[coin size: 2.4cm/0.94"]
Material: Silver - tetadrahm
Time period: 390-325 BCE.
This coin is iconic for its design which connected the city's honey production and its religious worship of Artemis. The bee was a symbol of both the city's honey trade and its religious cult, where priestesses were called 'melissae' (honey bees) and the high priest was known as the 'king bee'.
The bee was a symbol of Ephesus and was closely associated with the cult of the Greek goddess Artemis, whose temple was located in the city. The letters ΕΦ on the coin are an abbreviation for Ephesos.
The reverse side of this type of coin typically depicts a stag, another symbol of Artemis.
