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Coin Jewelry :
Coin Earrings : Earrings Featuring a Pair of Silver Staters of Rhodes
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Earrings Featuring a Pair of Silver Staters of Rhodes - FJ.17155
Origin: Mediterranean
Circa: 4
th
Century BC
to 3
rd
Century BC
Collection: Coin Jewelry
Medium: Gold and Silver
$4,800.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
The island nation of Rhodes was an immensely
successful commercial power of the Aegean.
They strategically sided with Athens but, when
in jeopardy, negotiated favorable surrenders to
Sparta, Alexander the Great, and Demetrios
Poliorketes, allowing them to sustain at least
some degree of independence based on
neutrality. Rhodes was named for the rose,
depicted on the reverse of this coin. A portrait
of Helios, the sun god, wearing a crown of rays
graces the obverse. This image was based
upon the head of the great statue of Helios,
better known as the Colossus of Rhodes, one
of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The Colossus memorialized the war with
Demetrios Poliorketes. He unsuccessfully
attacked the city for over a year, around 305-
304 B.C. Eventually, a settlement was
negotiated and Poliorketes abandoned his
siege towers constructed from valuable
timbers that the Rhodeans in turn sold off for
shipbuilding. The proceeds from this sale were
invested in the huge (105 ft.) bronze statue of
Helios standing at the entrance of the harbor.
These two genuine Ancient Greek coins have
been mounted in a modern pair of stunning
18 Karat gold earrings.
While the famous statue served as a reminder
of the city's fortitude during the siege and
became a tourist attraction, it only stood until
227 B.C. when it was toppled by an
earthquake.
- (FJ.17155)
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