Silver Stater

This silver stater was minted in Terina (near modern day Sant’Eufemia Venere in Calabria, Italy), in the late 5th century BCE, between 420BC and 400BC. The obverse depicts the head of the local eponymous nymph Terina facing left, adorned with studded earrings and a beaded necklace of nine beads, perhaps pearls. Her wavy hair is tied in a low bun and secured with a sphendone, with the front pieces wrapped around the band, a characteristic hairstyle for women at the time. Along the left side, is the inscription ‘ΤΕΡΙΝΑΙΟΝ’ or ‘TERINAION’ meaning ‘of the Terinaeans’, indicative of the name of the city where the coin originated from. The reverse depicts the Greek winged-goddess Nike (Victory) seated on a cippus. In her right hand, she holds a wreath of laurel leaves as the symbol of bravery, strength and triumph. Depicted above the wreath is the issue mark ‘Π’, of an unknown engraver.

In Greek mythology, the city of Terina was heavily associated with the siren Ligeia, who washed up on its shores following her encounter with the ship of Odysseus (in Latin, ‘Ulysses’). It is this fact that has led scholars to suggest that the portrait of the nymph Terina is in fact that of the siren Ligeia.