Unknown Maker, Greek

The people of Corinth honored the winged horse Pegasus depicted on the obverse of this coin. The hero Bellerophon was believed to have first bridled the horse at the peak of the city’s mountainous citadel, the Acrocorinthus. There, Pegasus was thought to have stamped his hoof and opened up the Peirene spring, an important source of water for the city. The reverse of the coin shows the goddess Athena, a deity of wisdom who was worshipped all across the ancient world. This coin therefore exemplifies the varying nature of Greek religion, as it honors both a local animal hero and a universal deity.