About

Artemis-Collection.com is a home for my personal collection of ancient Greek and Roman coins. Collecting ancient coins is just a hobby of mine, along with macro photography, and the combination of these two hobbies is this website.

Why Artemis? My collection has no overarching theme, or even sub-theme, so I chose a name that was inclusive of both Greek and Roman mythology and had been represented in some form on multiple ancient coins. One such coin is illustrated as the logo for this website: a tetradrachm of Macedon featuring a portrait of Artemis on the obverse.

Artemis is one of the most well-known and important Greek goddesses. Sister of Apollo and daughter of Zeus, Artemis was goddess of the hunt, animals, and the wilderness. She is often associated with several different animals, such as deer, bees, and boar, and also several symbols such as the bow and arrow or spear – all of which can be found on ancient coins. Artemis herself appears on many coins throughout antiquity but is perhaps most commonly found on the coins of Ephesus, where she was patron goddess.

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Over time, three temples had been dedicated to Artemis at Ephesus. It is said that the destruction of the second temple coincided with the birth of Alexander the Great and that Artemis was too busy with Alexander to protect her temple.

Alexander later offered to pay for the construction of a new temple dedicated to Artemis in his name but the offer was declined by the Ephesians: it was inappropriate for one God to dedicate offerings to other Gods. It was not until after Alexander’s death in 323 B.C. that construction finally began on the last Artemision.

Artemis thus presents an interesting and broad theme suitable for any collector interested in Greek or Roman coins. My own collection won’t be limited to the this theme but I hope to include more coins related to Artemis in the future.