SYRACUSE SICILY 240BC Hieron II POSEIDON DOLPHIN UNPUBLISHED Greek Coin i54007

$950.00 $855.00

Availability: 1 in stock

SKU: i54007 Category:

Item: i54007
 
Authentic Ancient  Coin of:

Greek city of Syracuse in Sicily
Bronze 18mm (6.21 grams) under king Hieron II , circa 240-215 B.C.
Reference: Sear 1223 var. (head left); HGC 2, 1550 var. (same)
Head of Poseidon right, wearing tainia.
Ornamented trident-head, between two dolphins, dividing IEPΩ – NOΣ.

Numismatic Note: The right facing head of Poseidon is super   rare, and possibly even unpublished. It is not in HGC or Sear.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,  provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of  Authenticity.  

Poseidon from Milos, 2nd century BCE (National Archaeological Museum of Athens) Poseidon  is one of the twelve Olympian deities of the pantheon in Greek mythology . His main domain is the ocean , and he is called the “God of the Sea”.  Additionally, he is referred to as “Earth-Shaker” due to his role in causing earthquakes , and has been called the “tamer of  horses”. He is usually depicted as an older male with curly hair and beard.

The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology ; both were sea gods analogous  to Poseidon. Linear B tablets show that Poseidon was  venerated at Pylos and Thebes in pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece as a chief deity, but he was  integrated into the Olympian gods as the brother of Zeus and Hades . According to some folklore, he was saved  by his mother Rhea, who concealed him among a flock of lambs and pretended to  have given birth to a colt, which was devoured by Cronos.

There is a Homeric hymn to Poseidon, who was the protector  of many Hellenic cities, although he lost the contest for Athens to Athena . According to the references from Plato in his dialogue Timaeus and Critias,  the island of Atlantis was the chosen domain of Poseidon.


Hieron II (c. 308 – 215 BC), king of Syracuse from 270 to 215 BC, was the  illegitimate son of a Syracusan noble, Hierocles , who claimed descent from Gelon. He was a former general of Pyrrhus of Epirus and an important figure of  the First Punic War.

On the departure of Pyrrhus from Sicily (275 BC) the Syracusan army and citizens  appointed him commander of the troops. He strengthened his position by marrying  the daughter of Leptines, the leading citizen. In the meantime, the Mamertines , a body of Campanian mercenaries who had been employed by Agathocles , had seized the stronghold of Messana , and proceeded in harassing the  Syracusans. They were finally defeated in a pitched battle near Mylae by Hieron, who was only prevented from  capturing Messana by Carthaginian interference. His grateful  countrymen then made him king (270).

In 264 BC he again returned to the attack, and the Mamertines called in the  aid of Rome . Hieron at once joined the Punic leader Hanno , who had recently landed in Sicily; but  fighting a battle to an inconclusive outcome with the Romans led by the consul Appius Claudius Caudex , he withdrew to  Syracuse. Pressed by the Roman forces, in 263 he concluded a treaty with Rome,  by which he was to rule over the south-east of Sicily and the eastern coast as  far as Tauromenium .

From this time till his death in 215 BC he remained loyal to the Romans, and  frequently assisted them with men and provisions during the Punic war. He kept  up a powerful fleet for defensive purposes, and employed his famous kinsman Archimedes in the construction of those engines  that, at a later date, played so important a part during the siege of Syracuse  by the Romans.

According to a story told by Vitruvius , Hiero suspected he was being cheated  by the goldsmith to whom he had supplied the gold to make a votive crown for a temple. He asked Archimedes  to find out if all the gold had been used, as had been agreed. Archimedes, on  discovering the principle of displacement needed to measure the density of the crown is said to have shouted “eureka,  eureka!” while running naked through Syracuse. Vitruvius concludes  this story by stating that Archimedes’ method successfully detected the  goldsmith’s fraud; he had taken some of the gold and substituted silver instead.

A picture of the prosperity of Syracuse during his rule is given in the  sixteenth idyll of Theocritus , his favourite poet.

In The  Prince (VI), Machiavelli cites Hiero as an exceptionally  virtuous man and a rare example of someone who rose to princehood from private  station.


Syracuse pronounced, Sicilian : Sarausa,  is a historic city in southern Italy , the capital of the province of Syracuse . The city is famous for its rich Greek history, culture , amphitheatres , architecture and association to Archimedes ,  playing an important role in ancient times as one of the top powers of the Mediterranean world; it is over 2,700 years old. Syracuse is located in the  south-east corner of the island of Sicily , right  by the Gulf of Syracuse next to the Ionian Sea .

The city was founded by Ancient Greek Corinthians and became a very powerful city-state .  Syracuse was allied with Sparta and Corinth ,  exerting influence over the entire Magna Grecia area of which it was the most important city. Once  described by Cicero   as “the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all”, it later became  part of the Roman Republic and Byzantine Empire . After this Palermo   overtook it in importance, as the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily . Eventually the kingdom would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860.

In the modern day, the city is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site along with the Necropolis of Pantalica . In the central area, the city itself has a  population of around 125,000 people. The inhabitants are known as Siracusans,  and the local language spoken by its inhabitants is the Sicilian language . Syracuse is mentioned in the Bible in the Acts of the Apostles book at 28:12 as Paul stayed there.[2]  The patron saint of the city is Saint Lucy ;  she was born in Syracuse and her feast day, Saint Lucy’s Day , is celebrated on 13 December.

Greek period

Syracuse and its surrounding area have been inhabited since ancient times, as  shown by the findings in the villages of Stentinello, Ognina, Plemmirio,  Matrensa, Cozzo Pantano and Thapsos, which already had a relationship  with Mycenaean Greece .

Syracuse was founded in 734 or 733 BC by Greek settlers from Corinth and Tenea ,  led by the oecist (colonizer) Archias , who called it Sirako, referring to a nearby salt marsh. The  nucleus of the ancient city was the small island of Ortygia. The settlers  found the land fertile and the native tribes to be reasonably well-disposed to  their presence. The city grew and prospered, and for some time stood as the most  powerful Greek city anywhere in the Mediterranean . Colonies were founded at Akrai (664 BC), Kasmenai (643 BC), Akrillai   (VII century BC), Helorus (VII century BC) and Kamarina   (598 BC). The descendants of the first colonist, called Gamoroi, held the  power until they were expelled by the Killichiroi, the lower class of the  city. The former, however, returned to power in 485 BC, thanks to the help of Gelo, ruler of Gela. Gelo himself  became the despot of the city, and moved many inhabitants of Gela, Kamarina and  Megera to Syracuse, building the new quarters of Tyche and Neapolis outside the walls. His program of new constructions included a new  theater, designed by Damocopos , which gave the city a flourishing cultural life: this in turn  attracted personalities as Aeschylus ,  Ario of Metimma , Eumelos of Corinth and Sappho , who had  been exiled here from Mytilene .  The enlarged power of Syracuse made unavoidable the clash against the Carthaginians , who ruled western Sicily. In the Battle of Himera , Gelo, who had allied with Theron of Agrigento ,  decisively defeated the African force led by Hamilcar . A temple ,  entitled to Athena   (on the site of the today’s Cathedral), was erected in the city to commemorate  the event

Gelon was succedeed by his brother Hiero , who fought against the Etruscans at Cumae in 474 BC. His rule was eulogized by poets like Simonides of Ceos , Bacchylides and Pindar , who visited his court. A democratic regime was introduced by Thrasybulos (467 BC). The city continued to expand in Sicily ,  fighting against the rebellious Siculi , and on the Tyrrhenian Sea , making expeditions up to Corsica and Elba. In the late  5th century BC, Syracuse found itself at war with Athens , which  sought more resources to fight the Peloponnesian War . The Syracusans enlisted the aid of a general from Sparta , Athens’  foe in the war, to defeat the Athenians, destroy their ships, and leave them to  starve on the island (see Sicilian Expedition ). In 401 BC, Syracuse contributed a force of 3,000 hoplites and a general to Cyrus the Younger ‘s Army of the Ten Thousand .

Then in the early 4th century BC, the tyrant Dionysius the Elder was again at war against Carthage   and, although losing Gela and Camarina, kept that power from capturing the whole  of Sicily. After the end of the conflict Dionysius built a massive fortress on  the Ortygia   island of the city and 22 km-long walls around all of Syracuse. Another period  of expansion saw the destruction of Naxos , Catania and Lentini , then Syracuse entered again in war against Carthage (397 BC). After  various changes of fortune, the Carthaginians managed to besiege Syracuse  itself, but were eventually pushed back by a pestilence. A treaty in 392 BC  allowed Syracuse to enlarge further its possessions, founding the cities of  Adrano, Ancona , Adria , Tindari  and Tauromenos, and conquering Reggio Calabria on the continent. Apart from his battle deeds, Dionysius was  famous as a patron of art, and Plato himself  visited Syracuse several times.

His successor was Dionysius the Younger , who was however expelled by Dion in 356 BC. But the latter’s despotic rule led in turn to his expulsion,  and Dionysius reclaimed his throne in 347 BC. A democratic government was  installed by Timoleon in 345 BC. The long series of internal struggles had weakened  Syracuse’s power on the island, and Timoleon tried to remedy this, defeating the  Carthaginians in 339 BC near the Krimisos river. But the struggle among the city’s parties restarted after  his death and ended with the rise of another tyrant, Agathocles ,  who seized power with a coup in 317 BC. He resumed the war against Carthage,  with alternate fortunes. He however scored a moral success, bringing the war to  the Carthaginians’ native African soil, inflicting heavy losses to the enemy.  The war ended with another treaty of peace which did not prevent the  Carthaginians interfering in the politics of Syracuse after the death of  Agathocles (289 BC). The citizens called Pyrrhus of Epirus for help. After a brief period under the rule of Epirus, Hiero II seized power in 275 BC.

Hiero inaugurated a period of 50 years of peace and prosperity, in which  Syracause became one of the most renowned capitals of Antiquity. He issued the  so-called Lex Hieronica, which was later adopted by the Romans for their  administration of Sicily; he also had the theater enlarged and a new immense altar , the “Hiero’s  Ara”, built. Under his rule lived the most famous Syracusan, the natural philosopher Archimedes .  Among his many inventions were various military engines including the claw of Archimedes , later used to resist the Roman   siege of 214 BC–212 BC. Literary figures included Theocritus   and others.

Hiero’s successor, the young Hieronymus (ruled from 215 BC), broke the alliance with the Romans after  their defeat at the Battle of Cannae and accepted Carthage ‘s  support. The Romans, led by consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus , besieged the city in 214 BC. The city held out for three years, but fell in  212 BC. It is believed to have fallen due to a peace party opening a small door  in the wall to negotiate a peace, but the Romans charged through the door and  took the city, killing Archimedes in the process.

 From  Roman domination to the Middle Ages

Though declining slowly by the years, Syracuse maintained the status of  capital of the Roman government of Sicily and seat of the praetor . It  remained an important port for the trades between the Eastern and the Western  parts of the Empire. Christianity spread in the city through the efforts of Paul of Tarsus and Saint Marziano, the first bishop of the city, who made it  one of the main centres of proselytism in the West. In the age of the persecutions massive catacombs were carved, whose size is second only to those of Rome.

After a period of Vandal rule, Syracuse and the island was recovered by Belisarius   for the Byzantine Empire (31 December 535). From 663 to 668 Syracuse was the seat of  Emperor Constans II , as well as metropolis of the whole Sicilian Church.

Another siege in 878, resulted in the city coming under two centuries of Muslim rule. The  capital was moved from Syracuse to Palermo . The  Cathedral was converted into a mosque and the  quarter on the Ortygia island was gradually rebuilt along Islamic styles. The  city, nevertheless, maintained important trade relationships, and housed a  relatively flourishing cultural and artistic life: several Arab poets, including Ibn Hamdis ,  the most important Sicilian poet of the 12th century, flourished in the city.

In 1038, the Byzantine general George Maniaces reconquered the city, sending the relics of St. Lucy to Constantinople . The eponymous castle on the cape of Ortygia bears his name,  although it was built under the Hohenstaufen rule. In 1085 the Normans   entered Syracuse, one of the last Arab strongholds, after a summer-long siege by Roger I of Sicily and his son Jordan of Hauteville , who was given the city as count. New quarters were  built, and the cathedral was restored, as well as other churches.

In 1194 Henry VI of Swabia occupied Syracuse. After a short period of Genoese rule (1205–1220), which favoured a rise of trades, Syracuse was  conquered back by emperor Frederick II . He began the construction of the Castello Maniace , the Bishops’ Palace and the Bellomo Palace. Frederick’s  death brought a period of unrest and feudal anarchy. In the struggle between the Anjou and Aragonese monarchies, Syracuse sided with the Aragonese and defeated the  Anjou in 1298, receiving from the Spanish sovereigns great privileges in reward.  The pre-eminence of baronal families is also shown by the construction of the  palaces of Abela , Chiaramonte , Nava , Montalto .


        

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