More Than Meets the Eye: Athenian Owls and the Chronology of Southern Palestinian Coinages of the Persian Period

Abstract

In our INR 7 paper we suggested that with regard to the treatment of eyes on Philistian coins,
the predominant style was the three-quarter profile eye found on Athenian tetradrachms
in c. 420–390 BCE. In this follow-up paper we have re-examined 53 Athenian issues
found in licensed archeological excavations in Palestine. The percentages of coins per
period in terms of similarity of eye treatment between these Athenian finds and the
Philistian and Samarian coinages are significantly similar. Artistically, this indicates that
local craftsmen were strongly influenced by Greek die engraving. Another implication
may be chronological, suggesting a close dating between the circulating Athenian issues
and local coins.