Stater from Corinth

A Corinthian stater with Pegasus on the front. On the back is Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet and behind the helmet on the right is Artemis holding a torch.

What is interesting about Corinthian staters is that they have Pegasus on the front face instead of a portrait of a god. This is because Bellerophon, who tamed Pegasus, was born in Corinth according to the myths. Athena was worshipped throughout Greece, but in this case it may also be a reference to the myth of the taming of Pegasus since Athena helped Bellerophon in his feat. What is noteworthy about Athena’s portrait is that she is wearing a Corinthian helmet, unlike in Athenian coins, for example. This was probably intended to emphasise Athena’s connection with Corinth instead of Athens. Artemis was also worshipped in Corinth, and there was a temple dedicated to her.

The symbol Ϙ under Pegasus referred to Corinth because the original spelling of the name of the city was Ϙόρινθος. A letter of Phoenician origin, koppa remained in coins, even though it disappeared from the Greek alphabet by the 5th century.