Owner Comments:
20D 1973 KINGDOM KM-111.1:
The obverse of this 20-drachmai coin from Greece features Selene, the titan goddess of the moon riding side saddled on a horse over the night ocean. Even though Selene appears seated on a horse, in antiquity she is often portrayed as driving a chariot pulled by a pair of winged steeds. The next paragraph is a verse of a hymn written about her:
And next, sweet voiced Muses, daughters of Zeus, well- skilled in song, tell of the long-winged Moon. From her immortal head a radiance is shown from heaven and embraces earth; and great is the beauty that ariseth from her shining light. The air, unlit before, glows with the light of her golden crown, and her rays beam clear, whensoever bright Selene having bathed her lovely body in the waters of Ocean, and donned her far-gleaming, shining team, drives on her long-maned horses at full speed, at eventime in the mid-month: then her great orbit is full and then her beams shine brightest as she increases. So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men.
The central device on the reverse of this coin is the emblem of the junta and features a soldier with a bayoneted rifle slung over his right shoulder standing at attention in front of a Phoenix. The date 21 April 1967 is the date of the Greek Coup d’état led by a group of high-ranking army officers.