Gold Earrings Featuring a Pair of Silver Staters of Rhodes

These genuine Ancient Greek coins have been mounted in a pair of modern 18 karat gold earrings.
Obverse: Portrait of Helios

Reverse: Rose

The island nation of Rhodes was an immensely successful commercial power of the Aegean. They strategically sided with Athens but, when in jeopardy, negotiated favorable surrenders to Sparta, Alexander the Great, and Demetrios Poliorketes, allowing them to sustain at least some degree of independence based on neutrality. Rhodes was named for the rose, depicted on the reverse of this coin. A portrait of Helios, the sun god, wearing a crown of rays graces the obverse. This image was based upon the head of the great statue of Helios, better known as the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Colossus memorialized the war with Demetrios Poliorketes. He unsuccessfully attacked the city for over a year, around 305-304 B.C. Eventually, a settlement was negotiated and Poliorketes abandoned his siege towers constructed from valuable timbers that the Rhodeans in turn sold off for shipbuilding. The proceeds from this sale were invested in the huge (105 ft.) bronze statue of Helios standing at the entrance of the harbor. While the famous statue served as a reminder of the city’s fortitude during the siege and became a tourist attraction, it only stood until 227 B.C. when it was toppled by an earthquake. – (MT.117)