Getting further away from Philopoemen; whom after, "Greece ceased to bear good men"

Pausanius couldn't have gotten it more right. After the humble, hardworking and highly skilled statesman Philopoemen (253-183 BCE) left the scene, a few death throws from Macedon aside, Greece became a footnote to Roman history.

(Philopoemen refused to let the Romans dictate what the Achaean League would and wouldn't do)

Reading Plutarch's Lives and Polybius and have been so deflated about the amount of ancient coinage vs praise for this Strategos 8 times over.
(the man was a busy bee that was used to winning... and when that didn't happen the end came)

As well, for how little we know about "the last of the Greeks", as one Roman opponent referred to the legend as after his ignominious end, who knows where he would land on an all time great generals list!


Sole solidifier of the Achaean (Achaian) league at times Philopoemen was what Alcibiades could've been if he wasn't so obsessed... with himself
No coins exist, that I've been able to find, with or in the name of Philopoemen
After remembering his tie in with the Achaean league


I checked my coins to find I had a coin minted by the Achaean league as late as 175 (just eight years after the myths forced suicide )... or did I?
Seller's ID:
ACHAIAN LEAGUE. Messene. Circa 175-168 BC. AR Triobol 2,00gr, Laureate head of Zeus right / Large X monogram; C-X in fields; below trident? all within laurel wreath. BCD Peloponessos-. VF. Purchased from Art & Coins #2 Jan 2022

Upon further inspection of the, wet around the ears, new auction house description I did NOT see a trident (though due to the wear and tear I can see where the confusion arose)is.
I looked up thunderbolt along with Achaian league and found this, what I believe is a, much more rare and accurate, though further in time from Philopoemen, attribution:
Achaian League. Elis. Circa 50-30 BC. AR Hemidrachm. Kallippos, magistrate. Laureate head of Zeus Hamarios right; KALLIPPOU above / AX monogram; FA monogram above, FA monogram to left, XE monogram to right, thunderbolt below; all within wreath. Clerk 273; BCD Peloponnesos 690; SNG Copenhagen 298-9 var. (name)
And now, first things last, the coin:


Any corrections are, as always, appreciated



Can any of you bring us closer to the destroyer of Sparta's walls and unifier of Greece, Philopoemen?

 

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Bump.
Philopoemen is getting further away still... almost to page two without a single response.
Does nobody recall Philopoemen?
Polybius carriered the man's ashes at his funeral and wrote about him in his histories juxtaposing him with one of Rome's greatest generals.
At one point he was public enemy #1 on Rome's list.
Snyder and Rubens found him worth adulation:

(The painting is meant to show how loved he was vs his having given up all pretense of ostentatiousness. He refused to wear jewelry and wore the meekest of clothes)

Any Achaian (Achaean) league coins out there?
Or anything related to this all time great‽?

This BD surviving coin would've been around and minted probably just before Philopoemen was born:

ACHAIA, Pellene
Circa 300-250 BCE Æ
13mm Kithara / Tripod.
BCD Peloponnesos 601;
SNG Copenhagen -223. VF

 

I doubt I'm saying anything you don't already know, since this period is at least 60 years after my primary collecting period ends, but the best I think you can do is "approximate" his tenure with a coin.

Two issues cloud it.

1. Philopoemen was only elected strategos of the Achaian League. He never led it (I don't think anyone did - it was an assembly). Therefore, he never had minting authority.
2. Although coinage of the Achaian League was relatively uniform, it was still minted by individual cities. Therefore, you'd need to correlate which city he was most active in.

It appears he was strategos in (at least) 209, 201-199, and 193 BCE. So, BMC 5ff (Megara) has been dated to 196-146 BCE. The odds are small, but there is a chance. Antigoneia and Messene have similar issues.

I suspect a research paper on the Achaian League may provide more insight than my current references of Wikipedia and Wildwinds.

It definitely seems like you can approximate his strategos tenure with a coin, but I doubt a coin directly attributable to him exists.

 

I had not heard of Philopoemen. He seems to be somewhat of a bad ass. Closest thing I have is an Achaean League from Mantinea about 30 years after he was there. In the battle of Mantinea he defeated the Spartans and killed their ruler Machanidas in one on one combat.


Achaean League, Arcadia, Mantineia AR Hemidrachm
Obv: Head of Zeus right.
Rev: AX monogram, M-A-N, CW below, all within laurel wreath.
c. 188-180 BC.
Agrinion-370-92, BMC 107

 

Well stated and appreciated.
Great observation about it being a League and not about just one man... making it so unlikely that there would be a coin referencing him. Though, sometimes we get lucky, like with Themistocles.
The man was elected strategos for various Greek contingents an incredible 8 times. Much like Marius gaining a consulship 7 times, both old dogs broke barriers into their 70s

 

And had done the same thing, one on one combat, previously, "During the battle, Damophantus charged directly against Philopoemen with his spear. Bravely, Philopoemen didn't retreat, but waited with his lance, which he mortally thrust into Damophantus' chest. Immediately, the enemy fled from the battlefield. By this action, Philopoemen's fame increased across Greece."

 

One other avenue you could take would be to follow Philopoemen's history and pick up a coin that aligns with it. For example, he was born in Megalopolis in ~253 BCE. Therefore, this coin type would likely have still been in circulation, and perhaps as a toddler he swallowed one or two.

Arkadia. Arcadian League. Megalopolis​

AR Obol 320-275 BCE
12.24mm .87 grams
Obverse: Head of Pan left
Reverse: Monogram of the Arcadian League, I in left field, syrinx below
BCD Peloponnesos (Megalopolis) 1517
Ex Strasbourg (4 December 1985)​

Looking at WildWinds, Megalopolis coinage exists that more closely fits to his lifetime.

Ultimately, when it comes to these types of attributions, you make the rules.

 

Interesting post, as always, @Ryro

In a collection full of low grade stuff, I hesitate to share this since it is awful even by my standards. It came in an unattributed lot, and I spent a lot of time poking around and, after a lot of poking, I think it is Achaean League issue, too beat-up to nail down to an individual area, but I can just barely make out AXA... on the reverse


Arcadia, Achaean League
Æ Tetrachalkon
n.d. (c. 191-146 B.C.)
[?], Zeus standing left, holding Nike and sceptre / AXA[IΩN] [various locales]
Achaia seated left, holding wreath and sceptre.
Achaean League issued these for various locations; this illegible.
(4.76 grams / 20 x 17 mm)
eBay c. 2017 Lot Buy