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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TIF, post: 2188625, member: 56859&quot;]Absolutely fantastic coin and writeup!&nbsp; The iridescent red toning around the chariot is a particularly nice and appropriate accent.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Personal victory for acquiring?&nbsp; Definitely my Agathokles tetradrachm.&nbsp; It was quite an ordeal <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.&nbsp; The story is <a href="http://www.tifcollection.com/#!adventures-in-bidland/c1ekz" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.tifcollection.com/#!adventures-in-bidland/c1ekz" rel="nofollow">here</a>.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/ae43f8_7b2de20fa2f9493b92586ff830e4c774.jpg_srb_p_1000_625_75_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srb" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><b>SICILY, Syracuse. Agathokles (317-289 BCE)</b></p><p>310-305 BCE</p><p>AR tetradrachm, 17.40 g, 24 mm</p><p>Obv:&nbsp; head of the nymph Arethusa left, wearing grain wreath, earring and necklace; around, three dolphins; under, monogram (NK?)</p><p>Rev:&nbsp; ΣYPAKOΣIΩN, fast chariot charioteer leads to left, holding reins and kentron; above, triskeles; in exergue, monogram</p><p>Ref:&nbsp; Ierardi 12 (O2-R8); SNG Copenhagen 573 var., SNG ANS 637</p><p><br /></p><p>Described as a &#039;tyrant of Syracuse&#039;, Agathokles certainly was aggressive and murderous in his earlier years.&nbsp; During his reign the kingdom was somewhat more peaceful.&nbsp; History regards him more kindly in his later years.</p><p><br /></p><p>Arethusa is a water nymph who was transformed into an underground stream emerging as a freshwater spring on the Sicilian island of Ortygia, the future site of Syracuse. Ovid wrote of her in Metamorphoses (AD 8). English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote a lovely poem about her in his 1820 composition, Arethusa. Roman poet Virgil also wrote of her in book III of his 19 BC epic, The Aeneid.</p><p><br /></p><p>The quadrigia is shown in&nbsp; 3/4 perspective, possible to show it executing a left during a race. You can see the turned heads and bunched-up legs of the near horses as their gait shortens to enter the turn, with the far horses still in near-full gallop. Whether this was done to fit the whole scene on a limited canvas or through artistic intent, I don&#039;t know.</p><p><br /></p><p>The triskeles symbol is known three millennia before appearing on Syracuse coins. Initially a religious symbol of the sun, it likely represents Baal. Agathokles adopted it as his emblem, in theory because the triangular shape resembles the shape of Sicily. For an in-depth review, see The Triskeles on Ancient Greek Coins, an article by John Voukelatos, 2011. Later Sicilian depictions include a gorgon face in the center and that emblem is featured on the flag of Sicily.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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