Circa 250-225 BCE
Æ 3.83g, 16mm, 9h
Male head wearing conical, crested helmet to right; ΑΛ behind /
Eagle standing to right on thunderbolt, ORRA above.
SNG ANS 817-819; HN Italy 785; HGC 1, 715
Ex Mike Ballerini Collection
Ex Artemide Aste 2020
Orra, also called Hyria, existed between Tarentum and Brundisium. It may have been named after the Nymph Hyria, who was the mother from Apollo of Cycnus. After her son was turned into a swan, she thought he was dead and threw herself into a lake, where she also was turned into a swan.
According to Herodotus, the city was founded by Cretans who got lost during a storm. Strabo mentioned the city several times and believed it to be the same as Uria.