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| Banknote of 500 Drachma |
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| 500 Drachmai |
Greek Banknotes 500 Drachmas, 25.1.1922. National Bank of Greece, P-68a
Reverse: Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, statue of Athena Varvakeios at left and statue of Poseidon at right.
Printed by American Bank Note Company, New York.
The vignette of the colossal statue of Poseidon, engraved by Marcus Wickliffe Baldwin.
A photograph of the temple of Poseidon in Sounio by the Swiss photographer Fred Boissonnas was the prototype for the vignette’s engraving by Luis Delnose. The temple was depicted after the consolidation works in 1898-1899, and the restoration of the stylobate in 1898-1900.
Greek banknotes and paper money from Greece
1918-1922 (1922) "NEON" Overprint Issue
Cape Sounion is a promontory located 69 kilometres (43 mi) south-southeast of Athens, at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece.
Cape Sounion is noted as the site of ruins of an ancient Greek temple of Poseidon, the god of the sea in classical mythology. The remains are perched on the headland, surrounded on three sides by the sea.
A marble statue of Poseidon from the 2nd century BC shows the god holding a trident. Originally from the island of Melos, the statue is now in the National Archaeological Museum, in Athens, Greece.
A votive sculpture found near the Varvakeion school reflects the type of the restored Athena Parthenos: Roman period, 2nd century CE (National Archaeological Museum of Athens).