Chios is one of the largest islands in the Aegean Sea, which was settled at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC by the Leleges and Carians, who lived on the Balkan Peninsula and in Asia Minor. Then the Ionians came to replace them, founding a large trade and cultural center. Chios mined marble and grew figs, and the local wine was especially highly valued. In the 6th century BC, the island was subordinate to the Achaemenid Empire, until the Persians were defeated in the Battle of Mycale in 479 BC. Chios rebelled against the influence of Athens several times, and after the conquest by the Roman Empire, it became part of the province of Asia.
The main symbols of Chios were the winged sphinx and the amphora. In the Greek tradition, sphinxes were depicted as winged lions with the head of a woman. The Greeks believed that these monsters brought destruction and bad luck. At the same time, sphinxes were good guards, their statues are often found near temples. This is probably why the mythical creature became one of the emblems of Chios. The image of the sphinx is found on amphorae in which wine was exported to other countries - vessels are found in Upper Egypt, Gaul and other regions.
The sphinx and amphora appeared on the first coins of Chios in the 7th-6th centuries BC. Both symbols are depicted on the obverse of early drachmas and staters, on the reverse you can see an incised square. On later drachmas, the obverse is decorated only with the image of the sphinx, the inverted amphora is on the reverse. In addition, in the 3rd century BC, posthumous coins of Alexander the Great began to be minted in Chios with a portrait of Hercules on the obverse and Zeus sitting on the throne on the reverse. The special feature of these tetradrachms is the small amphora and the sphinx at the feet of Zeus.
Source:
britishmuseum.org
