A bronze coin struck under Herod the Great's reign in Jerusalem, 37 to 4 BCE. Following the aniconic convention of Jewish coinage of the period, it carries no royal portrait: the obverse shows a tripod with a lebes on a podium, the reverse a helmet flanked by palms and topped with a star. Held today by the Harvard Art Museums.
Facts
Medium (class) Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source Coin of Herod the Great, Jerusalem, Harvard Art Museums (37 to 4 BCE)
Depicts
Herod the Great, Figures The museum's own title names Herod the Great as the coin's issuing authority, but the museum's own description confirms the coin carries royal insignia, a tripod and a helmet, rather than his likeness, in keeping with contemporary Jewish aniconic coinage.
Source Coin of Herod the Great, Jerusalem, Harvard Art Museums (37 to 4 BCE)
Sources
1. Coin of Herod the Great, Jerusalem, Harvard Art Museums (37 to 4 BCE)
Harvard Art Museums- Harvard Art Museums 3.1981.9
catalogue record, medium/object-type description
A bronze coin struck under Herod the Great's reign in Jerusalem, 37 to 4 BCE.
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