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Announcer: This is
a Getty podcast.

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Host: If somebody asked you
where an owl lived, you’d

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probably say in a tree, right?

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Well today’s guest might
be an owl, but he lives

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someplace unusual—on an
ancient coin to be precise.

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Welcome to If Objects Could
Talk, a podcast where art

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and artifacts get to leave
the museum vault and tell

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their side of the story.

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Thanks for joining us as we
bring objects into the light!

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Quick question: do you
have any coins at home?

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Maybe in a piggy bank or
a few nickels and dimes

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under your couch cushions?

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If the answer is “no”
don’t worry about it.

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A lot of us only have money
in the bank and use cards

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or phones to pay for things.

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But in ancient times, coins
were the hot, new way to pay.

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The coin we’ll hear from today
was made between 505–490 BCE.

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It was made in Athens, Greece
but found far away, in Egypt.

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I’ll let our owl
tell you the rest.

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Owl Coin: [marching] ATTENTION!

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What an exciting opportunity
to educate young minds on

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what it means to be, well, me.

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At ease, private.

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Not only am I wise, and
humble, I am also very brave.

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And why wouldn’t I be?

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I’m important!

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I’m currency!

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Money!

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The big cheese!

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I helped people get
the things they wanted!

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The things they needed!

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But before we get to the why
we must know more about the

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who, who-who [clears throat].

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About the who.

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First things first:
I am adorable!

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It’s true!

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I have two large eyes that
take up most of my face

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and the cutest little beak.

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Although I am made of
metal, you can see my

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tiny feathers covering my
body and crowning my head.

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One of my majestic wings is on
view as well as my three tail

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feathers and two sturdy legs.

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Above my body is an olive sprig.

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Coins like me were among
the most recognizable coins

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in ancient times, used all
over the Mediterranean and

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produced in great numbers!

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This means that I have a lot
of brothers and sisters—and

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it was basically a family
reunion when I went from

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one coin purse to another!

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I’m from Athens, one of
over one thousand Greek

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city-states, although none
were as large as Athens.

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While I live on one side
of the coin, my other side

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features the head of Athena.

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She’s the Greek goddess of
wisdom and warfare, and also

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the patron goddess of Athens.

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We don’t really see eye
to eye, Athena and me.

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Oh, we get along; I’d
ride into battle with

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the great Athena any day!

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It’s just literally
impossible to see eye to

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eye when she’s heads and I’m
tail...feathers [laughs].

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When you think about it,
coins really haven’t changed

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all that much over time.

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I bet you can find a coin
right now with an animal

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on one side and the face of
someone important on the other.

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Go!

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Find it!

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I’ll wait.

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Yes, you can use the internet.

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What coin did you find?

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What country is it from?

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What’s it made out of?

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Well, I’m made out of silver
which makes sense seeing as

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there were silver mines in the
mountains outside of Athens.

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I’m also heavier than
the coins of today.

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You want to know how I was made?

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Well, it went a little
something like this…

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First, you have to
heat the silver.

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It must be so hot that it
turns into a bright liquid.

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That molten metal is then
poured into circular molds.

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Once the molds cool, it is
time to give the coins specific

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images that project out from
the flat surface of the coin.

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To make the coin a true
Athenian Owl like me, a blank

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disc was sandwiched between
a pair of cylinders with the

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engraved designs on either side.

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This was then struck
with a hammer!

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Talk about a splitting headache!

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The force of the hammer
impressed the designs into

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the coin on both sides: the
majestic Athena on one side and

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me, her loyal owl on the other.

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It was a noisy process—but
not as noisy as the agora!

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The agora was the center
of city-state life.

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It was loud and crowded.

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People would work, trade
or buy goods, meet friends,

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and conduct business deals.

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In truth, I am a bit of an
agoraphobe; that’s someone who

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is afraid of public spaces.

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It comes from the Greek
words “agora” which

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means meeting place and
“phobia” which means fear.

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It was at the agora where a
vendor cut into me to make

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sure I was really made out of
silver—he could’ve just asked!

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You can still see a “test
cut” that goes from the edge

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of the coin almost all the
way to my gorgeous wing!

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From that day forward, I
have been a bit nervous to

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go into any market place.

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But I had to be there
because people needed me

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to buy what they wanted.

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In the Athenian agora,
you could find goods from

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around the Mediterranean.

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There were dates from
Phoenicia, the softest linen

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from Egypt, the brightest
ivory from North Africa, and

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fragrant spices from Syria.

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Merchants of similar goods
had shops together in

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specific areas in the agora.

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Prices were rarely set in
stone, so bargaining with the

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merchants was a common practice.

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I do remember one particular
screaming match over the size

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of fish like it was yesterday.

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Like today’s paper money
and coins, I’ve been

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passed around from vendor
to buyer and back again.

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I have been in many hands,
strongboxes, and ships.

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But on this day, I was in
the small, leather pouch

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of a tough Spartan teenager
by the name of Daphne.

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Daphne had traveled to
Athens with her father,

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a wealthy diplomat.

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When Daphne arrived at the
agora in Athens she was

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shocked by the social norms.

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In Athens, women had to
shop with a male relative

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or with an enslaved escort.

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Only very poor women
would shop in the markets

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alone or sell goods.

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This was not like Sparta at
all, where women could shop on

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their own whenever they wanted.

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Sparta and Athens were
independent Greek city-states,

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each with their own
government and culture.

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So while they shared
a common language and

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religion, there were also
many little differences.

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As Daphne discovered,
alone in the agora!

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Daphne felt eyes staring at
her throughout the marketplace.

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They could tell by her dress
that she was a well-off and

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respectable young woman.

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They knew she
shouldn’t be alone!

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Many vendors even refused
her service unless she came

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back with a male relative.

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As I jiggled and jostled inside
her loosely tied purse, I had

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a feeling the next person to
refuse Daphne was going to

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meet real, true Spartan rage.

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And who could
really blame Daphne!

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It wasn’t fair that
she couldn’t shop alone

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but her brother could.

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Can you think of a time
where something unfair

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happened to you or a friend?

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Maybe someone cut you in line,
or copied from your homework?

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How did that make you feel?

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Probably as upset as Daphne!

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Daphne was determined
to buy something.

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Anything.

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She approached a fishmonger
and asked if he had any squid.

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Without a word he retrieved
the tiniest squid in his

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possession and attempted to
wrap it up for a potential sale.

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Daphne couldn’t believe
how disrespectful this was!

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She could afford the best!

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What was the meaning of
this insulting gesture?

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Daphne screamed at the man and
told him his catch was puny!

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Without thinking, Daphne threw
the squid in the fishmonger’s

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face and vowed never to return
to Athens or its agora with

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its too many rules ever again.

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The fishmonger was hot
with rage and began moving

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from behind his fish stall.

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Daphne knew that
it was time to RUN.

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In the heat of the moment,
I fell from Daphne’s purse

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and onto the dirt path.

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You see, Sparta forbid the use
of valuable gold and silver

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coins, so Daphne was not used to
handling them or making sure she

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didn’t lose them in the hustle
and bustle of a quick getaway!

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The fishmonger, hot on Daphne’s
trail, stopped when he saw my

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silver surface catch the light.

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When he realized what was
in his hands, an Athenian

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Owl, representing four
days of pay for a Greek

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soldier, he immediately
began to thank Athena for

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her generosity and wisdom.

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From then on the
fishmonger kept me close.

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A testament to the favor
Athena showed him and

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a reminder that seeking
revenge is never worth it!

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He would have never found me if
he’d kept running after Daphne.

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And Daphne wouldn’t have
lost me if she hadn’t

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tried to get her revenge by
throwing that slimy squid.

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And I was just relieved.

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I didn’t have to go from
vendor, to buyer, to

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purse for quite some time!

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I was special.

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A gift from a goddess.

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Sometimes you just need a break
from the rat race, you know?

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Host: I hope you enjoyed
learning about the agora

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and Greek city-states.

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Join us next time when a pair
of feet illuminates our studio.

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To see photographs of the
owl coin and learn more,

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visit our website at Getty
dot edu slash podcasts.

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This episode was written
by Tocarra Elise and

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produced by Zoe Goldman.

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Dave Luukonnen voiced the owl.

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Theme music, mixing and sound
design by Alexandra Kalinowski.

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Christopher Sprinkle
is executive producer.

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Special thanks to curators
Ken Lapatin and Judith Barr

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and educator Lilit Sadoyan.

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Catch you next time!