Stater (Coin) Depicting the Siren Parthenope (280-241 BCE): Artwork and History

Stater (Coin) Depicting the Siren Parthenope (280-241 BCE) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Greek, minted in Neapolis (now Naples), Italy.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

The front (obverse) of this coin depicts the head of Parthenope to the left with a symbol behind. The back (reverse) depicts a man-headed bull to right, crowned by Nike. During Odysseus’s return from the Trojan War, which is recounted in Homer’s Odyssey, Parthenope and other Sirens tried to lure his ship onto rocks with their beautiful song. When they failed, Parthenope drowned herself and washed ashore at Neapolis (modern Naples), where she was honored as the local goddess. Coins like this were issued during the festivals and games that were dedicated to Parthenope.

Object facts

• Title: Stater (Coin) Depicting the Siren Parthenope
• Date: 280-241 BCE
• Artist attribution: Greek, minted in Neapolis (now Naples), Italy
• Place of origin: Kavála
• Medium: Silver
• Dimensions: Diam.: 2 cm (13/16 in.)
• Type: Coin
• Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
• Reference number: 1922.4918

Collection credit

Gift of Martin A. Ryerson

View the original

Explore the artwork in the Art Institute's collection, including its image and the museum's current catalogue details.

The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.