Face Design Of The Tetradrachms And Didrachms Of Selinunte eBook

Seminar paper from the year 2023 in the subject Archaeology, grade: 1,0, University of Heidelberg (ZAW - Institut fur Klassische Archaologie und Byzantinische Archaologie), course: Munzbild und griechische Polis - Von Phanes bis zu Alexander dem Groen, language: English, abstract: This paper is primarily dedicated to the interpretation of the content of the face designs on the tetradrachms and didrachms minted in Selinunte from around the middle to the end of the 5th century BC in order to try to determine their specific pictorial themes on the one hand and, on the other, to deduce any intentional self-statements of the historical population of Selinunte. The focus here will be on the depictions of the sacrificing river gods on the reverses of the tetradrachms and didrachms, as these are regarded in research, irrespective of their interpretation, as a secure link in terms of content between these two denominations due to strong similarities in mint, minting period, motif and image type, and are regarded as the basis for their cultural-historical interpretation of the face designs of the tetradrachms and didrachms of Selinunte. To this end, the history of Selinunte will first be outlined in the context of the development of Selinunte coinage. The face designs of the tetradrachms and didrachms in focus here will then be analysed iconographically. In accordance with the research consensus, the fundamentally constant main motifs are more central than minor deviations in the details and art-historical-stylistic developments of the image types. The iconological interpretation of the pictorial themes, followed by their classification in the history of Selinunte and possibly communicated contemporary values, will then be attempted, taking into account the research discourse.