Sicily, Syracuse, Tetradrachm

Around 450 BC, the best engravers of Sicily began to sign their works. This tetradrachm bears even two signatures: on the obverse are the letters EU, probably for the artist Euainetos. On the reverse, beneath Arethusa's chin, the name Eukleidas can be read.

The artists Eukleidas and Euainetos both began to work around 415 BC for the mint in Syracuse. Together they changed the appearance of the Syracusian coins considerably. Euainetos began to execute the quadriga, the racing chariot on the obverse, in an increasingly realistic perspective. Eukleidas, on the other hand, created the elegant head of the nymph Arethusa surrounded by four swimming dolphins on the reverse.