Ancient Coin Profile – The First Facing Portrait of a King
Lycia was a mountainous region in Anatolia with dramatic slopes that plunge into the sea. Many of its cities left the Delian League as Athens and Sparta fought the Peloponnesian War but in 429 BCE, Athens sent an expedition to Lycia to attempt to force it into rejoining.
Lycia defeated the Athenian general, leaving them under Persian control. The Persians ruled at an arm’s length, having local governors in the province but allowing the local dynasts to continue working somewhat autonomously.
Lycia was among the first to depict their rulers on coinage. Originally portraying them statically and devoid of individual characterization, Lycia progressively improved their approach toward realism.
They reached the pinnacle of classical portraiture with the coinage of Perikles, for the first time moving the portrait of a living person to the obverse of the coin and depicting it in a challenging front-facing style, rather than the conventional profile.
These innovations were likely inspired by the contemporary coinage of Syracuse but never before had a living king been depicted front-facing. Here, Perikles is shown in a superb style, looking out from the coin with serene majesty. While the engraver stayed true to his facial features, Perikles’ hair is engraved in such a way that it appears to be blowing freely in the wind, hinting of his status as more than a mere mortal.
He is also depicted without any headdress as was included on earlier portraits from Lycia, perhaps indicating their independence from Persian rule.
These innovations in coin artistry came to an end when Mausolus of Caria conquered Lycia in 360 BCE as part of the Revolt of the Satraps.
Lycian rock cut tombs of Dalyan
