Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, was one of the most popular Olympian deities. According to Homer, she was the daughter of Zeus and Dione, while according to Hesiod, she was born from the sea foam produced by Ouranos’s genitals, severed by his son Kronos. Her birthplace was contested by Paphos (Cyprus) and Kythera, hence her epithets Kypris and Kythereia. She was worshipped as Aphrodite Ourania (the heavenly) and Pandemos (“of all folk”, the vulgar), alluding, respectively, to spiritual and to sensual love. Although married to Hephaistos, Aphrodite had numerous lovers, including gods (most notably Ares) and mortals (Adonis or Anchises, to whom she bore Aeneas, progenitor of the Romans). One tradition portrays her as mother of Eros (Cupid), the mischievous winged god. Over the centuries, Aphrodite has inspired such masterpieces of art as the Knidian Aphrodite (by Praxiteles), the Venus de Milo and the Birth of Venus (by Boticelli).
Category Archives: HELLENIC NUMISMATIC PROGRAMME 2021
Greece – 10 euro silver, THE BATTLE OF CRETE, 2021
SILVER COLLECTOR COIN 10 EURO DEDICATED TO: “80 YEARS FROM THE BATTLE OF CRETE”. The Battle of Crete (20 May – 1 June 1941) was one of the most dramatic episodes of World War II. After occupying the rest of Greece, the Germans launched an unprecedented airborne operation on Crete, spearheaded by parachutists who were to seize the airfields so that ground troops could then be landed. The island was defended by Cretan civilians, the remnants of the Greek Army (without its Cretan Division, stranded on the mainland), as well as British, Australian and New Zealand allies. After suffering heavy losses on day one of the Battle,
the Germans seized the Maleme airfield on day two and thereafter occupied the entire island. The heroic resistance of the Cretan people won them worldwide admiration, but also led to harsh German reprisals.
Greece – 2 Euro, 200 YEARS GREEK REVOLUTION, 2021
Commemorative 2 euro coin dedicated to the anniversary of 200 years since the Greek revolution in 1821. The design features the Greek flag at centre, encircled by laurel branches. Inscribed along the inner edge is the wording “1821-2021 200 YEARS SINCE THE GREEK REVOLUTION” and “HELLENIC REPUBLIC”. Visible, at bottom, between two laurel branches, are a palmette (the mintmark of the Greek mint) and the monogram of the artist.
Greece – 10 euro collection, expansions of Greece, 2021
Collector case of the 8 silver coins. The collection of the 8 silver coins is available in a wooden collector case with the corresponding certificates. The collection includes the following coins: 1830, The first Greek State. The coin depicts Theodoros Kolokotronis.
1864, The Ionian Islands (Heptanese). The coin depicts Ioannis Kapodistrias. 1881, Thessaly – Arta. The coin depicts Rigas Velestinlis (Feraios). 1913, Crete. The coin depicts Eleftherios Venizelos. 1913, Macedonia. The coin depicts Pavlos Melas.
1913, Epirus. The coin depicts Athanasios Tsakalof. 1920, Thrace. The coin depicts Georgios Vizyinos. 1947, The Dodecanese. The coin depicts the Lady of Ro.
Greece – 5 Euro, First drachma of 1833 bimetallic, 2021
Commemorative coin 5 euro bi-metallic, dedicated to the first coins of the Greek State, the first drachma of 1833. By virtue of King Otto’s Royal Decree of 8 February 1833, the drachma replaced the phoenix and, in August 1833, public revenue offices were explicitly prohibited from accepting Ottoman currency. As stipulated in the same decree, the drachma was to be issued in gold, silver and copper. In a similar vein, the capital was moved from Nafplion to Athens, in order to symbolically reconnect with Greece’s glorious past. The Athens Royal Mint started operations in 1836, but until 1841 only minted the drachma’s copper subdivisions. The minting of silver coins began in 1842. Gold drachmas were minted only in large denominations (20 or 40 drachmas), in a limited edition. By virtue of the Royal Decree of 12 July 1843, the exclusive right to issue drachma notes was granted to the newly founded National Bank of Greece, which maintained this privilege until the establishment of the Bank of Greece in 1928.
HELLENIC NUMISMATIC PROGRAMME 2021
The Hellenic Numismatic Programme of 2021 is scheduled to include the issuance of the following products:
I. €2 COMMEMORATIVE CIRCULATION COIN DEDICATED TO: “200 YEARS SINCE THE GREEK REVOLUTION” (maximum issue 1,470,000 pieces)
II. COLLECTOR COINS
€100 MINI GOLD PLUS COLLECTOR COIN DEDICATED TO: “GREEK MYTHOLOGY – THE OLYMPIAN GODS – APHRODITE” (maximum issue 1,200 pieces)
€50 MINI GOLD COLLECTOR COIN DEDICATED TO: “CULTURAL HERITAGE – THE PORTARA OF NAXOS” (maximum issue 1,500 pieces)
BLISTER PACK WITH A COLLECTOR SILVER €5 COIN DEDICATED TO: “ENVIRONMENT – ENDEMIC FLORA OF GREECE – CAMPANULA SAXATILIS” (maximum issue 5,000 pieces)
€5 SILVER COLLECTOR COIN DADICATED TO: “2021 POPULATION – HOUSING CENSUS” (maximum issue 2,000 pieces)
III. SPECIAL EDITIONS
BLISTER SET CONTAINING ALL EIGHT DENOMINATIONS OF 2021 GREEK EURO COINS DEDICATED TO: “TOURISM – NAXOS” (maximum issue 10,000 pieces)
2 EURO COMMEMORATIVE PROOF CIRCULATION COIN DEDICATED TO: “200 YEARS SINCE THE GREEK REVOLUTION” (maximum issue 10,000 pieces)
CARD BLISTER WITH A €2 COMMEMORATIVE BRILIANT UNCIRCULATED COIN DEDICATED TO: “200 YEARS SINCE THE GREEK REVOLUTION” (maximum issue 20,000 pieces)