Drachm from Naxos (Sicily)

The inhabitants of the oldest Greek settlement on the Mediterranean island of Sicily, the city of Naxos, founded around 735 BC, had good reason to depict Dionysus, the god of wine, on the obverse of their drachms. The immigrant Greeks grew wine on the fertile slopes of Mount Etna – an economic success – so the deity merited his place on the local coinage. Moreover, the earliest settlers of the colony, some of whom came from the Cycladic island of the same name, Naxos, had brought the worship of Dionysus with them from their homeland. This drachm was minted between 530 and 490 BC and features one of the oldest depictions of the god: in archaic style, he is shown here with a pointed beard, small curls and almond-shaped eye. On the reverse of the coin is a bunch of grapes, an attribute of Dionysus and the leading export of the city of Naxos.

Obverse: Head of Dionysos with ivy wreath to left. Border of dots. Rückseite: Bunch of grapes.