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Phokaia, Ionia, c. 478 - 387 B.C.
| Io was a priestess of Hera in Argos. Zeus lusted for her. In the version of the myth told in Prometheus Bound she initially rejected Zeus' advances, until her father threw her out of his house on the advice of oracles. According to some stories, Zeus then turned Io into a heifer to hide her from his wife; others maintain that it was jealous Hera that transformed Io. The female head on this coin can be identified as Io by the horn and the fillet with beaded tassels worn by heifers or bulls selected for sacrifice to Zeus, as seen in the image right. She was an ancestor of many kings and heroes such as Perseus, Cadmus, Heracles, Minos, Lynceus, Cepheus, and Danaus. The astronomer Simon Marius named a moon of Jupiter after Io in 1614. |  |
SH86290. Electrum Hekte (1/6 Stater), Bodenstedt 96 (g/-); BMC Ionia p. 211, 57; SNG Cop -; SNGvA -; SNG Kayhan -; Rosen -; Boston MFA -, VF, well centered on a tight flan, bumps and scratches, Phokaia (Foca, Turkey) mint, weight 2.494g, maximum diameter 10.0mm, c. 478 - 387 B.C.; obverse horned head of Io left, wearing sacrificial fillet ending in beaded tassels hanging from horns, seal (symbol of Phokaia) swimming left below; reverse quadripartite incuse square; rare; SOLD
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