KAMARINA in SICILY 339BC Athena Horse Authentic Ancient R1 Greek Coin i43601

Item: i43601

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Greek city of Kamarina
in
Sicily

Bronze 16mm (3.17 grams) Struck circa 339-300 B.C.
Reference: HGC 2, 555 (R1); CNS III, pp. 69-70, nos. 42-42/11
Head of Athena in Attic helmet left.
KAMAPINAIΩN, Horse galloping left, grain ear in
exergue.

A colony of Syracuse, founded circa 600 B.C. Following its
destruction by Gelon of Syracuse in 484 B.C. Kamarina was re-colonized from Gela,
circa 461. The city was taken by the Carthaginians in 405 and its population
evacuated to Syracuse. It was finally destroyed by the Romans in 258 B.C. during
the First Punic War.

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Authenticity.

Athena or Athene
(Latin:

Minerva
),
also referred to as Pallas Athena, is the goddess of war, civilization,
wisdom, strength, strategy, crafts, justice and skill in
Greek mythology
.
Minerva
,
Athena’s Roman


incarnation,
embodies similar attributes. Athena is also a shrewd companion of

heroes and the
goddess

of heroic

endeavour. She is the
virgin

patron of Athens
.
The Athenians built the
Parthenon

on the Acropolis of her namesake city, Athens, in her honour (Athena Parthenos).
Athena’s cult as the patron of Athens seems to have existed from the earliest
times and was so persistent that archaic myths about her were recast to adapt to
cultural changes. In her role as a protector of the city (polis),
many people throughout the Greek world worshiped Athena as Athena Polias
(“Athena of the city”).
Athenss

and Athena bear etymologically connected names.

Kamarina (Greek:
Καμὰρινα) is an ancient city of
Sicily
, southern
Italy
, situated on the south coast, about 27
kilometers South East of

Gela (Terranova). It was founded by
Syracuse
in
599 BC
, but destroyed by the mother city in
552 BC
. Its remains are today in the
municipality of
Ragusa
.

The Geloans, however, founded it anew in
461 BC
. It seems to have been in general
hostile to
Syracuse
, but, though an ally of
Athens
in
427 BC
, it gave some slight help to Syracuse in
415
–413
BC. It was destroyed by the
Carthaginians
in
405 BC
, restored by
Timoleon
in
339 BC
after its abandonment by Dionysius’
order, but in 258 BC
fell into the hands of the
Romans
.

Its complete destruction dates from AD
853.
The site of the ancient city is among rapidly shifting sandhills, and the lack
of stone in the neighborhood has led to its buildings being used as a quarry
even by the inhabitants of

Terranova, so that nothing is now visible above ground but a small
part of the wall of the temple of
Athena
and a few foundations of houses;
portions of the city wall have been traced by excavation, and the
necropolis
has been carefully explored.

Just before the Carthiginians razed Kamarina in the
5th century BC
, the Kamarinians were plagued
with a mysterious disease. The marsh of Kamarina had protected the city from its
hostile neighbors to the north. It was suspected that the marsh was the source
of the strange illness and the idea of draining the marsh to end the epidemic
became popular (the
germ theory
of disease was millennia in the
future, but some people associated swamps with disease). The town oracle was
consulted. The oracle advised the leaders not to drain the marsh, suggesting the
plague would pass with time. But the discontent was widespread and the leaders
opted to drain the marsh against the oracle’s advice. Once it was dry, there was
nothing stopping the Carthiginian army from advancing. They marched across the
newly-drained marsh and razed the city, killing every last inhabitant.

The story of the marsh is told by the Roman geographer
Strabo
and repeated by
Carl Sagan
in
Pale Blue Dot
.

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Modern remains are scanty. They include archaic tombs (7th
century BC) and ruins of a temple of Athena. Nearby are tombs of a necropolis
from the 5th-4th century BC. Part of the remains are now in the archaeological
museum of
Syracuse
.