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Stater - Menelaus
| Issuer | Salamis of Cyprus |
|---|---|
| Year | 310 BC - 306 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Aphrodite facing three-quarters left, wearing a turreted stephane, triple-pendant earring, and beaded necklace. The hair is carefully rolled along the brow line and tucked beneath the stephane, cascading in waves behind and over the shoulder in the refined Hellenistic manner. The legend MENEΛA appears in the field, identifying the issuing king Menelaus of Salamis. The portrait reflects the naturalistic artistic conventions of late fourth-century BC Cypriot coinage. |
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| Obverse lettering | MENEΛA |
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| Additional information |
Menelaus, younger brother of Ptolemy I, governed Salamis as strategos during this period and struck coinage in his own name — an unusual privilege reflecting both the city's strategic importance and his semi-autonomous status. His tenure ended abruptly when Demetrius Poliorcetes defeated the Ptolemaic fleet at the Battle of Salamis in 306 BC, capturing Menelaus himself and effectively ending Ptolemaic control of Cyprus for nearly a decade.