Syracuse Litra Tribute – Arethusa and the Octopus

The pairing of a mythological portrait and an octopus gives this handcrafted silver tribute its distinctive character. Inspired by the coinage of ancient Syracuse in Sicily, it contains 2 troy ounces of .999 fine silver, hot struck in ultra-high relief and finished with an antiqued surface. The irregular edge and individual centering are part of its deliberately ancient appearance.

A Design Rooted in Syracuse

The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University preserves a Syracusan litra bearing the head of Arethusa on one side and an octopus on the other. The combination connects this modern tribute to an actual ancient coin type rather than to a newly invented pairing of symbols.

Arethusa was closely associated with Syracuse. In the myth summarized by the Smithsonian, she travels underground from Arcadia and emerges as a freshwater fountain on Ortygia in Sicily. Her image became an important subject on Syracusan coinage. Placing that local mythological figure opposite a sea creature brings the city’s watery setting into the design.

Design Details

The obverse presents the diademed head of Arethusa; the reverse depicts an octopus. The contrast between the portrait and the animal gives each side a clear identity. Enlarging the ancient subject into a two-ounce silver medal allows its forms to be appreciated as relief sculpture as well as coin-inspired imagery.

Hand Fabrication and Hot Striking

The edges are hand-hammered before the medal is struck hot beneath high-relief dies. Each piece is centered by eye while red hot and struck without a retaining collar. The result is a modern silver tribute with a deliberately individual outline, rather than a mechanically uniform edge.

Note to collectors: Shape, diameter and device centering vary because of hand fabrication and hot striking. Small irregularities are intended characteristics of the process. Care is taken to avoid glaring inclusions that diminish eye appeal while preserving that handcrafted character.

Specifications

• Weight: 2 troy ounces
• Purity: .999 fine silver
• Listed diameter: 36 mm; individual pieces vary
• Listed thickness: 5.5 mm
• Edge: Rough
• Finish: Antiqued

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