Olympias - Medals

Medals

A medal bearing the name Olympias was found in 1902 at Abukir, Egypt, and belongs to the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. The reverse shows a Nereid mounted on a fantastic sea creature. It had been suggested that the Olympias depicted on the medal was Queen Olympias, but this theory has been challenged. The name ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΔΟΣ is thought to refer to the Olympiads instead.

Archaeologists believe that these medals were awarded to the victors in the Olympic Games which survived during the Roman period in Macedonia cities such as Veria. These Games, known as the Alexandrian Olympics, were held in honour of the Roman emperors who visited the cities of Macedonia.