Demetrios I Poliorketes was king of Macedon and the first ruler of the Antigonid Dynasty. Early in his career he lost almost two-thirds of his kingdom to the Seleucids, but rebounded by freeing Athens, crushing the naval power of Ptolemaic Egypt, and establishing the Corinthian League. The Athenians welcomed him at first, but became displeased at his licentiousness. (What is it with politicians and prostitutes?) After sundry other military vicissitudes, he established himself as king of Macedonia in 294 BC by murdering Alexander, son of Cassander. These small bronzes of Poliorketes feature the head of Poseidon and a prow design that would later be taken up by Roman Republic moneyers. They are quite rare. KINGS of MACEDON. Demetrios I Poliorketes. 306-283 BC. Æ16, 2.3g, 12h; Uncertain mint (in Caria?), Struck circa 290-286 BC. Obv.: Laureate head of Poseidon right. Rev.: BA; Prow right; labrys to right, AP monogram below. Reference: Newell 167
Sweet Coin @John Anthony. I have one with bi-lingual Greek/Phoenician too. I think you're right that these types were minted in Tyre. Anyone know what the Phoenician says?
What a fantastic thread!! I'd love to have a full sail galley example! This is the closest example I have; Elagabalus:
Sorry. I couldn't detect the Phoenician letters. The oblique parallel lines to the right of TYRION might refer to numbers or a date.
Here's a pic of a coin from Caracalla with a galley on the reverse. I don't own the coin, but I wish I did! I ran across it while browsing on VCoins.
Not to bore you all vacation pics but here is a not ancient pic of the Bay of Naples, a masted ship, and Vesuvius.
Lol, does look the same! I was there in August of 2015. How about you? Took the pics near here in Sorento. The Amalfi coast is amazing!
Yes, same ship. It's the SY Royal Clipper, owned by Star Clippers, registered in Malta. It offers a variety of cruise itineraries and carries 227 passengers. Sorrento is a regular port of call. http://www.starclippers.com/eu/our-fleet/royal-clipper.html
Next to Ostia, Herculaneum (Ercolano in Italian) was my favorite ancient city when I visited Italy last Fall. Here's a view of Herculaneum with Vesuvius in the background: While you might think that the right-hand side of the picture, showing a partially cut-off volcano, is Vesuvius, in reality the Vesuvius that erupted in 79 AD was much larger. If you draw a line along the left-hand cone in the picture, and intersect it with a line drawn from the right-hand cone, THAT’S the Vesuvius that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum.