Equine Currency: Thessalian Coinage and the Horse in the Classical and Hellenistic Periods

Equine Currency presents a fresh approach to Thessalian coinage, considering the political, cultural and economic context for the production of coinage in Thessaly and Perrhaibia. In antiquity, the Thessalians were renowned for their horses and horsemanship, and their cavalry was much sought after by their allies. The centrality of the horse to Thessalian life is reflected by the use of the horse for the majority of their coin types.

The study takes a chronological and thematic approach. An analysis of why the land of Thessaly was so well suited to the equine is followed by an examination of the first issues of Larisa, the bull wrestling coinage, the purported issues ‘of the Thessalians’, the pastoral coinage which relates to horse production, images of the male horse and finally, the horse and rider, in the cavalry, hunting and daily life. Examination of the coins’ iconography reveals how the horse and the rider are presented, previous interpretations are revised, and attention is drawn to rare evidence for equipment not seen in other visual media. Thessalian engagement with artistic trends elsewhere is illuminated, demonstrating that Thessaly was part of a connected network, with Makedon to the north, Sicily to the west, Asia Minor and Persia to the east, and Athens and Korinth to the south.