---
title: Trajan Cretan Silver Coin Showing Diktynna and Infant Zeus
author: The Trustees of the British Museum
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/19836/trajan-cretan-silver-coin-showing-diktynna-and-inf/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 2025-01-09
---
# Trajan Cretan Silver Coin Showing Diktynna and Infant Zeus
_Authored by The Trustees of the British Museum_
## Image File
[](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/19836.jpg)
## Image Caption
[Silver](https://www.worldhistory.org/Silver/) [coin](https://www.worldhistory.org/coinage/) from the [Roman](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Roman/) [Crete](https://www.worldhistory.org/crete/), 97-117 CE.
The British Museum, London.
After the Roman [conquest](https://www.worldhistory.org/warfare/) of Crete in 66 BCE, emperors sympathetic to [Greek culture](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Greek_Culture/), such as [Trajan](https://www.worldhistory.org/trajan/) and [Hadrian](https://www.worldhistory.org/hadrian/), focused on renovating and developing public spaces, especially [Greek](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/greek/) temples, across the island. One of the most popular sites was the sanctuary of [Britomartis](https://www.worldhistory.org/Britomartis/)/[Diktynna](https://www.worldhistory.org/Britomartis/), known as the Diktynnaion, located near modern-day Khania (Chania) on the northwest coast. The cult of Diktynna, a goddess associated with hunting and fishing nets, was closely linked to [Artemis](https://www.worldhistory.org/artemis/) and supposedly widespread locally and beyond. Although earlier Greek writers described her as a [nymph](https://www.worldhistory.org/nymph/) or a young virgin who was immortalized by Artemis, later sources developed a divine genealogy for her, reflecting her growing popularity. During the [Hellenistic period](https://www.worldhistory.org/Hellenistic_Period/), she was portrayed as the daughter of [Zeus](https://www.worldhistory.org/zeus/) and Karme, the Cretan granddaughter of [Demeter](https://www.worldhistory.org/demeter/), and later as the third child of Zeus and [Leda](https://www.worldhistory.org/Leda/), making her a sibling of Artemis and [Apollo](https://www.worldhistory.org/apollo/). In the [Roman Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Empire/), Diktynna was worshipped as a great mother goddess in Crete and [Aegina](https://www.worldhistory.org/Aegina/) and was increasingly viewed as the mother or nurse of Zeus, as shown on the silver coin depicted here.
## Cite This Work
### APA
Museum, T. T. o. t. B. (2025, January 07). Trajan Cretan Silver Coin Showing Diktynna and Infant Zeus. *World History Encyclopedia*.
### Chicago
Museum, The Trustees of the British. "Trajan Cretan Silver Coin Showing Diktynna and Infant Zeus." *World History Encyclopedia*, January 07, 2025. .
### MLA
Museum, The Trustees of the British. "Trajan Cretan Silver Coin Showing Diktynna and Infant Zeus." *World History Encyclopedia*, 07 Jan 2025, .
## License & Copyright
The British Museum has released this image under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International ([CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)) license. You can read more about the British Museum and Creative Commons [here](https://www.britishmuseum.org/about_this_site/terms_of_use/copyright_and_permissions.aspx). [Original image](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/691610001) by [**The Trustees of the British Museum**](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/691610001). Submitted by [Nathalie Choubineh](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/nathalie.choubineh/ "User Page: Nathalie Choubineh"), published on 07 January 2025. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.