1The discussion below concerns the identity of the goddess depicted on the earliest issue of the Achaean Koinon. Modern surveys of the subject identify her either as a generic nymph or as Demeter – more precisely Demeter Panachaia – or Artemis Laphria1. A new fresh look at this coin type can yield some unexpected evidence.

2The only stater known today and a few smaller denominations (drachms and half-drachms) carry the same obverse type2: a female head facing left (figs. 1a, 2a). Special features are her hairstyle and elaborate earring. Her hair is swept up from the front, the temples and the nape of the neck, and is bound on the crown of the head a topknot allowing clusters of curls to spill out from the top to the back and also – clearly – to the far side of the head. Tiny corkscrew locks decorate the hairline in the middle of the forehead, beside the ear and at the nape of the neck.

3The head is distinguished by the intense gaze shown by the accurate defined pupil and lids. The brow ridge is low and rounded, the cheeks full, the nose straight and slightly upturned. The full lips are framed by the well-rounded chin beneath. The beautiful, youthful face rests on a slender neck.

4The earring is of special interest, since it is a well-defined late Classical to early Hellenistic type, which consists of an elaborate disc and a boat-shaped pendant3. The earring of the goddess is composed of a disc, which slightly overlaps the lower edge of the earlobe. The boat-shaped pendant is probably suspended by its ends. Loop-in-loop chains, that clearly form a festoon, hang by its bottom edge and support at least three tiny seed-like pendants. In particular the Achaean Koinon goddess’ earring features an early variation of the boat-shaped type well attested by full-size examples of the late 5^th and early 4^th centuries BC4.

5Of the same group type, but a slightly later variation, are the boat-shaped earrings of Demeter on the issues of Pheneos5, of Artemis on the issues of Stymphalos6, and of the nymph on the issues of Opuntian Lokris7. These earrings, which have a rosette instead of a plain disc, a multitude of loop-in-loop chains, and two-tiered pendants, find their best parallels in the sophisticated full-size pieces, that were in production from the last third of the 4^th century BC onwards8.

6The reverse type shows Zeus majestically enthroned (fig. 1b). His raised left arm supports a long sceptre resting on the ground. Out of his outstretched right hand an eagle is spreading its wings and flying away. The throne is a masterpiece, meticulously depicted, and noteworthy for the sphinxes supporting the arm-rails.

7On the reverse of the smaller denominations, a fully armed Athena is charging to the right (fig. 2b). All the denominations bear a small Phrygian high-crested helmet with hinged side-pieces as a symbol in the field9.

8This issue of the Koinon of the Achaeans has given rise to lengthy discussions about its attribution to a specific minting authority and, to a greater extent, the identity of the goddess depicted. John Leicester Warren, who published the half-drachm in the possession of the British Museum, briefly remarked on the similarity between the goddess on the obverse and the Demeter on the issues of Pheneos. He went on to attribute the coin to the Achaeans of the Peloponnese and dated the issue to between 280 and 251 BC10. Some time later, in 1873, Percy Gardner proceeded with the full publication of the same piece and argued that it should be dated to the pre-Alexandrian era, but nevertheless maintained its attribution to the Achaeans of the Peloponnese11. By contrast, Rudolf Weil in 188212 and Friedrich Imhoof-Blumer in 188313 argued in favour of an attribution to Thessaly. Imhoof-Blumer in particular identified the goddess with a nymph, attributing the coin to Achaea Phthiotis and taking refuge in the circular argument that nymphs were well-attested in Thessaly14.

9In the volume of the British Museum’s Catalogue of Greek Coins on Thessaly Gardner reassessed the available evidence and attributed in turn the issue to Achaea Phthiotis. He also supposed that the goddess’ hairstyle was to be associated with “Macedonian times”, that is, the Hellenistic era15.

10The appearance of the stater, found, according to tradition, in the vicinity of Leibadia in Boeotia and kept in the British Museum, brought about a full revision of this subject and definitively solved the riddle of the minting authority. In his 1902 publication, Warwick Wroth noticed the similarities in style and material with the staters of Messene, Pheneos and Stymphalos, which are all dated to the years between 370 and 360 BC, and did not fail to put forward the same date for the Achaean issue. Wroth commented further on the types, identifying them with Zeus Amarios, Demeter Panachaia and Athena Amaria, and suggested Aigion to be the mint. Finally, he focused on the beautiful head. He noted the absence of any potential attributes and symbols and considered the unusual hairstyle. He thus thought it proper to leave the matter open, suggesting that she could either be Demeter Panachaia or some other goddess of Aigion, without excluding Artemis or Eileithyia16.

11From then on, this particular issue was acknowledged as being the first in the history of the Achaean Koinon. But still there were doubts about whether the goddess depicted was to be identified with Demeter or Artemis.

12Barclay V. Head, Ernest Babelon and Colin M. Kraay supported the idea of Artemis Laphria in their respective handbooks.17 Conversely, Peter Robert Franke made a brief case for Demeter18. In the Lexikon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, opinions are divided, and the coin type appears under both entries, as: “Artemis” and also “Demeter”19.

13More recently an exhaustive analysis of the question appeared in German scholarship. Demeter Panachaia was put forward, on the basis, firstly, of the assumption that her sanctuary was located in close proximity to the sanctuary of Zeus Homagyrios, where, according to Pausanias (7.24.2-3), the assemblies of the Achaean Koinon were held after the destruction of Eliki in 373 BC20. As stated by Polybius (2.39.6; 5.93.10), Homarion was the sacred centre of the Achaeans for a long time. Secondly, the epithet “Panachaia” makes Demeter the goddess of all the Achaeans, and therefore could have served an appropriate political function, in accordance also with the function of the Zeus of the Achaeans that the epithets “Homagyrios” or “Hamarios” or “Homarios” indicated. If Zeus Homagyrios is depicted on the reverse, the identification of the obverse goddess with Demeter Panachaia seems quite plausible21.

14Although this argument seems at first sight persuasive, it ignores substantial iconographical evidence. Demeter is normally depicted in the coinage of the 4^th century BC with a wreath of ears of corn and with her long hair flowing and covering her neck. Well known parallels from the 4^th century BC Peloponnese are the issues of Messene and Hermione22. Moreover, the issues of Kyzikos23 and of the Amphictyonians24 show the long hair of the goddess and the back of her head covered by a himation. This iconographic type became popular in Hellenistic times, and it is to be found in Paros, Byzantium and Chalkedon25.

15The difficulty in achieving a consensus as to the identity of the Achaean goddess rests primarily in the complete absence of any symbols or attributes that could provide a clue. Could her hairstyle offer the key to this question?

16The top-knot hairstyle is usually called a krobylos in modern scholarship26. The earliest testimony of the term is in Thucydides’ so-called Archaeology (1.6.3-4), where it is clearly shown that in his time the krobylos was a somewhat old-fashioned hairstyle worn by the Marathon combatants’ generation. Once the Attic krobylos fell out of use, its original meaning was soon forgotten. By Hellenistic times, the term was a synonym of korymbos and denoted every part of the coiffure that stood out from the head, designating a youthful hair style worn by either sex. Lack of evidence prohibits us from suggesting that the terms were already applied in the 4^th century BC to the hairstyle in question27.

17The top-knot hairstyle was anything but uncommon in the 4^th century BC. From just before the middle of the century and until its later years it was popular on Attic funerary monuments. It was worn by maidens of marriageable age, as it can be securely deduced by the composition, iconography and dress and body type in at least four cases in C.W. Clairmont’s corpus28. Their hair is drawn up, with two locks tied up above the forehead and their ends flowing loosely on either side of the crown of the head. In at least four more cases the hair style is worn by young women of bridal status29.

18Furthermore, young, virgin goddesses on dedicatory reliefs and in large-scale sculpture are depicted with their head taken up in a topknot30. The so-called “Little Artemis” of the Piraeus Bronzes, which is considered to be a prototype of the late 4^th century provides a good example of the hairstyle31.

19Therefore, the topknot hairstyle on the Achaean stater under discussion indicates a youthful goddess, and in that case Artemis could be a plausible candidate. Artemis is not unknown to the coinage of Achaea. On the Roman imperial issues of Patrae two different Artemis types are to be found. The first of them shows the goddess standing with her left hand holding a bow that rests on a high or a low altar, or directly on the ground. Her right hand is resting on her hip. Artemis wears a short chiton, and her dog is sitting beside her on the ground32. As a similar coin type bearing the legend DIANA LAPHRIA was issued in the name of the emperor Nero, it has been suggested that the relaxed standing Artemis can securely be identified with Diana Laphria33. The second type shows Artemis clad in a short chiton and running, holding a torch and spear.

20According to Pausanias, the cult statue of Artemis Laphria was offered from the booty of Kalydon to the acropolis of Patrae (Paus. 7.18.8-13). Pausanias adds that the statue was made of gold and ivory by the Naupaktians Mainechmos and Soidas, who flourished in early Classical times. The statuary type depicted on the coin group mentioned first could be from the 5^th century BC, although all efforts to reconstruct it seem uncertain due to the small scale of representation on the coin round. The “resting on the hip” motif is also attested for the Athena of Anghelitos and the “Motya Charioteer” and, as far as the short chiton is concerned, sufficient evidence is provided by the “Ephesian” Amazons and the various Artemis-types in Attic and Italiote vase painting of the late 5^th century BC34.

21The detailed account given by Pausanias (7.18.12) of the festival held at the Laphria altar, in which, living beasts – birds, boars, stags, wolves, bears and their young – were thrown into the flames of a great pyre, has been adequately discussed by experts in Greek religion. According to them, the notion that this was an ancient ritual that pre-existed the transport of the statue from Laphrion in Kalydon to Patrae is out of the question. On the contrary, it seems that all clues point to an arena-like spectacle, of the type that was so popular in Roman imperial times, which could have been established by Augustus in the wider context of the reorganization of the city of Patrae35. The identification therefore of the goddess of the Achaean mint with Artemis Laphria seems impossible.

22The cult of Artemis is, however, well documented throughout the entire region of Achaea, as Pausanias comments in various passages36. In Aigion the goddess had a sanctuary in the agora, where she was worshipped together with Apollo, and another one on the borders of the agora (7.24.1). In Aigeira there were also two temples of Artemis: one in the Zeus sanctuary and another one on the road near the sea, some distance away from the Aigeira harbour (7.26.5). A sanctuary of Artemis is also attested in Phelloe (7.26.11), whereas in Pellene, besides the holy grove dedicated to Artemis, there was also a temple not far away from that of Apollo (7.24.4).

23The majority of testimonies concerning the cult of Artemis are to be found in connection with Patrae. A temple of Artemis Limnatis was to be found when leaving the agora. Her statue was stolen from the sanctuary of Limnatis in Sparta by Preugenes, the father of the eponymous hero Patreus, at the time when the Dorians had taken possession of the city (7.20.6-7).

24Artemis was also worshipped at Patrae with the epithet “Triklaria” and, particularly at the time when the city was inhabited by Ionians, dispersed in three communities: Arhoe, Antheia and Messatis37. Her temenos was common to all Ionians. Once, as Pausaniasʼ version of the myth has it, the goddess’ priestess Komaitho, a most beautiful maiden, had a lover named Melanippos, who also excelled among his fellows. The parents of both opposed the wedding and the pair began meeting secretly in the temple. It did not take long for Artemis’ wrath to rise against the city: the earth yielded no harvest, and diseases and death occurred. The Delphi oracle demanded the sacrifice of Melannipos and Komaitho, and that every year the fairest youth and the fairest maiden should be sacrificed to Artemis. The river flowing near the sanctuary of Triklaria was then called Ameilichos ( “relentless”).

25Eurypylos’ arrival put an end to the heavy toll. Many years previously an oracle had been given to the citizens that the human sacrifice would be stopped by a foreign king who brought a foreign god with him. Eurypylos was also endowed with an oracle that salvation would come for him, when he met people performing an unusual ritual. On this spot he was to place his larnax containing an image of Dionysos, and there he was to also settle down.

26The two oracles were fulfilled as soon as the parties concerned met. In remembrance of these events, sacred pannychis was performed. Youths and maidens went down and bathed in the river, which was now called Meilichos, after leaving their corn wreaths in the sanctuary of Artemis.

27Although the Triklaria temple is commonly placed in the countryside around Patrae, by the river Meilichos, sufficient evidence exists for a second sanctuary on the acropolis. The reference to a nocturnal procession seems to suggest a descent from the acropolis to the edges of the city. Moreover, the explicit mention of Eurypylos’ tomb on the acropolis, between the temple and the altar of Laphria, can be better explained if we assume that the Laphria temple was identical with that of Triklaria, where the Laphria cult was introduced in Roman times38.

28One striking detail is that Pausanias mentions a temple of Athena under the epithet “Panachais”, and with a cult statue made of ivory and gold, in the sanctuary of Laphria (7.20.2).

29As to the dating of the Achaean Koinon issue, it has already been said that stylistic features and comparison with other Peloponnesian mints of the time make a date between the Battle of Leuktra and the Battle of Mantinea quite plausible39. A more specific dating could be linked to the Achaeans’ involvement in the Third Sacred War around 352/1 BC40.

30An even earlier date seems equally possible. The installation of a garrison in Kalydon and in Naupaktos for a period of twenty years would have been sufficiently expensive, and could account for the issue of silver coins. Before 389 BC the Achaeans had already captured and garrisoned Kalydon because of a threat of an attack by the Akarnanians with help from the Athenians and Boeotians (Xen. Hell. 4.6.1). Kalydon and Naupaktos were still in the hands of the Achaeans when they were liberated by Epaminondas in 367/366 BC41. Xenophon narrates that the Achaeans gave citizenship to the Kalydonians, a fact that suggests a friendly arrangement. After 367 BC Kalydon passed under the control of the Aetolians. On the other hand, the Achaeans gained control of Naupaktos and the city remained Achaean until 338 BC42.

31The mintmark of a helmet, a typical military symbol, could account for military expenditure in either case. Moreover, Artemis herself is associated with warship across the whole ancient Greek world43.

32To sum up, the iconography of the staters and smaller denominations suggests merely a virgin goddess. In the case of Achaea, this goddess could be Artemis. The lengthy overview of the myths and cults narrated by Pausanias shows the significance of the Artemis Triklaria cult, which stood for the continuation of the community’s existence44.