Crete, Latos
Circa 200-67 BCE
Æ 13mm, 2.49g, 12h
Head of female left /
Hermes, wearing petasos, advancing right, holding kerykeion.
voronos, Numismatique 1; SNG Copenhagen 484
Ex Kelly Ramage Collection
Today, the ruins of Lato are considered a tourist attraction. The location of the city was dramatic, between two peaks overlooking a bay. In roughly 200 BCE, the city was destroyed, but its port remained in use through the Roman period.
Latos was named for Leto, who was the mother of Apollo and Artemis. The different spelling reflects the different pronunciation in Crete. The goddess Eileithya, who was in charge of midwifery and childbirth, and a daughter of Zeus and Hera, was also worshipped. We do not know who is on the obverse of this coin, but my suspicion is it’s Eileithya. Searches, who as an admiral of Alexander the Great, was born in Latos.
200 BCE
Latos is destroyed.