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Message:: [QUOTE="ValiantKnight, post: 2723274, member: 44210"]I was able to acquire not just one, but two bronze coins of Hieron II of Syracuse. It started with one of them, the top one. This one was a replacement coin for the Neapolis man-faced bull silver nomos I bought back in late December that ultimately never made it to me. This coin of Hieron looked like a pretty nice coin even though Greek Syracuse is not what I normally collect, with its large and impressive bust and cool cavalryman on the reverse. Throw in problem-free and I was sold, so the seller was more than kind enough to send it to me. Its actually been my newest favorite coin so far, with its details and its heft, and more often than not I've had it out on my desk to admire it. By coincidence, only a few days after I got that one in the mail, guess what coin type shows up in a certain popular dealer's weekly auction. The Hieron II/horseman. I was open to adding another one to my collection eventually of course, but now I was really tempted to go for this particular coin. So I did, with no regrets. Hieron II, Kingdom of SyracuseÆ27Obv: Laureate head of Hieron II left.Rev: ΙΕΡΟΝΩΣ; Horseman galloping right, holding spear; below horse, Φ.Mint: SyracuseDate: 274-216 BCRef: HGC 2, 1547; CNS II 193 [ATTACH=full]617463[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]617464[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]617465[/ATTACH] Hieron II (or Hiero), was born around 308 BC. He made a career in the military of Syracuse, becoming an officer under Pyrrhus, an adventurer and (briefly) Tyrant of Syracuse. After Pyrrhus left Sicily in 275 BC, Hieron was elected the commander of Syracusan forces pushed out of Syracuse by the civil authorities there. With the help of relatives, he and his forces were able to enter the city and carry out a successful coup. Soon after, Hieron married Philistis, an important Syracusan noblewoman, in order to further strengthen his position. [ATTACH=full]617466[/ATTACH] It was during this time that the Mamertines, a large grouping of Campanian mercenaries, bandits, and pirates, began to cause trouble from their base in Messana. Near Mylae in 265 BC, Hieron inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mamertines, and would have captured Messana and finished the threat for good had the Carthaginians not stepped in. Nevertheless, for his great victory, Hieron was made king of Syracuse by the citizens. [ATTACH=full]617467[/ATTACH] This conflict with the Mamertines became part of the power struggle between Rome and Carthage during this period, both of whom wanted Sicily for themselves. Hieron's victory resulted in the Carthaginians installing a garrison in Messana when the Mamertines asked both Carthage and Rome for help. The pirates soon came to dislike the Carthaginians, and appealed to Rome for its protection instead. The Romans obliged by invading Sicily. In turn, the Syracusans allied with the Carthaginians, and in 264 BC, the First Punic War began. [ATTACH=full]617468[/ATTACH] Hieron soon reconsidered his alliance with the Carthaginians, in the face of Roman successes, and in 263 BC the Syracusan king formed a treaty with the Roman Republic, in which it was guaranteed that Syracuse would assist Rome with men and supplies. This treaty Hieron kept to until his death. [ATTACH=full]617469[/ATTACH](Archimedes) During his long rule, Hieron helped to further strengthen and rebuild Syracuse, and he became a very popular ruler for the Syracusans. Among his contributions were his Altar to Zeus, a large Greek theatre, and Fort Euryalos. Hieron found a good friend in Archimedes, who often helped him with regards to military matters and other issues. One of these issues revolved around Hieron's suspicion that his goldsmith was cheating him out of the gold for his votive crown. He enlisted Archimedes's assistance to figure out if silver was being substituted instead, but without damaging the crown. Archimedes was taking a bath when he noticed that the water displaced when he got in. Using this to measure the density of the crown, he determined that indeed the crown actually had silver mixed into it. Archimedes was so excited when he discovered this that he immediately ran through the street naked and still wet, repeatedly shouting "Eureka!" ("I have found it!"). [ATTACH=full]617471[/ATTACH](Hieron's Altar of Zeus) Hieron II, after a long reign of 55 years, died in 215 BC at 93 years old. Unfortunately things did not turn out well for his family and Syracuse after his death. Members of his family were killed, including his grandson, a few years later. The Second Punic War resulted in the conquest of Syracuse by the Romans, and the siege of the city also lead to the death of his friend Archimedes.[/QUOTE]

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