Graffiti in the Athenian Agora, Greek and Roman Coins in the Athenian Agora (Agora Picture Book 14-15)

“Return the stamnos to Philippa’s brother Philip,” “cheap wine,” “Alkaios seems beautiful to Melis,” “Of Tharrios I am the cup.” Like fragments of overheard conversations, the thousands of informal inscriptions scratched and painted on potsherds, tiles, and other objects give us a unique insight into the everyday life of the Athenian Agora. Some are marks of ownership, or the notes of merchants, but many are sexual innuendos, often accompanied by graphic illustrations. Using her wide contextual knowledge, the author suggests why these scraps of sentences were written, and what they can tell us about one of the first widely literate societies.
Over 75,000 coins have been found during excavations at the Agora, many minted in the city but others brought from Athens’s far-flung commercial contacts. In addition to the mostly bronze and copper coins themselves, a building that may have served as the Athenian mint is described in this booklet. After describing the physical techniques of production, the author takes a chronological approach and includes numerous black and white photographs, making this concise guide a useful aid to the identification of lower-value Greek and Roman coinage.