Volume 7, Issue 3 September - December 2023 [pp. 140-159]
Coinage and ancient Greek cult
Deposition and use of monetary offerings in the sacred space
Julian Panotopoulos
Archaeologist
Upon its invention in Lydia, coinage immediately got integrated into the ancient Greek sacred space and became a very common offering. Coins replaced the millennia-old practice of depositing metals for the appeasement of the gods and were preferred for their small size and the convenience of their transportation. Inside the temple repository coinage transformed into a votive offering and was either deposited one last time as a foundation deposit, to magically protect the temple, or was reused by the priests to cover the expenses of the temenos, becoming once again a monetary object. Specific categories of sanctuaries, such as oracles and healing shrines seemed to prefer coin offerings, due to the nature of their rituals, and often contained several structures for their storage. Monetary offerings contained mainly bronze and silver coins of low denominations, making the act of depositing a coin more important than the value of the metal that it contained.
Key words: coinage, offertory, foundation deposit, ancient Greek cult, ritual, Archaic Period, Classical Period, Hellenistic Period
COPYRIGHT: © Themes in Archaeology, 2023 - ISSN 2653-9292
Author for correspondence: Julpanot@protonmail.com
The original article is in the Library of the Themes in Archeology
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