Archaios | Sicily Syracuse Agathokles Artemis Sotiera Thunderbolt | AE

Description: Archaios Numismatics __________________________________________ Description: Bronze Coin of Syracuse in Sicily under Hieron II, Circa 317-289 BC. Obverse: Draped bust of Artemis Soteira right Reverse: Winged thunderbolt (Fulmen) with ethnic above and below SYPAK-OSIΩΝ around base Mint: Syracuse, Sicily Size: 15 mm Weight: 1.79 g Ref: SNG Cop 770-771 var. (size of 771 with the inscriptions of 770 on both Obv/Rev) Condition: Good Fine, Nice example of this coin! This denomination is very rare...( cf. CNG 58,129 Estimate:$250.. or large hexas CNG 78,80 Hammer:180 on 100 Estimate) Use the Picture as your judge as grading is subjective. Notes: Agathokles (Agathocles) was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse (317–289 BC) and king of Sicily (304–289 BC). He was born at Thermae Himeraeae in Sicily and moved to Syracuse in about 343 BC. He was twice banished for attempting to overthrow the oligarchical party in Syracuse before returning in 317 BC with an army of mercenaries to take the city. Having banished or murdered some 10,000 citizens, and thus made himself master of Syracuse, he created a strong army and fleet and subdued the greater part of Sicily before taking on war with Carthage. Following several victories against Carthage he was at last completely defeated (307 BC) and fled secretly to Sicily. After concluding peace with Carthage in 306 BC, Agathocles styled himself king of Sicily in 304 BC, and established his rule over the Greek cities of the island more firmly than ever. Machiavelli , the famed 16th century philosopher and writer claimed of him: "It cannot be called prowess to kill fellow-citizens, to betray friends, to be treacherous, pitiless, irreligious. ... Still, if the courage of Agathocles in entering into and extricating himself from dangers be considered, together with his greatness of mind in enduring and overcoming hardships, it cannot be seen why he should be esteemed less than the most notable captain. Nevertheless, his barbarous cruelty and inhumanity with infinite wickednesses do not permit him to be celebrated among the most excellent men." Syracuse was the most important ancient city on the island of Sicily. The city is located in the southeast corner of the island of Sicily, next to the Gulf of Syracuse beside the Ionian Sea. The city was a founded around 734 BC by Greek settlers from Corinth and Tenea, led by the oecist (colonizer) Archias. The settlement of Syracuse was a planned event, as a strong central leader, Arkhias the aristocrat, laid out how property would be divided up for the settlers, as well as plans for how the streets of the settlement should be arranged, and how wide they should be. The nucleus of the ancient city was the small island of Ortygia. The settlers found the land fertile and the native tribes to be reasonably well-disposed to their presence. The city grew and prospered, and for some time stood as the most powerful Greek city-state anywhere in the Mediterranean. Syracuse was at times allied with Sparta and Corinth and exerted influence over the entirety of Magna Graecia, of which it was the most important city. Described by Cicero as "the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all", it equaled Athens in size during the fifth century BC. The growing power and size of Syracuse made unavoidable the various clashes and wars that were then fought against the Carthaginians and others through 5th to 3rd centuries B.C. under the rule of a variety of leaders from Gelo (of Gela), Dionysius I (the Elder), Dionysius II (the Younger), Timoleon, Agathocles, Pyrrhus of Epirus, Hiero II. It then later became part of the Roman Republic and Byzantine Empire. Excerpts taken from Head Hist. Num., and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia We Thank You for stopping in and taking time to look at and bid on our listings. Good Luck Bidding or Buying ! We encourage you to click the "See other items" link above in the "Seller Information" area of the listing as well to check out our other items posted. We have a variety of great classical and other ancient numismatic items available. We will be regularly continuing to post for sale and auction a wide variety of Ancient Roman, Greek, and Eastern coins as well as Medieval, Byzantine, and some Modern coins as well. We can combine shipping if buying or winning multiple items. Just contact us before you pay and let us know and we will gladly send an updated invoice with the combined shipping amount. You can also follow us to be notified when new listings are posted. 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Price: 75 USD

Location: Seattle, Washington

End Time: 2024-01-11T21:31:33.000Z

Shipping Cost: 3 USD