It was established as a currency in ancient Greece in the 7th century BC by Phaedon, who ascended to the temple of Hera and deposited a "pack of obolos" and thus replaced obolos with the drachma. From the mid-6th century on, the drachma became the prevailing currency in most Greek cities. In fact it was used by Alexander the Great who issued the four-drachma coins with which he paid his soldiers and gave a "dowry" to the newly-weds and used it in his campaigns along with the gold stater. Because of this, the drachma was circulating in Palestine at Christ's times. It was a money Christ used, together with Jewish and Roman money.
The evolution of drachmas through the years>>
In the New Testament there survive two incidents involving the drachma. The first one took place in Capernaum, when "they that received the two-drachmas ["tribute money" in the English translation] came to Peter and said: Doth not your master pay the two-drachmas?" (Matt.17, 24). This was a tax paid by Jews everywhere for the Temple. The two-drachma coin was the attic money, equivalent to two attic drachmas or one alexandrian drachma. Its ancestor, the Greek coin however, under thousand different names and images, was first introduced 2,700 years ago. To mark and honour the second Modern Olympics hosted by Athens, Greece launched a new GDR 1,000 Olympic banknote and six varieties of GDR 500 Olympic coins.Motifs chosen to adorn the coins are in tune with Olympic tradition. They feature Diagoras of Rhodes, the fifth-century BC boxer who fathered a succession of renowned Olympic medallists, the entrance of the Olympic stadium at the ancient site of Olympia and the two pioneers for the revival of Modern Games: Greek Dimitrios Vikelas, who was the International Olympic Committees first president, and his successor, French Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Other depictions on the Olympic currency include the lighting of the Olympic Flame in Olympia, a medal from the first Modern Games held in Athens in 1896, as well as marathon runner Spyros Louis - Greeces legendary gold medallist from those historic Games.
In Greece eurocents are called "lepta":- 1 lepto - Athens battleship (thrireme) from Cimon regency times- 2 lepta - Corvette from Revolution 1821 - 5 lepta - Modern tanker- 10 lepta - Rigas Velestinlis - Fereos (1757 - 1798) - patriot, legendary martyr, - 20 lepta - Ioannis Kapodistras (1776 - 1831) - polician and diplomat, first Governor of Greece (1830 - 1831), - 50 lepta - Elefterios Venizelos (1864 - 1936) - greatest greek politician,- 1 Euro - Owl - symbol of wise - on ancient coin- 2 Euro - Europe on bull, abducted.
