Featured The Besieger - Demetrius I Poliorketes

It's time for another long-winded post by TheRed.

With the death of Alexander III the Great in 323 BC, the contest to control the Macedonian Empire saw the rise of some fascinating men and women. While my favorite of the Diadochi is Seleukos I Nikator, one of the most colorful, charismatic, and ultimately tragic people of the period was Demetrius I Poliorketes.

His father was one of Alexander's generals and satraps, Antigonus I Monophthalmus. Demetrius served under his father as a general on both land and sea. Upon capturing Athens, Demetrius had himself declared a divine liberator and reputedly installed his harem in the Acropolis. One of the most famous incidents from his life was the siege he conducted against the city of Rhodes. For a year Demetrius tried to take the city, devising incredible siege engines. One such engine was a massive iron plated siege tower called Helepolis that stood 130 feet tall and mounted numerous catapults. Despite his ingenuity, the city of Rhodes withstood the siege and Demetrius returned to the mainland in defeat. The siege engines became a tourist attraction and visitors to the island paid to examine them. The people of Rhodes also constructed the famous Colossus to commemorate their victory.

In 302 BC father and son were defeated at the battle of Ipsus and Antigonus I was killed. Demetrius, after many twists of fate, eventually made himself king of Macedon in 294 BC. While he could win battles, he was unable to secure the spoils, and was eventually driven from his kingdom by the forces of Pyrrhus, Lysimachos, and Ptolemy. He took his army to Asia where his forces, after plundering a number of provinces, were eventually decimated by plague. Bereft of treasure and soldiers, Demetrius was captured by Seleukos I Nikator. Instead of being executed, has was imprisoned in luxury in Syria and allowed to live out his life surrounded by wine and women. After a career of over 20 years, Demetrius died in 283 BC and his remains were returned to his son. While unable to hold onto the throne of Macedon himself, Demetrius established the Antigonid dynasty, and his son would rule the kingdom for almost 40 years. In fact, the Antigonid dynsty would rule Macedon until king Perseus was defeated by the Romans at the battle of Pydna in 168 BC.

The coins of Demetrius are some of the most interesting and aesthetically pleasing of all the Diadochi, especially his tetradrachms. The coin I recently acquired is a more modest bronze.

Demetrius I Poliorketes AE11, 298-295 BC Cilicia, Tarsos mint, 1.817g, 11.2mm.
Obv: Male head (of Demetrios?) right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet.
Rev: Prow right, apluster right behind, A X below.

Please feel free to post any coins you feel are relevant to Demetrius, the kingdom of Macedon, or the Diadochi.

 

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Although the Β Α inscription seems to indicate Alexander the Great, there is a good chance these shield/helmet bronzes were issued by Demetrius. They seem related to the towns he held.


"In the name of Alexander the Great?" Circa 293-286 BC? 4g 17mm
The symbol on the left of the helmet is a Rose (!!!)

Richard Ashton believes the rose issue is from Sardes, based on the number of specimens in regional Turkish museums. Martin Price had assigned the rose variety in his “Miletus or Mylasa” section.

Salamis in Cyprus was apparently the most prolific mint for this type. Perhaps the chronology of the issue can be suggested from the history of Salamis. Demetrios I of Macedon defeated Ptolemy in a naval battle in 306 BC and captured Cyprus. Kaunos, another mint for the type, was on the mainland near Rhodes; in 305 Demetrios besieged Rhodes and it makes sense that he would have had some kind of base near Rhodes to launch attacks from. As Demetrios held Salamis and probably Kaunos it would be satisfying to connect him with this issue. An explanation involving Demetrios would also make sense if the rose symbol referred to the Rhodes campaign.

 

Very nice bronze & addition TR.

 

Awesome right up! Demetrius Poliorketes is also one of my favorites of the post Alexander fellas. I believe Plutarch compared him to Marc Antony due to their love of wine and woman (and the 2 being their down falls). My fav has too be Pyrrhus. The guy beat up the Romans when no one knew just how Great they were to become...even if in his "Pyrric" fashion. Ptolemy was kind of a nerd and not much of a commander. Lysimachos and Kassander come off as jerks (though I love their coins). Antigonus I, the one eyed (as you noted) Demetrius pop, was also a favorite...though you left out my favorite part of the story. Supposedly the Rhodians (tearing it apart and using it's pieces) turned the abandoned helepolis into the Colossus of Rhodes (a statue of Helios)!

Sadly, I have no Demetrius. But here's pops with the famous Macedonian Gorgon shield...

Antigonus I
Gorgon shield obverse
Helmet reverse
14 mm
4.4 gr
316-301 BCE

And I'll throw in my fav since they we're contemporaries...



Pyrrhus!
Sicily, Syracuse
AE 23/24
10.25 gr
Athena Promachus reverse

 

Thanks for that nice summary, @TheRed!

I have no coins of Demetrius I but like many of us here on CT, I do have one from his son:


KINGS OF MACEDON, Antigonos II Gonatas
277/6-239 BCE, struck after 270 BCE, Amphipolis mint
AR tetradrachm, 31mm, 17.06 g
Obv: head of Pan in center of Macedonian shield, lagobolon over shoulder; shield decorated with stars within crescents
Rev: BASILEWS ANTIGONOU, Athena Alkidemos walking left, brandishing thunderbolt and shield; helmet left, EMP monogram right
Ref: SNGCop 1200v, EMP (maybe); R. Martin, "A Third-Century B.C. Hoard from Thessaly at the ANS," ANSMN 26, 536 (same obv. die).
ex Demetrios Armounta Collection

 

Here's Demetrius I Soter. Newell 55.

 

Nice coins all. I really enjoyed hearing about the history of the diadochoi from Erich Gruen, professor of ancient history at UC-Berkeley. He wrote the book The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome, which I highly recommend, as well as being a highly regarded scholar on the Augustan period and the early empire.

 

My two are the same design but one is an AR tetradrachm and the other AE13. How many of the bronzes equaled the value of the tet when issued? There are many variations of the tet but mine is low grade and missing most of the minor details in the field necessary to distinguish it.
from CNG:
Demetrios I Poliorketes. 306-283 BC. circa 300-295 BC. Nike alighting atop prow of galley left, blowing trumpet she holds in her right hand, and holding stylis in her left /Poseidon Pelagaios, nude, standing left, throwing trident held in his right hand, mantle over his left arm

In his book, Early Hellenistic Coinage, Otto Mørkholm states that this obverse type "has been connected with one of the greatest works of art of Antiquity, the Nike of Samothrace in the Louvre, but the general opinion is now that the statue is somewhat later in date and there is no direct connection between them. This, of course, does not exclude the possibility of the coin type having served as model or inspiration for the statue."

https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=38272

 

I finally took a pic of my latest love and figured this would be the thread to post it in. It's my new Demetrius Poliorketes (the Besieger)!!! Thanks again @ominus1 Monophthalmus (Monominus1phthalmus #newnicknamecoined)


Demetrios Poliorketes
Æ15. Amphipolis, circa 294-288
BC. Macedonian shield with
monogram in boss / BA-ΣΙ,
crested Macedonian helmet,
bunch of grapes in left field.
Newell, Demetrius 130. 4.24g,
17mm

 

haha!..i'll keep an eye out 4 that!

 

Here is a 12-11 mm "bronze half":


Head of Demetrius right wearing Corinthian helmet with bull's horn (weak, straight up above the ear)
prow right, above B A

Sear Greek 6775 variety. SNG Copenhagen Macedonia 1192, struck at Tarsos 298-295.

 

Very cool!

 

Nice write-up @TheRed ! Well done.

I have various examples of the Diadochi...
and I do have Demtrios I Poliorketes, although it is not a great example:

Makedon AE 15mm Demetrios I Poliorketes 294-288 BCE Zeus Athena


His Father, Antigonos I Monopthalmus:

Makedon Antigonos I Monopthalmus 319-305 BC AR Drachm Magnesia and Maeandrum Mint 3.9g 16.5mm Herakles lion-Zeus
Served as one of Philip II's (Alexander's Father) Generals. When called upon by Alexander, he served to protect Alexanders supply lines from Makedon through Persia during Alexander's War with Darius III. Antigonos the "One-Eyed"

 

I like the coins of Poliketes. I really like the tetradrachm which looks like it was inspired by the Nike of Samothrace now in the Louvre. Mine came out of the hoard that was being dispersed about 10 15 years ago. I also have a portrait t etradrachm as well.

 

That is a great Pyrrhus, I've always wanted one of those. I think he is one of the most impressive of all the Diadochi and his military exploits were unrivaled. No less than Hannibal thought of him as one of the greatest military minds. If only he had had greater resources he might have been able to really threaten Rome.

There is a really fun book of historical fiction about the siege of Rhodes that makes for an enjoyable read. It's also pretty cheap as a used paper back.

 

I agree @TheRed . It is why I jumped on my Pyrrhus a few years ago...


Syracuse Sicily Pyrrhus
Epirus 278-276 BCE
AE Litra 11.4g 23.3mm
Herakles Nemaean Lion scalp -
Athena Promachos thunderbolt shield
SNG Cop 813, SNG ANS 852

It is all for History!

 

"Long winded"? No: long remembered, more like! I love to steal your writeups and put them in my database. (With due credit, of course!)

Here's my budget version of the portrait tet, issued in preparation for the invasion of Asia Minor. My notes on it say that it is the first portrait of a living human as a god. Not sure if that's true...

Wow, @Terence Cheesman's is phenomenal!

 

Thanks and RIGHT!?!? How cool was that guy. His 2nd (he lost the 3rd battle he had with them) "victory" over the Romans is the reason we call it a "pyrrhic victory".

Definition: "A Pyrrhic victory (/ˈpɪrɪk/ ( listen) PIRR-ik) is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. Someone who wins a Pyrrhic victory has been victorious in some way, though the heavy toll negates a true sense of achievement or profit."

He and the Romans had both sustained massive casualties (Plutarch gives #s of 15,000 Romans and 13,000 Greeks).
Once the battle was over, and the Romans had been chased off the battlefield, one of his generals came and congratulated him on the hard fought victory. His response, classic, "If we are "victorious" one more time, we shall be utterly ruined!"
Did he really say it. I don't know. But man what a sound bite it would have made.
I'll have to check the book out. I love historic reads (hopefully it's on audible).

 

Reviving this thread because I just got my very first Demetrios I Poliorketes - a humble little bronze.

Mine has the aphlaston to the left of the prow, and looking at these online, I was a bit puzzled by attribution - is the head on the obverse Athena or Demetrios? The information on the web shows it both ways (both examples on this thread also have the aphlaston and are described as either a male/Demetrios head).

The other puzzle is the mint - some say Salamis, some Tarsos. Any help much appreciated.

Here is a Roma Auction describing this coin with Athena on the obverse and minted at Salamis: https://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotv...&Lot=252&Val=5bae4d6fcca381f723cdd57ae17ea643


Macedon Æ 13
Demetrios I Poliorketes
(c. 306-283 B.C.)
Salamis Mint (or Tarsos?)
Helmeted head of Athena (or Demetrios?) right, with bull's horn / Prow right; BA above, aphlaston to left, [monogram] and X below.
SNG Alpha Bank 954-5.
(1.79 grams / 13 x 10 mm)