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Greek 5 drachma coins
The name drachma is derived from the verb dratto ("to grasp"), as initially a drachma was a fistful (a "grasp") of six oboloi (metal sticks), which were used as a form of currency as early as 1100 BC. The 5th century BC Athenian tetradrachmon ("four drachmae") coin was the most widely used coin in the Greek world prior to the time of Alexander the Great.
After Alexander the Great's conquests, the name drachma was used in many of the Hellenistic kingdoms in the Middle East, including the Ptolemaic kingdom in Alexandria. The Arabic unit of currency known as dirham known from pre-Islamic times and afterwards, inherited its name from the drachma; the dirham is still the name of the official currencies of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. The Armenian dram also derives its name from the drachma.
The following 5 drachma coins have circulated in Greece until the introduction of the Common European Currency on January 1, 2002:
  | 5 drachmas - Aristotle Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and scientist, who shares with Plato and Socrates the distinction of being the most famous of the ancient philosophers. He was born at Stagira, in Macedonia, and at the age of 17 he moved to Athens to study at Plato's Academy. He remained there for about 20 years, first as a student and then as a teacher, and then moved to Pella, the Macedonian capital, where he became tutor to the king's young son Alexander, later known as Alexander the Great ...
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  | 5 drachmas - Aristotle Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and scientist, who shares with Plato and Socrates the distinction of being the most famous of the ancient philosophers. He was born at Stagira, in Macedonia, and at the age of 17 he moved to Athens to study at Plato's Academy. He remained there for about 20 years, first as a student and then as a teacher, and then moved to Pella, the Macedonian capital, where he became tutor to the king's young son Alexander, later known as Alexander the Great ...
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  | 5 drachmas - Pegasus Pegasus, in Greek mythology, was a winged horse, son of Poseidon, god of the sea and the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus sprang from Medusa's neck when she was killed by the hero Perseus. Shortly after its birth, the magic steed struck the ground on Mount Helicon, and on the spot a spring, later sacred to the Muses and believed to be a source for poetic inspiration, began to flow ...
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  | 5 drachmas - Phoenix The phoenix bird symbolizes immortality, resurrection and life after death in the ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology. According to the Greeks, the bird lives in Arabia, near a cool well and every morning at dawn, the sun god would stop his chariot to listen to the bird sing. Only one phoenix exists at a time. When the bird felt its death was near, every 500 to 1,461 years, it would build a nest of aromatic wood and set it on fire. The bird was then consumed by the flames but a new phoenix sprang forth from the pyre ...
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  | 5 drachmas - King Constantine Constantine I, King of the Hellenes (2 August 1868 - 11 January 1923) was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was Commander – in - Chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, in which Greece captured Thessaloniki, and doubled in area and population. He succeeded to the throne of Greece on 18 March 1913, following his father's assassination ...
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  | 5 drachmas - Hercules According to the Greek Mythology, Hera who was not fond of Hercules made him lose his mind. In a confused and angry state, he killed his own wife and children. When he awakened from his "temporary insanity," Hercules prayed to Apollo for guidance, and the god's oracle told him he would have to serve Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years. As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve Labors, feats so difficult that they seemed impossible. The Nemean Lion, the Lernean Hydra, the Hind of Ceryneia, the Erymanthean Boar, the Augean Stables, the Stymphalian Birds, the Cretan Bull, the Horses of Diomedes, the Belt of Hippolyte, Geryon's Cattle, the Apples of the Hesperides and Cerberus ...
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The size of the images above are related to the diameter of the coins they represent.
