Some Remarks on the Chronology of the First Coins of Knossos, Crete
The present study deals with the first coins issued
by Knossos and their current chronology,
which cannot be based on firm evidence due
to the absence of stratigraphical data to rely on.
According to the current chronology, Gortyn
and Phaistos were the first Cretan poleis to mint
coins (ca. 450 BC), followed by Knossos (after
425 BC). This dating shows a long delay
as compared to the majority of Greek poleis,
and this suggests reconsideration of the subject.
Three elements seem to be relevant to
this purpose: the now ascertained participation
of some Cretan poleis in the north–south
routes between the Peloponnese and North
Africa; the epigraphical evidence suggesting
the use of coinage in Crete at least at the end
of the 6th century BC; and iconographical and
stylistic analysis of Knossian first issues. In the
light of the analysis proposed, even if it is not
yet possible to assert with certainty the date of
Knossos’ first issues, it is likely that Knossos
began striking coins before 425 BC.
___
- Ackermann, D. 2005. “La représentation du labyrinthe sur les monnaies de Cnossos: origine, évolution et
signification.” Bulletin de l’Association suisse d’Archéologie classique 2005: 33–6.
- Ashton, R.H.J. 1989. “Knossos Royal Road South 1971 and 1972 Excavations: The Coins.” Annual of the
British School at Athens 84: 49–60.
- Babelon, E. 1901–1933. Traité des monnaies grecques et romaines. Paris: E. Leroux.
- Beazley, J. 1986. Development of the Attic Black-Figure. Revised edition. Berkeley: University of California
Press.
- Berthold, A. 2011. “Die Darstellung von Raum auf griechischen Münzen.” eTopoi. Journal for Ancient
Studies 1: 69–98.
- Bile, M. 1988. Le dialect crétois ancien. Paris: P. Geuthner.
- BMC Caria Head, B.V., ed. 1897. A Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum. Caria, Cos, Rhodes
and co. London: The Trustees.
- BMC Central Greece Head, B.V., ed. 1884. A Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum.
Central Greece. London: The Trustees.
- BMC Crete Wroth, W., ed. 1886. A Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum. Crete and the
Aegean island. London: The Trustees.
- BMC Cyprus Hill, G.F., ed. 1904. A Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum. Cyprus. London:
The Trustees.
- BMC Cyrenaica Robinson, E.S.G., ed. 1927. A Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum.
Cyrenaica. London: The Trustees.
- Boardman, J. 1968. Archaic Greek Gems. Schools and Artists in the Sixth and Early Fifth Century B.C.
London: Thames and Hudson.
- Bonetto, J. 2016. “Gortyna (Creta). Nuove ricerche nel Santuario di Apollo Pythios (2012-2015).” ASAtene
94: 37–57.
Carbone, F. Forthcoming. “Seriazione e cronologia delle emissioni di Gortina e Festos.” PhD thesis,
Università degli studi di Salerno.
- CH 2 Coin Hoards, 2, London 1976: Royal Numismatic Society.
- Charbonneaux, J., F. Villard, and R. Martin. 1978. La Grecia arcaica (620-480 a.C.). Milano: BUR Rizzoli.
- Devoto, C. 2016. “Cnosso: considerazioni sulla cronologia delle prime emissioni monetali.” ASAtene 92:
139–55.
- Erickson, B.L. 2014. “Mind the Gap: Knossos and Cretan Archaeology of the 6th Century.” In Cultural
Practices and Material Culture in Archaic and Classical Crete, edited by G. Seleentag and O. Pilz,
67–91. Berlin-Boston: de Gruyter.
- Erickson, B.L. 2010. Crete in Transition. Pottery Styles and Island History in the Archaic and Classical
Period. Princeton: American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
- Evans, A. 1928. The Palace of Minos at Knossos. London: MacMillan.
- Faure, P. 1966. “Les minerais de la Crète antique.” RA 1: 45–78.
- Fischer-Bossert, W. 2008. “Athenian and pseudo-Athenian coinages. Some Remarks on the Metrological
Side of the Issue.” In I ritrovamenti monetali e i processi inflativi nel mondo antico e medievale,
edited by M. Asolati and G. Gorini, 11–7. Padova: Esedra.
- Fittschen, K. 1969. Untersuchungen zum Beginn der Sagendarstellungen bei den Griechen. Berlin:
Hessling.
- Forrer, L. 1900. “Le labyrinthe de Knossos et ses représentations sur les monnaies.” SNR 10: 193–211.
- Gagarin, M., and P. Perlman. 2016. The Laws of Ancient Crete, 600-450 BC. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
- Garraffo, S. 1974. “Riconiazioni e politica monetaria a Creta: le emissioni argentee dal V al I secolo a.C.”
In Antichità Cretesi: studi in onore di Doro Levi, 59–74. Catania: Istituto di Archeologia.
- Grose, S.W. 1926. Catalogue of the McClean Collection of Greek Coins. Cambridge: University Press.
- Guizzi, F. 2014. “I rimproveri della Pizia, ovvero, la neutralità dei Cretesi.” Seminari Romani di cultura
greca 3.2: 389–404.
- Guizzi, F. 2009. “Creta nel Mediterraneo: insularità o isolamento?” In Immagine e immagini della Sicilia e
di altre isole del Mediterraneo antico, edited by C. Ampolo, 347–58. Erice: Edizioni della Normale.
- Haysom, M. 2011. “The Strangeness of Crete. Problems for the Protohistory of Greek Religion.” In Current
Approaches to Religion in Ancient Greece. Papers Presented at a Symposium at the Swedish Institute
at Athens 17-19 April 2008, edited by M. Haysom and J. Wallensten, 95–109. Stockholm: Svenska
Institutet i Athen.
- Head, B.V. 1911. Historia Numorum. A manual of Greek numismatics. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Hoffmann, H. 1972. Early Cretan Armorers. Mainz: von Zabern.
- Hopper, R.J. 1968. “Observations on the Wappenmünzen.” In Essays in Greek Coinage Presented to
Stanley Robinson, edited by J.K. Jenkins and C. M. Kraay, 16–39. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- IC Guarducci, M. ed. 1935–1950. Inscriptiones Creticae opera et consilio Friderici Halbherr collectae.
Roma: Libreria dello Stato.
- IGCH Thompson, M., O. Mørkholm and C.M. Kraay, ed. 1973. An Inventory of Greek Coin Hoards.
Oxford: American Numismatic Society.
- Jackson, A. 1973. “The coins.” In Knossos. The Sanctuary of Demeter, edited by J.N. Coldstream, 99–113.
London: Thames&Hudson.
- Jackson, A. 1971. “The Chronology of the Bronze Coins of Knossos.” Annual of the British School at
Athens 66: 283–95.
- Jenkins, G.K. 1949. “The Cameron Collection of Cretan Coins.” NC 1949: 36–56.
- Karamesine-Oikonomidou, M. 1969. “Σιδεροί Οβελοί.” Αρχαιολογικά ανάλεκτα εξ Αθηνών 2: 436–45.
Kardara, C.P. 1969. “Some remarks on two early Cretan bronzes.” Αρχαιολογικά ανάλεκτα εξ Αθηνών 2:
216–19.
- Kern, H. 1981. Labirinti: forme e interpretazioni. 5000 anni di presenza di un archetipo. Milano:
Feltrinelli.
- Kotsonas, A. 2002. “The Rise of the Polis in Central Crete.” Eulimene 3: 37–74.
- Kraay, C.M. 1976. Archaic and classical Greek coins. London: Methuen.
- Kroll, J.H. 2001. “Observations on Monetary Instruments in Pre-Coinage Greece.” In Hacksilber to
Coinage: New Insights into the Monetary History of the Near East and Greece, edited by M.
Balmuth, 77–91. New York: American Numismatic Society.
- Kroll, J.H. and N.M. Waggoner. 1984. “Dating the Earliest Coins of Athens, Corinth and Aegina.” AJA 88:
325–40.
- Le Rider, G. 1968. “Les monnaies thasiennes.” In Guide de Thasos, edited by G. Daux, 185–91. Paris: De
Boccard.
- Le Rider, G. 1966. Monnaies crétoises du V e au I er siècle av. J.C. Paris: P. Geuthner.
- MacDonald, G.C.B. 1909. “The Silver Coinage of Crete. A Metrological Note.” In Proceedings of the British
Academy 9: 289–317.
- Manganaro, G. 1978. “Fiscalismo monetale nelle città cretesi.” In Scritti storico-epigrafici in memoria di
Marcello Zambelli, edited by L. Gasperini, 221–38. Macerata: Centro Editoriale Internazionale.
Marcadé, J. 1949. “Un casque crétois trouvé à Delphes.” BCH 73: 421–36.
- Markou, E. 2011. L’or des rois de Chypre. Numismatique et histoire à l’ époque classique. Athens: Centre de
Recherches de l’Antiquité Grecque et Romaine.
- Mazonaki, E. 1976. “Χάλκινη λαβή απó τη Δρήρo.” Αρχαιολογικά ανάλεκτα εξ Αθηνών 9: 57–61.
- Mildenberg, L., and S. Hurter. 1985. The Arthur S. Dewing Collection of Greek Coins. New York: The
American Numismatic Society.
- Mitten, D.G., and S.F. Doeringer. 1968. Master Bronzes from the Classical World. Mainz: von Zabern.
- Morris, I. 1998. “Burial and Ancient Society After Ten Years.” In Nécropoles et pouvoir. Idéologies,
pratiques et interpretations, edited by S. Marchegay, M.-T. Le Dinahet, and J.-F. Salles, 21–36.
Lyon: Ecole Française d’Archéologie.
- Morris, I. 1987. Burial and Ancient Society. The Rise of the Greek City-State. Cambridge: University Press.
- Nafissi, M. 1989. “Distribution and Trade.” In Laconian Mixing Bowls: A History of the Krater Lakonikos
from the Seventh to the Fifth Century B.C., edited by C.M. Stibbe and M. Nafissi, 68–88. Amsterdam:
Allard Pierson Museum.
- Nomima van Effenterre, H., and F. Ruzé. ed. 1994–1995. Nomima. Recueil d’inscriptions politiques et
juridiques de l’archaïsme grec I–II. Roma: Ecole Française de Rome.
- Parise, N.F. 2013. “Monete di Argo nel tempio di Apollo a Delo.” In Egitto e mondo antico. Studi per
Claudio Barocas, edited by L. Del Franca Barocas and M. Cappozzo, 385–90. Pisa-Roma: Fabrizio
Serra.
- Parise, N.F. 2000. La nascita della moneta. Segni premonetari e forme arcaiche dello scambio. Roma:
Guidotti.
- Piccirilli, L. 1973–1977. Gli arbitrati interstatali greci. Pisa: Marlin.
- Pilz, O. 2014. “Narrative art in Archaic Crete.” In Cultural practices and material culture in Archaic and
Classical Crete, edited by G. Seleentag and O. Pilz, 243–63. Berlin-Boston: de Gruyter.
- Polosa, A. Forthcoming. “Le emissioni monetarie di Festòs.” In Progetto Festos 1: le fonti documentarie,
edited by F. Longo.
- Polosa, A. 2005. “Strumenti di valutazione nella Grande Legge di Gortyna.” In La Grande Iscrizione
di Gortina. Centoventi anni dopo la scoperta. Atti del I Convegno Internazionale di Studi sulla
Massarà, Atene-Haghii Deka 25-28 maggio 2004, edited by E. Greco and M. Lombardo, 129–51.
Athens: Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene.
- Polosa, A. 2003. “Una rilettura di M. Stefanakis, The Introduction of Coinage in Crete and the Beginning
of Local Minting.” AIIN 50: 199–206.
- Price, M.J. 1981. “The Beginning of Coinage in Crete.” In Πεπραγμένα τoυ Δ’ Διεθνoύς Kρητoλoγικoύ
Συνεδρίoυ, Ηράκλειo, 29 Aυγoύστoυ – 3 Σεπτεμβρίoυ 1976, 461–66. Athens: Πανεπιστήμιον Κρήτης.
- Psoma, S. 2011. “The Law of Nikophon (SEG 26, 72) and Athenian Imitations.” RBN 157: 27–36.
- Ravel, O. 1936. Les ‘poulains’ de Corinthe, monographie des statères corinthiens. Basel: Münzhandlung
Basel.
- Rizza, G., and V.S.M. Scrinari. 1968. Il santuario sull’acropoli di Gortina. Roma: Istituto Poligrafico dello
Stato.
Robinson, E.S.G. 1928. “Pseudoaeginetica.” NC 5th ed. 8: 172–98.
- Rutter, N.K. 2001. Historia Numorum. Italy. London: British Museum Press.
- Schaps, D.M. 2004. The Invention of Coinage and the Monetization of Ancient Greece. Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press.
- Sheedy, K. 2016. “Aegina, the Cyclades and Crete.” In The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman
Coinage, edited by W.E. Metcalf, 105–27. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- SNG France Nicolet, H. ed. 1983–2003. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum France. Bibliothèque Nationale.
Cabinet des médailles. Collection Jean et Marie Delepierre, I–VI. Paris: La Bibliothèque.
- Snodgrass, A. 1964. Early Greek Armour and Weapons. Edinburgh: University Press.
- Stampolidis, N.C. 2004. Eleutherna. Polis – Acropolis – Necropolis. Athens: Museum of Cycladic Art.
- Stefanaki, V.E. 2007–2008. “La politique monétaire des cités crétoises à l’époque classique et
hellénistique.” Eulimene 8–9: 47–80.
- Stefanakis, M.I. 1999. “The Introduction of coinage in Crete and the Beginning of Local Minting.” In From
Minoan Farmers to Roman Traders, edited by A. Chaniotis, 247–68. Stuttgart: Steiner.
- Svoronos, J.N. 1890. Numismatique de la Crète ancienne. Mâcon: Habelt.
- Svoronos, J.N. 1888a. “Les Levites, monnaies de Crète.” BCH 12: 405–418.
- Svoronos, J.N. 1888b. “Monnaies crètoises inedites et incertaines.” RN 6: 353–95.
- van Alfen, P. 2005. “Problems in ancient imitative and counterfeit coinage.” In Making, moving,
managing: the new world of ancient economies, 323–31 BC, edited by Z. Archibald, J. Davies, and
V. Gabrielsen, 322–54. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
- van Alfen, P., and M. Lawall. 2010. “Caveat Emptor: a Collection of Papers on Imitations in Ancient
Graeco-Roman Commerce.” In Marburger Beiträge zur Antiken handels-, Wirtschafts- und
Sozialgeschichte 28, edited by H.J. Drexhage, T. Mattern, R. Rollinger, K. Ruffing, and C. Schäfer,
1–19. Rahden: Leidorf.
- van Effenterre, H. 1948. La Crète et le monde grec de Platon à Polybe. Paris: De Boccard.
- Viviers, D. 1993. “Hérodote et la Neutralité des Crétois en 480 Avant Notre ère: La Trace d’un Débat
Athénien?” Hermes 123: 257–69.
- Vollgraff, W. 1948. Le décret d’Argos relatif à un pacte entre Knossos et Tylissos. Amsterdam: Noord-
Hollandsche Uitgevers Maatschappij.
- Waggoner, N.M. 1983. Early Greek Coins from the Collection of Jonathan P. Rosen. New York: American
Numismatic Society.
- Williams, P.L. 1965. “The Meander Door: A Labyrinthine Symbol.” In Studi in onore di Luisa Banti, edited
by R. Bianchi Bandinelli, 215–22. Roma: L’Erma di Bretschneider.
- Wolters, P. 1907. Darstellungen des Labyrinths. München: Franz in Komm.
- Wroth, W. 1884. “Cretan Coins.” NC 3rd ed. 4: 1–58.