世界文明瑰寶( Treasures of the World's Cultures)：亞歷山大大帝金幣(gold stater of Alexander III, King of Macedon)

放大圖片

公元前4世紀晚期 Late 4th century BC

伊拉克巴比倫造幣廠 Macedonian Mint of Babylon,Iraq

黃金 Gold

　金幣正面是希臘女神雅典娜的頭像，背面是手持花冠和桅桿的勝利女神奈基。在他父親於希臘奠下的基礎上，亞歷山大三世（公元前336 – 前323在位）征服了波斯帝國的阿契美尼德王朝。在他31歲逝世前，王國的版圖已從希臘拓展至阿富汗等地，亦即當時西方人所知的整個世界。亞歷山大於東征時沿途設置造幣廠生產金幣，以供其遠征軍所需。

　On the obverse is the head of the Greek Goddess Athena; on the reverse the goddess Nike (Victory) holding a wreath and the mast of a ship. Building upon his father's success in Greece, Alexander III (“the Great” (336 – 323 BC)) set about the conquest of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. By the time of his death at the age of 31, he ruled all the known world from Greece to Afghanistan. As Alexander moved eastwards he opened mints along the route which issued coins to meet the expenses of his expedition. 　■資料：香港藝術館