May 8, 2026

The Hellenistic Ideal of a Ruler

Workshop of the DFG Network “The Hellenistic King as the Ideal Ruler?” with a focus on coins

Peter Franz Mittag examined the representation of Hellenistic kings on coins in order to draw conclusions about ideals of monarchy based on iconographic features. His analysis focused primarily on the obverses bearing royal portraits, investigating attributes, forms of dress, and iconographic details that endowed the images with specific layers of meaning. He convincingly demonstrated that Hellenistic coinage constituted a highly differentiated system of monarchical self-representation in which military strength, divine legitimation, and references to Alexander played central roles.
In her response, Ulrike Peter presented selected royal coin issues from Thrace — those of Lysimachus, Seuthes III, Skostokos, Kavaros, and Mostis — as iconotexts. She illustrated the different ways in which rulership could be constructed on coins through the interplay of image and text.

Author: Ulrike Peter

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