Ex Halliwell, Lockett, and Wertheim Collections
CRETE, Knossos. Circa 300-270 BC. AR Drachm (19mm, 5.41 g, 7h). Head of Hera left, wearing ornamented stephanos, triple-pendant earring, and necklace / Labyrinth; A-P flanking, KNΩΣI below. Svoronos,
Numismatique 70; SNG Copenhagen -; SNG Lockett 2529 (this coin); BMC 26-7; de Luynes 2334. Good VF, attractive cabinet toning. Among the finest known. Very rare.
Ex Halliwell Collection; Richard Cyril Lockett Collection (Part III, Glendining, 28 May 1959), lot 2015; Jules Wertheim Collection (Ars Classica XII, 18 October 1926), lot 1598.
The ancient city of Knossos, the remains of which were excavated by Sir Arthur Evans, beginning in 1900, was founded in the Minoan Period (circa 1700-1400 BC) as a large and complex palace-city. Although the exact origin of the word “labyrinth, as well as its location, remains open to scholarly conjecture, the intricate maze of rooms and interior courtyards of this palace-city contributed to the later Greek use of the word to describe a maze and the source of the events connected with it to Crete.
According to the Greek myth, Minos was the first king of Crete. Although he gave the island its first constitution, built the palace at Knossos, and built a large navy, he was a cruel tyrant and imperialist. One of his provinces was the city of Athens, from which he demanded a payment every nine years of seven youths and seven virgins. These would Minos feed to the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull who was held in the Labyrinth, a large walled maze. To stop this brutal tribute, the Athenian hero, Theseus, had himself sent as part of the required tribute. With the assistance of Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, Theseus was able to navigate the Labyrinth successfully and kill the Minotaur.
