Greece

2016

Commemorative coin

150 years from the Arkadi Monastery Torching

Official Journal of the European Union

The design features the Arkadi Monastery. Inscribed, at centre, is the wording ‘ARKADI MONASTERY’ and along the inner edge at left ‘HELLENIC REPUBLIC’, in Greek. Visible at upper right is the year of issuance ‘2016’ and below the central inscription a palmette (the mintmark of the Greek Mint). Inscribed at lower right is the monogram of the artist (George Stamatopoulos). The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

Additional information

The monastery church of Arkadi was built in 1587 during the Venetian rule over Crete as a reconstruction of an earlier church. After the conquest of Crete by the Ottoman Empire, which was completed in 1669, the monks obtained permission to return to Arkadi after their subjugation. In 1760 there were 200,000 Muslims and 60,000 Christians living on Crete. In 1866 a revolutionary committee against the Ottoman occupation was formed in the monastery of Arkadi. On November 7, 1866, an Ottoman army of 15,000 men attacked the monastery, which was home to 964 people, including 325 men fit for battle. After two days of hopeless resistance, the besieged decided not to fall into the hands of the enemy alive and blew themselves up in the powder magazine. The tragedy caused an international sensation. After the Turkish-Greek War, Crete gained autonomy in 1898, and in 1913 Crete finally became part of the Greek state. Around 50,000 Turks had to leave the island; many Greeks from Asia Minor moved to Crete. The coin shows the west façade of the church.

Edge lettering

Designer