Tetradrachm: Head of Alexander III [The Great] (obverse); Athena (reverse) (306 BCE): Art, History and Details

Tetradrachm: Head of Alexander III [The Great] (obverse); Athena (reverse) (306 BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Much like his former commander Alexander III (the Great) showed connections to Herakles and Zeus, Ptolemy I Soter (the Savior) used coins to validate his succession to power. Thus, in place of Herakles with lion-skin, this coin shows Alexander in an elephant headdress, referring to their shared Eastern triumphs. On the reverse is Athena Promachos, striding forward with shield and spear. Before her are a helmet and an eagle, and behind her the inscription ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, “of Alexander.”

Object facts

• Title: Tetradrachm: Head of Alexander III [The Great] (obverse); Athena (reverse)
• Date: 306 BCE
• Culture: Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), reign of Ptolemy I (303–282 BCE), minted at Alexandria
• Type: Coins
• Technique: silver
• Dimensions: Overall: 2.9 cm (1 1/8 in.)
• Collection: GR - Greek
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 1916.994

A detail from the museum

The image of Alexander the Great in an elephant headdress references his Eastern conquests.

Collection credit

Gift of J. H. Wade

Further reading listed by the museum

• Neils, Jenifer. "The Twain Shall Meet." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 72, no. 6 (October 1985).

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.