.: 3.1 cm (1 1/4 in.) Credit Line Gift of Martin A. Status Currently Off View Department Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium Culture Ancient Greek Title Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying Alexander the Great Place Ephesus (Minted in) Date 297 BCE–281 BCE Medium Silver Inscriptions Reverse: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩ ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ The lion on the shield at Athena’s side references Lysimachus’s famous exploit of killing a lion with his bare hands and reinforces his association with Alexander, who used the skin of the Nemean lion as a symbol of power and courage. ![]() On the reverse of the coin, Lysimachus exerts his own royal autonomy by naming himself “king.” The goddesses Athena and Nike (Greek for “victory”) crown his name with laurels, which symbolized victory or honor. These “horns of Ammon” symbolize Alexander’s claim that he was the son of the Egyptian god Ammon-a claim reportedly confirmed by the oracle at the sanctuary of Zeus-Ammon at Siwa, Egypt. Additionally, he is shown with horns curling around his ears. Alexander, responsible for establishing the conventions of royal portraiture, is depicted in his preferred manner: youthful and clean-shaven, with long locks of hair rising above his forehead and eyes cast upward. Lysimachus (reigned 323–281 BCE), one of Alexander’s companions and bodyguards, used the king’s image on his own coins in order to cast himself in the role of successor and legitimize his claim to the kingdom of Thrace. Following the premature death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, his generals, friends, and heirs engaged in forty years of wars over his empire. ![]()
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