Unknown Maker, Greek

Coins minted at the behest of rulers and powerful citizens, who usually dictated what was portrayed. Here, Alexander the Great’s choice of content communicates his martial objectives: to represent himself as capable of commanding the Corinthian League of Greek city-states that his recently deceased father, Philip II of Macedon, had united. The obverse of the coin shows the warrior goddess Athena in her war helmet, while the reverse shows Nike, goddess of victory. These symbols were meant to reinforce Alexander’s inherited power.