Philip II Alexander the Great Dad OLYMPIC GAMES Ancient Greek Coin Horse i47421

Item: i47421

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Greek King
Philip II
of
Macedon
359-336 B.C.
 Father of
Alexander III the Great

Bronze 17mm (5.56 grams) Struck circa 356-336 B.C. in the
Kingdom of Macedonia

Commemorating his Olympic Games Victory
Head of
Apollo
right, hair bound with tainia.
Youth on
h
orse prancing right, ΦIΛIΠΠΟΥ above.

* Numismatic Note: Authentic ancient Greek coin of King
Philip II
of Macedonia,
father
of
Alexander the Great
. Fascinating coin referring
to his
Olympic
victories. 

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

History and Meaning of the Coin

During the times of ancient Greeks, horse racing was one of the events
various Greek city-states and kingdoms would have intense competition with each
other, as it was of great prestige to participate. Before the time of Philip II,
the kingdom of Macedonia was considered barbarian and not
Greek. Philip II was the first king of Macedon that was accepted for participation in the
event, which was a great honor all in itself. It was an even greater honor that
Philip’s horses would go on to win two horse-racing events. In 356 B.C., he won
the single horse event and then in 348 B.C. chariot pulled by two horses event.
As a way to proudly announce, or what some would say propagandize these
honors, Philip II placed a reference to these great victories on his coins
struck in all three metals of bronze, silver and gold. The ancient historian,
Plutarch, wrote “[Philip of Macedon] … had victories of his chariots at
Olympia stamped on his coins.”
 

Philip II of Macedon, (Greek:

Φίλιππος Β’ ο Μακεδών — φίλος

= friend + ίππος =

horse

— transliterated

Philippos 382 – 336 BC, was an ancient

Greek

king (basileus)

of

Macedon

from 359 BC until his assassination in 336. He was the father of

Alexander the Great

and

Philip III

.

Born in

Pella
, Philip was

the youngest son of the king

Amyntas III

and

Eurydice I

. In his youth, (c. 368–365 BC) Philip was held as a hostage in

Thebes

, which was the leading city of

Greece
during

the

Theban hegemony

. While a captive there, Philip received a military and

diplomatic education from

Epaminondas

, became

eromenos
of

Pelopidas
,

and lived with

Pammenes

, who was an enthusiastic advocate of the

Sacred Band of Thebes

. In 364 BC, Philip returned to Macedon. The deaths of

Philip’s elder brothers,

King Alexander II

and

Perdiccas III

, allowed him to take the throne in 359 BC. Originally

appointed regent

for his infant nephew

Amyntas IV

, who was the son of Perdiccas III, Philip managed to take the

kingdom for himself that same year.

Philip’s military skills and expansionist vision of

Macedonian greatness brought him early success. He had however first to

re-establish a situation which had been greatly worsened by the defeat against

the Illyrians

in which King Perdiccas himself had died. The

Paionians

and the

Thracians

had sacked and invaded the eastern regions of the country, while the

Athenians
had

landed, at

Methoni

on the coast, a contingent under a Macedonian pretender called

Argeus
. Using

diplomacy, Philip pushed back Paionians and Thracians promising tributes, and

crushed the 3,000 Athenian

hoplites

(359). Momentarily free from his opponents, he concentrated on strengthening his

internal position and, above all, his army. His most important innovation was

doubtless the introduction of the

phalanx

infantry corps, armed with the famous

sarissa
, an

exceedingly long spear, at the time the most important army corps in Macedonia.

Philip had married

Audata
,

great-granddaughter of the Illyrian king of

Dardania

, Bardyllis

. However, this did not prevent him from marching against them in

358 and crushing them in a ferocious battle in which some 7,000 Illyrians died

(357). By this move, Philip established his authority inland as far as

Lake Ohrid

and the favour of the

Epirotes

.

He also used the

Social War

as an opportunity for expansion. He agreed with the Athenians,

who had been so far unable to conquer

Amphipolis
,

which commanded the

gold

mines
of

Mount Pangaion

, to lease it to them after its conquest, in exchange for

Pydna
(lost by

Macedon in 363). However, after conquering Amphipolis, he kept both the cities

(357). As Athens declared war against him, he allied with the

Chalkidian League

of

Olynthus
.

He subsequently conquered

Potidaea
,

this time keeping his word and ceding it to the League in 356. One year before

Philip had married the

Epirote

princess

Olympias
,

who was the daughter of the king of the

Molossians
.

In 356 BC, Philip also conquered the town of

Crenides

and changed its name to

Philippi
:

he established a powerful garrison there to control its mines, which granted him

much of the gold later used for his campaigns. In the meantime, his general

Parmenion

defeated the Illyrians again. Also in 356

Alexander

was born, and Philip’s race horse won in the

Olympic Games

. In 355–354 he besieged

Methone

, the last city on the

Thermaic Gulf

controlled by Athens. During the siege, Philip lost an eye.

Despite the arrival of two Athenians fleets, the city fell in 354. Philip also

attacked

Abdera

and Maronea, on the

Thracian

seaboard (354–353).

Involved in the

Third Sacred War

which had broken out in Greece, in the summer of 353 he

invaded Thessaly

, defeating 7,000

Phocians
under

the brother of Onomarchus. The latter however defeated Philip in the two

succeeding battles. Philip returned to Thessaly the next summer, this time with

an army of 20,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry including all Thessalian troops. In

the

Battle of Crocus Field

6,000 Phocians fell, while 3,000 were taken as

prisoners and later drowned. This battle granted Philip an immense prestige, as

well the free acquisition of

Pherae
. Philip

was also tagus of Thessaly, and he claimed as his own

Magnesia
,

with the important harbour of

Pagasae
.

Philip did not attempt to advance into

Central Greece

because the Athenians, unable to arrive in time to defend

Pagasae, had occupied

Thermopylae

.

Hostilities with Athens did not yet take place, but Athens

was threatened by the Macedonian party which Philip’s gold created in

Euboea
. From

352 to 346 BC, Philip did not again come south. He was active in completing the

subjugation of the

Balkan

hill-country to the west and north, and in reducing the Greek cities of the

coast as far as the

Hebrus
. To

the chief of these coastal cities, Olynthus, Philip continued to profess

friendship until its neighboring cities were in his hands.

In 349 BC, Philip started the siege of Olynthus, which, apart

from its strategic position, housed his relatives

Arrhidaeus

and Menelaus, pretenders to the Macedonian throne. Olynthus had

at first allied itself with Philip, but later shifted its allegiance to Athens.

The latter, however, did nothing to help the city, its expeditions held back by

a revolt in Euboea (probably paid by Philip’s gold). The

Macedonian

king finally took Olynthus in 348 BC and razed the city to the

ground. The same fate was inflicted on other cities of the Chalcidian peninsula.

Macedon and the regions adjoining it having now been securely consolidated,

Philip celebrated his

Olympic Games

at

Dium

. In 347 BC, Philip advanced to the conquest of the eastern districts

about Hebrus, and compelled the submission of the

Thracian

prince

Cersobleptes

. In 346 BC, he intervened effectively in the war between Thebes

and the Phocians, but his wars with Athens continued intermittently. However,

Athens had made overtures for peace, and when Philip again moved south, peace

was sworn in Thessaly. With key Greek city-states in submission, Philip turned

to Sparta
; he

sent them a message, “You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I

bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and

raze your city.” Their

laconic

reply: “If”. Philip and Alexander would both leave them alone.

Later, the Macedonian arms were carried across Epirus to the

Adriatic Sea

. In 342 BC, Philip led a great military expedition north

against the Scythians

, conquering the Thracian fortified settlement Eumolpia to give it

his name, Philippopolis (modern

Plovdiv
).

In 340 BC, Philip started the siege of

Perinthus

. Philip began another siege in 339 of the city of

Byzantium
.

After unsuccessful sieges of both cities, Philip’s influence all over Greece was

compromised. However, he successfully reasserted his authority in the

Aegean

by defeating an alliance of Thebans and Athenians at the

Battle of Chaeronea

in 338 BC, while in the same year, Philip destroyed

Amfissa

because the residents had illegally cultivated part of the Crisaian plain which

belonged to Delphi
.

Philip created and led the

League of Corinth

in 337 BC. Members of the League agreed never to wage war

against each other, unless it was to suppress

revolution
.

Philip was elected as leader (hegemon)

of the army of invasion against the

Persian Empire

. In 336 BC, when the invasion of Persia was in its very early

stage, Philip was assassinated, and was succeeded on the throne of Macedon by

his son

Alexander III

.

 Assassination

The murder occurred during October of 336 BC, at

Aegae
, the

ancient capital of the kingdom of Macedon. The court had gathered there for the

celebration of the marriage between

Alexander I of Epirus

and Philip’s daughter, by his fourth wife

Olympias
,

Cleopatra

. While the king was entering unprotected into the town’s theater

(highlighting his approachability to the Greek diplomats present), he was killed

by

Pausanias of Orestis

, one of his seven bodyguards. The assassin immediately

tried to escape and reach his associates who were waiting for him with horses at

the entrance of Aegae. He was pursued by three of Philip’s bodyguards and died

by their hands.

The reasons for Pausanias’ assassination of Phillip are

difficult to fully expound, since there was controversy already among ancient

historians. The only contemporary account in our possession is that of

Aristotle
,

who states rather tersely that Philip was killed because Pausanias had been

offended by the followers of

Attalus

, the king’s father-in-law.

Fifty years later, the historian

Cleitarchus

expanded and embellished the story. Centuries later, this

version was to be narrated by

Diodorus Siculus

and all the historians who used Cleitarchus. In the

sixteenth book of Diodorus’ history, Pausanias had been a lover of Philip, but

became jealous when Philip turned his attention to a younger man, also called

Pausanias. His taunting of the new lover caused the youth to throw away his

life, which turned his friend, Attalus, against Pausanias. Attalus took his

revenge by inviting Pausanias to dinner, getting him drunk, then subjecting him

to sexual assault.

When Pausanias complained to Philip the king felt unable to

chastise Attalus, as he was about to send him to Asia with Parmenion, to

establish a bridgehead for his planned invasion. He also married Attalus’s

niece, or daughter,

Eurydice

. Rather than offend Attalus, Phillip attempted to mollify Pausanius

by elevating him within the bodyguard. Pausanias’ desire for revenge seems to

have turned towards the man who had failed to avenge his damaged honour; so he

planned to kill Philip, and some time after the alleged rape, while Attalus was

already in Asia fighting the Persians, put his plan in action. Other historians

(e.g.,

Justin

9.7) suggested that Alexander and/or his mother

Olympias

were at least privy to the intrigue, if not themselves instigators. The latter

seems to have been anything but discreet in manifesting her gratitude to

Pausanias, if we accept Justin’s report: he tells us that the same night of her

return from exile she placed a crown on the assassin’s corpse and erected a

tumulus to his memory, ordering annual sacrifices to the memory of Pausanias.

Many modern historians have observed that all the accounts

are improbable. In the case of Pausanias, the stated motive of the crime hardly

seems adequate. On the other hand, the implication of Alexander and Olympias

seems specious: to act as they did would have required brazen effrontery in the

face of a military machine personally loyal to Philip. What appears to be

recorded in this are the natural suspicions that fell on the chief beneficiaries

of the murder; their actions after the murder, however sympathetic they might

appear (if actual), cannot prove their guilt in the deed itself. Further

convoluting the case is the possible role of propaganda in the surviving

accounts: Attalus was executed in Alexander’s consolidation of power after the

murder; one might wonder if his enrollment among the conspirators was not for

the effect of introducing political expediency in an otherwise messy purge

(Attalus had publicly declared his hope that Alexander would not succeed Philip,

but rather that a son of his own niece Eurydice, recently married to Philip and

brutally murdered by Olympias after Philip’s death, would gain the throne of

Macedon).

 Marriages

The dates of Philip’s multiple marriages and the names of

some of his wives are contested. Below is the order of marriages offered by

Athenaeus, 13.557b-e:

• Audata
  , the

  daughter of

  Illyrian

  King Bardyllis

  . Mother of

  Cynane
  .

• Phila, the sister of

  Derdas
  and

  Machatas of

  Elimiotis
  .

• Nicesipolis

  of

  Pherae
  ,

  Thessaly
  ,

  mother of

  Thessalonica

  .

• Olympias

  of

  Epirus

  , mother of

  Alexander the Great

  and

  Cleopatra

• Philinna of

  Larissa
  ,

  mother of Arrhidaeus later called

  Philip III of Macedon

  .

• Meda of Odessa

  , daughter of the king Cothelas, of

  Thrace
  .

• Cleopatra, daughter of Hippostratus and niece of general

  Attalus of Macedonia

  . Philip renamed her

  Cleopatra Eurydice of Macedon

  .

  Cult

The

heroon
at

Vergina
in

Greek Macedonia (the ancient city of Aigai – Αἶγαι), is thought to have been

dedicated to the worship of the family of Alexander the Great and may have

housed the cult statue of Philip. It is probable that he was regarded as a hero

or deified on his death. Though the Macedonians did not consider Philip a god,

he did receive other forms of recognition by the Greeks, such as at

Eresos
(altar

to Zeus Philippeios),

Ephesos

(his statue was placed in the

temple of Artemis

), and at Olympia, where the

Philippeion

was built. Moreover, Isocrates wrote to Philip that if he

defeated Persia, there was nothing left for him to do to but become a god

while Demades

proposed that Philip be regarded as the thirteenth god. However, there is no

clear evidence that Philip was raised to divine status like that of his son

Alexander

.

Apollo Belvedere
,
ca. 120–140 CE

Apollo  is one of the most important and complex of the
Olympian deities
in
ancient Greek
and
Roman religion
,
Greek
and
Roman mythology
, and
Greco
–Roman
Neopaganism
. The ideal of the
kouros
(a beardless, athletic youth),
Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun, truth and
prophecy, healing, plague, music, poetry, and more. Apollo is the son of

Zeus and Leto
, and has a twin sister, the chaste
huntress Artemis
. Apollo is known in Greek-influenced
Etruscan mythology
as Apulu.

As the patron of Delphi
(Pythian Apollo), Apollo was an
oracular
god—the prophetic deity of the
Delphic Oracle
. Medicine and healing are
associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his
son Asclepius
, yet Apollo was also seen as a god
who could bring ill-health and deadly
plague
. Amongst the god’s custodial charges,
Apollo became associated with dominion over
colonists
, and as the patron defender of herds
and flocks. As the leader of the

Muses (Apollon Musegetes) and director of their choir, Apollo
functioned as the patron god of music and poetry.
Hermes
created the

lyre for him, and the instrument became a common
attribute of Apollo
. Hymns sung to Apollo were
called paeans
.

 

Apollo (left) and
Artemis
.
Brygos
(potter signed), Tondo of an
Attic red-figure cup c. 470 BC,
Musée du Louvre
.

In Hellenistic times, especially during the 3rd century BCE, as Apollo
Helios he became identified among Greeks with
Helios
,
Titan

god of the sun
, and his sister Artemis
similarly equated with
Selene
, Titan
goddess of the moon
In Latin texts, on the
other hand,
Joseph Fontenrose
declared himself unable to
find any conflation of Apollo with
Sol
among the
Augustan poets
of the 1st century, not even in
the conjurations of Aeneas
and
Latinus
in
Aeneid
XII (161–215). Apollo and Helios/Sol
remained separate beings in literary and mythological texts until the 3rd
century CE.

Origins

The Omphalos
in the Museum of
Delphi
.

The cult centers of Apollo in Greece,
Delphi
and
Delos
, date from the 8th century BCE. The Delos
sanctuary was primarily dedicated to
Artemis
, Apollo’s twin sister. At Delphi,
Apollo was venerated as the slayer of
Pytho
. For the Greeks, Apollo was all the Gods
in one and through the centuries he acquired different functions which could
originate from different gods. In
archaic Greece
he was the
prophet
, the oracular god who in older times
was connected with “healing”. In
classical Greece
he was the god of light and of
music, but in popular religion he had a strong function to keep away evil.

From his eastern-origin Apollo brought the art of inspection from “symbols
and omina
” (σημεία και τέρατα : semeia kai
terata), and of the observation of the

omens of the days. The inspiration oracular-cult was probably
introduced from Anatolia
. The
ritualism
belonged to Apollo from the
beginning. The Greeks created the
legalism
, the supervision of the orders of the
gods, and the demand for moderation and harmony. Apollo became the god of
shining youth, the protector of music, spiritual-life, moderation and
perceptible order. The improvement of the old
Anatolian
god, and his elevation to an
intellectual sphere, may be considered an achievement of the
Greek
people.

Healer and
god-protector from evil

The function of Apollo as a “healer” is connected with
Paean
, the physician of the Gods in the
Iliad
, who seems to come from a more
primitive religion. Paeοn is probably connected with the
Mycenean
Pa-ja-wo, but the etymology is the
only evidence. He did not have a separate cult, but he was the personification
of the holy magic-song sung by the magicians that was supposed to cure disease.
Later the Greeks knew the original meaning of the relevant song “paean”. The
magicians were also called “seer-doctors”, and they used an ecstatic prophetic
art which was used exactly by the god Apollo at the oracles.

In the Iliad, Apollo is the healer under the gods, but he is also the
bringer of disease and death with his arrows, similar to the function of the
terrible
Vedic
god of disease
Rudra
.He sends a terrible plague to the
Achaeans
. The god who sends a disease can also
prevent from it, therefore when it stops they make a purifying ceremony and
offer him an “hecatomb” to ward off evil. When the oath of his priest appeases,
they pray and with a song they call their own god, the beautiful Paean.

Some common epithets of Apollo as a healer are “paion” , “epikourios”,
“oulios”, and “loimios” . In classical times, his strong function in popular
religion was to keep away evil, and was therefore called “apotropaios”  and
“alexikakos” , throw away the evil).
In later writers, the word, usually spelled “Paean”, becomes a
mere epithet of Apollo in his capacity as a god of
healing
.

Homer illustrated Paeon the god, and the song both of
apotropaic
thanksgiving or triumph. Such songs
were originally addressed to Apollo, and afterwards to other gods: to
Dionysus
, to Apollo
Helios
, to Apollo’s son
Asclepius
the healer. About the 4th century
BCE, the paean became merely a formula of adulation; its object was either to
implore protection against disease and misfortune, or to offer thanks after such
protection had been rendered. It was in this way that Apollo had become
recognised as the god of music. Apollo’s role as the slayer of the
Python
led to his association with battle and
victory; hence it became the
Roman
custom for a paean to be sung by an army
on the march and before entering into battle, when a fleet left the harbour, and
also after a victory had been won.

Oracular cult

 

Columns of the
Temple of Apollo
at Delphi, Greece.

Unusually among the Olympic deities, Apollo had two cult sites that had
widespread influence: Delos
and
Delphi
. In cult practice,
Delian Apollo
and
Pythian Apollo
(the Apollo of Delphi) were so
distinct that they might both have shrines in the same locality.Apollo’s
cult
was already fully established when written
sources commenced, about 650 BCE. Apollo became extremely important to the Greek
world as an oracular deity in the
archaic period
, and the frequency of
theophoric names
such as Apollodorus or
Apollonios and cities named Apollonia testify to his popularity.
Oracular sanctuaries to Apollo were established in other sites. In the 2nd and
3rd century CE, those at
Didyma
and
Clarus
pronounced the so-called “theological
oracles”, in which Apollo confirms that all deities are aspects or servants of
an
all-encompassing, highest deity
. “In the 3rd
century, Apollo fell silent.
Julian the Apostate
(359 – 61) tried to revive
the Delphic oracle, but failed

Macedonia or Macedon (from
Greek
: Μακεδονία,
Makedonía) was an
ancient Greek kingdom
. The kingdom, centered in the
northeastern part of the
Greek peninsula
, was bordered by
Epirus
to the west,
Paeonia
to the north, the region of
Thrace
to the east and
Thessaly
to the south. The
rise of Macedon
, from a small kingdom at the
periphery of
Classical Greek
affairs, to one which came to
dominate the entire Hellenic world, occurred under the reign of
Philip II
. For a brief period, after the
conquests of
Alexander the Great
, it became the most
powerful state in the world, controlling a territory that included the former
Persian empire
, stretching as far as the
Indus River
; at that time it inaugurated the
Hellenistic period
of
Ancient Greek civilization
.

Name

The name Macedonia (Greek:
Μακεδονία,
Makedonía) comes from the
ancient Greek word μακεδνός (Makednos).
It is commonly explained as having originally meant “a tall one” or
“highlander”, possibly descriptive of the
people
. The shorter English name variant
Macedon developed in Middle English, based on a borrowing from the French
form of the name, Macédoine.

History

Early history and
legend

The lands around
Aegae
, the first Macedonian capital, were home
to various peoples. Macedonia was called Emathia (from king Emathion) and the
city of Aiges was called Edessa, the capital of fabled king
Midas
in his youth. In approximately 650 BC,
the Argeads
, an ancient Greek royal house led by
Perdiccas I
established their palace-capital at
Aegae.

It seems that the first
Macedonian
state emerged in the 8th or early
7th century BC under the Argead Dynasty, who, according to legend, migrated to
the region from the Greek city
of
Argos
in Peloponnesus (thus the name Argead).
Herodotus mentions this
founding myth
when
Alexander I
was asked to prove his Greek
descent in order to participate in the
Olympic Games
, an athletic event in which only
men of Greek origin were entitled to participate. Alexander proved his (Argead)
descent and was allowed to compete by the
Hellanodikai
: “And that these descendants of
Perdiccas are Greeks, as they themselves say, I happen to know myself, and not
only so, but I will prove in the succeeding history that they are Greeks.
Moreover the Hellanodicai, who manage the games at Olympia, decided that they
were so: for when Alexander wished to contend in the games and had descended for
this purpose into the arena, the Greeks who were to run against him tried to
exclude him, saying that the contest was not for Barbarians to contend in but
for Greeks: since however Alexander proved that he was of Argos, he was judged
to be a Greek, and when he entered the contest of the foot-race his lot came out
with that of the first.” The Macedonian tribe ruled by the Argeads, was itself
called Argead (which translates as “descended from Argos”).

Other founding myths served other agenda: according to Justin’s, Epitome
of the Philippic History of
Pompeius Trogus
, Caranus, accompanied by a
multitude of Greeks came to the area in search for a new homeland  took
Edessa and renamed it Aegae. Subsequently, he expelled Midas and other kings and
formed his new kingdom. Conversely, according to
Herodotus
, it was
Dorus, the son of Hellen
who led his people to
Histaeotis, whence they were driven off by the Cadmeians into Pindus, where they
settled as Macedonians. Later, a branch would migrate further south to be called
Dorians.

The kingdom was situated in the fertile alluvial plain, watered by the rivers
Haliacmon
and
Axius
, called Lower Macedonia, north of
the mountain
Olympus
. Around the time of
Alexander I of Macedon
, the Argead Macedonians
started to expand into
Upper Macedonia
, lands inhabited by independent
Macedonian tribes like the Lyncestae and the Elmiotae and to the West, beyond
Axius river, into Eordaia
,
Bottiaea
,
Mygdonia
, and
Almopia
, regions settled by, among others, many
Thracian tribes. To the north of Macedonia lay various non-Greek peoples such as
the
Paeonians
due north, the
Thracians
to the northeast, and the
Illyrians
, with whom the Macedonians were
frequently in conflict, to the northwest. To the south lay
Thessaly
, with whose inhabitants the
Macedonians had much in common both culturally and politically, while to west
lay Epirus
, with whom the Macedonians had a
peaceful relationship and in the 4th century BC formed an alliance against
Illyrian raids.

Near the modern city of
Veria
,
Perdiccas I
(or, more likely, his son,
Argaeus I
) built his capital, Aigai (modern
Vergina
). After a brief period under
Persian
rule under
Darius Hystaspes
, the state regained its
independence under King
Alexander I
(495–450
BC). In the
Peloponnesian War
Macedon was a secondary power
that alternated in support between Sparta and Athens.

Involvement in the Classical Greek world

Prior to the 4th century BC, the kingdom covered a region approximately
corresponding to the
Western
and
Central
parts of
province of Macedonia
in modern
Greece
. A unified Macedonian state was
eventually established by King
Amyntas III
(c.
393
–370 BC), though it still retained strong
contrasts between the cattle-rich coastal plain and the fierce isolated tribal
hinterland, allied to the king by marriage ties. They controlled the passes
through which barbarian invasions came from
Illyria
to the north and northwest. It became
increasingly
Atticised
during this period, though prominent
Athenians
appear to have regarded the
Macedonians as uncouth. Before the establishment of the
League of Corinth
, even though the Macedonians
apparently spoke a dialect of the Greek language and claimed proudly that they
were Greeks, they were not considered to fully share the
classical Greek
culture by many of the
inhabitants of the southern city states, because they did not share the
polis
based style of government.
Herodotus
, one of the foremost biographers in
antiquity who lived in Greece at the time when the Macedonian king
Alexander I
was in power, recorded:

“And that these descendants of Perdiccas are Hellenes, as they themselves
say, I happen to know myself, and not only so, but I will prove in the
succeeding history that they are Hellenes. Moreover the
Hellanodikai
, who manage the games at
Olympia, decided that they were so: for when
Alexander
wished to contend in the games
and had descended for this purpose into the arena, the Hellenes who were to
run against him tried to exclude him, saying that the contest was not for
Barbarians to contend in but for Hellenes: since however Alexander proved
that he was of Argos, he was judged to be a Hellene, and when he entered the
contest of the foot-race his lot came out with that of the first.”

Over the 4th century Macedon became more politically involved with the
south-central city-states of
Ancient Greece
, but it also retained more
archaic features like the palace-culture, first at Aegae (modern Vergina) then
at Pella
, resembling
Mycenaean
culture more than classic
Hellenic
city-states, and other archaic
customs, like Philip’s multiple wives in addition to his Epirote queen
Olympias
, mother of Alexander.

Another archaic remnant was the very persistence of a
hereditary

monarchy
which wielded formidable – sometimes
absolute – power, although this was at times checked by the landed aristocracy,
and often disturbed by power struggles within the royal family itself. This
contrasted sharply with the Greek cultures further south, where the ubiquitous
city-states mostly possessed aristocratic or democratic institutions; the
de facto
monarchy of
tyrants
, in which heredity was usually more of
an ambition rather than the accepted rule; and the limited, predominantly
military and sacerdotal, power of the twin hereditary
Spartan
kings. The same might have held true of
feudal
institutions like
serfdom
, which may have persisted in Macedon
well into historical times. Such institutions were abolished by city-states well
before Macedon’s rise (most notably by the Athenian legislator
Solon
‘s famous
σεισάχθεια
seisachtheia
laws).

Rise of Macedon

Philip II
, king of Macedon

Amyntas had three sons; the first two,
Alexander II
and
Perdiccas III
reigned only briefly. Perdiccas
III’s infant heir was deposed by Amyntas’ third son,
Philip II of Macedon
, who made himself king and
ushered in a period of Macedonian dominance in Greece. Under Philip II, (359–336
BC), Macedon expanded into the territory of the
Paeonians
,
Thracians
, and
Illyrians
. Among other conquests, he annexed
the regions of
Pelagonia
and Southern
Paeonia
.

 

Kingdom of Macedon after Philip’s II death.

Philip redesigned the
army of Macedon
adding a number of variations
to the traditional
hoplite
force to make it far more effective. He
added the
hetairoi
, a well armoured heavy cavalry,
and more light infantry, both of which added greater flexibility and
responsiveness to the force. He also lengthened the spear and shrank the shield
of the main infantry force, increasing its offensive capabilities.

Philip began to rapidly expand the borders of his kingdom. He first
campaigned in the north against non-Greek peoples such as the
Illyrians
, securing his northern border and
gaining much prestige as a warrior. He next turned east, to the territory along
the northern shore of the Aegean. The most important city in this area was
Amphipolis
, which controlled the way into
Thrace
and also was near valuable silver mines.
This region had been part of the
Athenian Empire
, and Athens still considered it
as in their sphere. The Athenians attempted to curb the growing power of
Macedonia, but were limited by the outbreak of the
Social War
. They could also do little to halt
Philip when he turned his armies south and took over most of
Thessaly
.

Control of Thessaly meant Philip was now closely involved in the politics of
central Greece. 356 BC saw the outbreak of the
Third Sacred War
that pitted
Phocis
against
Thebes
and its allies. Thebes recruited the
Macedonians to join them and at the
Battle of Crocus Field
Phillip decisively
defeated Phocis and its Athenian allies. As a result Macedonia became the
leading state in the
Amphictyonic League
and Phillip became head of
the Pythian Games, firmly putting the Macedonian leader at the centre of the
Greek political world.

In the continuing conflict with Athens Philip marched east through Thrace in
an attempt to capture
Byzantium
and the
Bosphorus
, thus cutting off the Black Sea grain
supply that provided Athens with much of its food. The siege of Byzantium
failed, but Athens realized the grave danger the rise of Macedon presented and
under Demosthenes
built a coalition of many of the
major states to oppose the Macedonians. Most importantly Thebes, which had the
strongest ground force of any of the city states, joined the effort. The allies
met the Macedonians at the
Battle of Chaeronea
and were decisively
defeated, leaving Philip and the Macedonians the unquestioned master of Greece.

Empire

Alexander’s empire at the time of its maximum expansion

Philip’s son,
Alexander the Great
(356–323
BC), managed to briefly extend Macedonian power not only over the central Greek
city-states by becoming
Hegemon
of the
League of Corinth
(also known as the “Hellenic
League”), but also to the
Persian empire
, including
Egypt
and lands as far east as the fringes of
India
. Alexander helped spread the Greek
culture and learning through his vast empire. Although the empire fractured into
multiple Hellenic regimes shortly after his death, his conquests left a lasting
legacy, not least in the new Greek-speaking cities founded across Persia’s
western territories, heralding the
Hellenistic
period. In the partition of
Alexander’s empire among the
Diadochi
, Macedonia fell to the
Antipatrid dynasty
, which was overthrown by the
Antigonid dynasty
after only a few years, in
294 BC.

Hellenistic era

Antipater
and his son
Cassander
gained control of Macedonia but it
slid into a long period of civil strife following Cassander’s death in 297 BC.
It was ruled for a while by
Demetrius I
(294–288
BC) but fell into civil war.

Demetrius’ son,
Antigonus II
(277–239
BC), defeated a Galatian
invasion as a
condottiere
, and regained his family’s
position in Macedonia; he successfully restored order and prosperity there,
though he lost control of many of the Greek city-states. He established a stable
monarchy under the
Antigonid dynasty
.
Antigonus III
(239–221
BC) built on these gains by re-establishing Macedonian power across the region.

What is notable about the Macedonian regime during the Hellenistic times is
that it was the only successor state to the Empire that maintained the old
archaic perception of kingship, and never adopted the ways of the Hellenistic
monarchy. Thus the king was never deified in the same way that Ptolemies and
Seleucids were in Egypt and Asia respectively, and never adopted the custom of
Proskynesis
. The ancient Macedonians during the
Hellenistic times were still addressing their kings in a far more casual way
than the subjects of the rest of the Diadochi, and the kings were still
consulting with their aristocracy (Philoi) in the process of making their
decisions.

Conflict with Rome

Under
Philip V of Macedon
(221–179
BC) and his son
Perseus of Macedon
(179–168
BC), the kingdom clashed with the rising power of the
Roman Republic
. During the 2nd and 1st
centuries BC, Macedon fought a
series of wars
with Rome. Two major losses that
led to the end of the kingdom were in 197 BC when Rome defeated Philip V, and
168 BC when Rome defeated Perseus. The overall losses resulted in the defeat of
Macedon, the deposition of the Antigonid dynasty and the dismantling of the
Macedonian kingdom.
Andriscus
‘ brief success at reestablishing the
monarchy in 149 BC was quickly followed by his defeat the following year and the
establishment of direct
Roman
rule and the organization of Macedon as
the
Roman province of Macedonia
.

Institutions

The political organization of the Macedonian kingdom was a three-level
pyramid: on the top, the King and the nation, at the foot, the civic
organizations (cities and éthnē), and between the two, the districts. The
study of these different institutions has been considerably renewed thanks to
epigraphy
, which has given us the possibility
to reread the indications given us by ancient literary sources such as

Livy and
Polybius
. They show that the Macedonian
institutions were near to those of the Greek federal states, like the
Aetolian
and
Achaean
leagues, whose unity was reinforced by
the presence of the king.

The
Vergina Sun
, the 16-ray star
covering what appears to be the royal burial larnax of Philip II of
Macedon, discovered in Vergina, Greece.

The King

The king
(Βασιλεύς,
Basileús) headed the
central administration: he led the kingdom from its capital, Pella, and in his
royal palace was conserved the state’s archive. He was helped in carrying out
his work by the
Royal Secretary
(βασιλικὸς
γραμματεύς, basilikós
grammateús), whose work was of primary importance, and by the
Council
. The title “king” (basileús) may
have not officially been used by the Macedonian regents until
Alexander the Great
, whose “usage of it may
have been influenced by his ambivalent position in Persia.”

The king was commander of the army, head of the Macedonian religion, and
director of diplomacy. Also, only he could conclude treaties, and, until
Philip V
, mint coins.

The number of civil servants was limited: the king directed his kingdom
mostly in an indirect way, supporting himself principally through the local
magistrates, the epistates, with whom he constantly kept in touch.

Succession

Royal succession in Macedon was hereditary, male,
patrilineal
and generally respected the
principle of
primogeniture
. There was also an elective
element: when the king died, his designated heir, generally but not always the
eldest son, had first to be accepted by the council and then presented to the
general Assembly to be acclaimed king and obtain the oath of fidelity.

As can be seen, the succession was far from being automatic, more so
considering that many Macedonian kings died violently, without having made
dispositions for the succession, or having assured themselves that these would
be respected. This can be seen with
Perdiccas III
, slain by the
Illyrians
,
Philip II
assassinated by
Pausanias of Orestis
,
Alexander the Great
, suddenly died of malady,
etc. Succession crises were frequent, especially up to the 4th century BC, when
the magnate families of Upper Macedonia still cultivated the ambition of
overthrowing the Argaead dynasty and to ascend to the throne.

An atrium with a pebble-mosaic paving, in Pella, Greece

Finances

The king was the simple guardian and administrator of the treasure of Macedon
and of the king’s incomes (βασιλικά,
basiliká), which belonged
to the Macedonians: and the tributes that came to the kingdom thanks to the
treaties with the defeated people also went to the Macedonian people, and not to
the king. Even if the king was not accountable for his management of the
kingdom’s entries, he may have felt responsible to defend his administration on
certain occasions: Arrian
tells us that during the
mutiny
of Alexander’s soldiers at

Opis in 324 BC, Alexander detailed the possessions of his father at
his death to prove he had not abused his charge.

It is known from Livy and Polybius that the basiliká included the
following sources of income:

• The mines of gold and silver (for example those of the
  Pangaeus
  ), which were the exclusive
  possession of the king, and which permitted him to strike currency, as
  already said his sole privilege till Philip V, who conceded to cities and
  districts the right of coinage for the lesser denominations, like bronze.
• The forests, whose timber was very appreciated by the Greek
  cities to build their ships: in particular, it is known that
  Athens
  made commercial treaties with
  Macedon in the 5th century BC to import the timber necessary for the
  construction and the maintenance of its fleet of war.
• The royal landed properties, lands that were annexed to the royal
  domain through conquest, and that the king exploited either directly, in
  particular through servile workforce made up of prisoners of war, or
  indirectly through a leasing system.
• The port duties on commerce (importation and exportation taxes).

The most common way to exploit these different sources of income was by
leasing: the Pseudo-Aristotle
reports in the
Oeconomica
that
Amyntas III
(or maybe Philip II) doubled the
kingdom’s port revenues with the help of
Callistratus
, who had taken refuge in Macedon,
bringing them from 20 to 40
talents
per year. To do this, the exploitation
of the harbour taxes was given every year at the private offering the highest
bidding. It is also known from Livy that the mines and the forests were leased
for a fixed sum under Philip V, and it appears that the same happened under the
Argaead dynasty: from here possibly comes the leasing system that was used in
Ptolemaic Egypt
.

Except for the king’s properties, land in Macedon was free: Macedonians were
free men and did not pay land taxes on private grounds. Even extraordinary taxes
like those paid by the Athenians in times of war did not exist. Even in
conditions of economic peril, like what happened to Alexander in 334 BC and
Perseus in 168 BC, the monarchy did not tax its subjects but raised funds
through loans, first of all by his Companions, or raised the cost of the leases.

The king could grant the atelíē (ἀτελίη),
a privilege of tax exemption, as Alexander did with those Macedonian families
which had losses in the
battle of the Granicus
in May
334
: they were exempted from paying tribute for
leasing royal grounds and commercial taxes.

Extraordinary incomes came from the spoils of war, which were divided between
the king and his men. At the time of Philip II and Alexander, this was a
considerable source of income. A considerable part of the gold and silver
objects taken at the time of the European and Asian campaigns were melted in
ingots and then sent to the monetary foundries of
Pella
and
Amphipolis
, most active of the kingdom at that
time: an estimate judges that during the reign of Alexander only the mint of
Amphipolis struck about 13 million silver
tetradrachms
.

The Assembly

All the kingdom’s citizen-soldiers gather in a popular assembly, which is
held at least twice a year, in spring and in autumn, with the opening and the
closing of the campaigning season.

This assembly (koinê ekklesia
or koinon makedonôn), of
the army in times of war, of the people in times of peace, is called by the king
and plays a significant role through the acclamation of the kings and in capital
trials; it can be consulted (without obligation) for the foreign politics
(declarations of war, treaties) and for the appointment of high state officials.
In the majority of these occasions, the Assembly does nothing but ratify the
proposals of a smaller body, the Council. It is also the Assembly which votes
the honors, sends embassies, during its two annual meetings. It was abolished by
the Romans
at the time of their reorganization of
Macedonia in 167 BC, to prevent, according to

Livy, that a demagogue could make use of it as a mean to revolt
against their authority.

Council (Synedrion)

The Council was a small group formed among some of the most eminent
Macedonians, chosen by the king to assist him in the government of the kingdom.
As such it was not a representative assembly, but notwithstanding that on
certain occasions it could be expanded with the admission of representatives of
the cities and of the civic corps of the kingdom.

The members of the Council (synedroi) belong to three categories:

• The
  somatophylakes
  (in Greek literally
  “bodyguards”) were noble Macedonians chosen by the king to serve to him as
  honorary bodyguards, but especially as close advisers. It was a particularly
  prestigious honorary title. In the times of Alexander there were seven of
  them.
• The Friends (philoi)
  or the king’s Companions (basilikoi
  hetairoi
  ) were named for life by the
  king among the Macedonian aristocracy.
• The most important generals of the army (hégémones tôn taxéôn),
  also named by the king.

The king had in reality less power in the choice of the members of the
Council than appearances would warrant; this was because many of the kingdom’s
most important noblemen were members of the Council by birth-right.

The Council primarily exerted a probouleutic function with respect to the
Assembly: it prepared and proposed the decisions which the Assembly would have
discussed and voted, working in many fields such as the designation of kings and
regents, as of that of the high administrators and the declarations of war. It
was also the first and final authority for all the cases which did not involve
capital punishment.

The Council gathered frequently and represented the principal body of
government of the kingdom. Any important decision taken by the king was
subjected before it for deliberation.

Inside the Council ruled the democratic principles of iségoria
(equality of word) and of parrhésia (freedom of speech), to which even
the king subjected himself.

After the removal of the
Antigonid dynasty
by the Romans in 167 BC, it
is possible that the synedrion remained, unlike the Assembly, representing the
sole federal authority in Macedonia after the country’s division in four
merides.

Regional
districts (Merides)

The creation of an intermediate territorial administrative level between the
central government and the cities should probably be attributed to Philip II:
this reform corresponded with the need to adapt the kingdom’s institutions to
the great expansion of Macedon under his rule. It was no longer practical to
convene all the Macedonians in a single general assembly, and the answer to this
problem was the creation of four regional districts, each with a regional
assembly. These territorial divisions clearly did not follow any historical or
traditional internal divisions; they were simply artificial administrative
lines.

This said, it should be noted that the existence of these districts is not
attested with certainty (by
numismatics
) before the beginning of the 2nd
century BC.

The history of
Ancient Greek
coinage can be divided (along
with most other Greek art forms) into four periods, the
Archaic
, the
Classical
, the
Hellenistic
and the
Roman
. The Archaic period extends from the
introduction of coinage to the Greek world during the
7th century BC
until the
Persian Wars
in about 480 BC. The Classical
period then began, and lasted until the conquests of
Alexander the Great
in about 330 BC, which
began the Hellenistic period, extending until the
Roman
absorption of the Greek world in the 1st
century BC. The Greek cities continued to produce their own coins for several
more centuries under Roman rule. The coins produced during this period are
called
Roman provincial coins
or Greek Imperial Coins.
Ancient Greek coins of all four periods span over a period of more than ten
centuries.

Weight
standards and denominations

Above: Six rod-shaped obeloi (oboloi) displayed at the
Numismatic Museum of Athens
,
discovered at
Heraion of Argos
. Below: grasp^[1]
of six oboloi forming one drachma

Electrum
coin from
Ephesus
, 620-600 BC, known as
Phanes’ coin
. Obverse:
Stag
grazing, ΦΑΝΕΩΣ (retrograde).
Reverse: Two incuse punches.

The basic standards of the Ancient Greek monetary system were the
Attic
standard, based on the Athenian
drachma
of 4.3 grams of silver and the
Corinthian
standard based on the
stater
of 8.6 grams of silver, that was
subdivided into three silver drachmas of 2.9 grams. The word
drachm
(a) means “a handful”, literally “a
grasp”. Drachmae were divided into six
obols
(from the Greek word for a
spit
), and six spits made a “handful”. This
suggests that before coinage came to be used in Greece, spits in
prehistoric times
were used as measures of
daily transaction. In archaic/pre-numismatic times iron was valued for making
durable tools and weapons, and its casting in spit form may have actually
represented a form of transportable
bullion
, which eventually became bulky and
inconvenient after the adoption of precious metals. Because of this very aspect,
Spartan
legislation famously forbade issuance
of Spartan coin, and enforced the continued use of iron spits so as to
discourage avarice and the hoarding of wealth. In addition to its original
meaning (which also gave the
euphemistic

diminutive
“obelisk“,
“little spit”), the word obol (ὀβολός, obolós, or ὀβελός,
obelós) was retained as a Greek word for coins of small value, still used as
such in Modern Greek
slang (όβολα, óvola,
“monies”).

The obol was further subdivided into tetartemorioi (singular
tetartemorion) which represented 1/4 of an obol, or 1/24 of a drachm. This
coin (which was known to have been struck in
Athens
,
Colophon
, and several other cities) is
mentioned by Aristotle
as the smallest silver coin.^:237
Various multiples of this denomination were also struck, including the
trihemitetartemorion (literally three half-tetartemorioi) valued at 3/8 of
an obol.^:

Denominations of silver drachma
Image	Denomination	Value	Weight
	Dekadrachm	10 drachmas	43 grams
	Tetradrachm	4 drachmas	17.2 grams
	Didrachm	2 drachmas	8.6 grams
	Drachma	6 obols	4.3 grams
	Tetrobol	4 obols	2.85 grams
	Triobol (hemidrachm)	3 obols	2.15 grams
	Diobol	2 obols	1.43 grams
	Obol	4 tetartemorions	0.72 grams
	Tritartemorion	3 tetartemorions	0.54 grams
	Hemiobol	2 tetartemorions	0.36 grams
	Trihemitartemorion	3/2 tetartemorions	0.27 grams
	Tetartemorion		0.18 grams
	Hemitartemorion	½ tetartemorion	0.09 grams

Archaic period

Archaic coinage

Uninscribed
electrum
coin from
Lydia
, 6th century BCE.
Obverse: lion head and sunburst Reverse: plain square
imprints, probably used to standardise weight

Electrum
coin from
Ephesus
, 620-600 BC. Obverse:
Forepart of stag. Reverse: Square incuse punch.

The first coins were issued in either Lydia or Ionia in Asia Minor at some
time before 600 BC, either by the non-Greek Lydians for their own use or perhaps
because Greek mercenaries wanted to be paid in precious metal at the conclusion
of their time of service, and wanted to have their payments marked in a way that
would authenticate them. These coins were made of
electrum
, an alloy of gold and silver that was
highly prized and abundant in that area. By the middle of the 6th century BC,
technology had advanced, making the production of pure gold and silver coins
simpler. Accordingly, King
Croesus
introduced a bi-metallic standard that
allowed for coins of pure gold and pure silver to be struck and traded in the
marketplace.

Coins of Aegina

Silver
stater
of Aegina, 550-530 BC.
Obv.
Sea turtle
with large pellets
down center. Rev. incuse square with eight sections. After the
end of the
Peloponnesian War
, 404 BC, Sea
turtle was replaced by the land
tortoise
.

Silver
drachma
of Aegina, 404-340 BC.
Obverse: Land
tortoise
. Reverse: inscription
AΙΓ[INAΤΟΝ] ([of the] Aeg[inetans]) “Aegina” and dolphin.

The Greek world was divided into more than two thousand self-governing
city-states (in
Greek
, poleis), and more than half of
them issued their own coins. Some coins circulated widely beyond their polis,
indicating that they were being used in inter-city trade; the first example
appears to have been the silver stater or didrachm of
Aegina
that regularly turns up in hoards in
Egypt
and the
Levant
, places which were deficient in silver
supply. As such coins circulated more widely, other cities began to mint coins
to this “Aeginetan” weight standard of (6.1 grams to the drachm), other cities
included their own symbols on the coins. This is not unlike present day

Euro coins, which are recognisably from a particular country, but
usable all over the
Euro zone
.

Athenian coins, however, were struck on the “Attic” standard, with a drachm
equaling 4.3 grams of silver. Over time, Athens’ plentiful supply of silver from
the mines at
Laurion
and its increasing dominance in trade
made this the pre-eminent standard. These coins, known as “owls” because of
their central design feature, were also minted to an extremely tight standard of
purity and weight. This contributed to their success as the premier trade coin
of their era. Tetradrachms on this weight standard continued to be a widely used
coin (often the most widely used) through the classical period. By the time of
Alexander the Great
and his
Hellenistic successors
, this large denomination
was being regularly used to make large payments, or was often saved for
hoarding.

Classical period

A
Syracusan

tetradrachm
(c. 415–405
BC)
Obverse: head of the
nymph

Arethusa
, surrounded by
four swimming
dolphins
and a
rudder

Reverse: a racing
quadriga
, its
charioteer
crowned by the
goddess
Victory
in flight.

Tetradrachm of Athens, (5th century BC)
Obverse: a portrait of
Athena
, patron goddess of
the city, in
helmet

Reverse: the owl of Athens, with an
olive
sprig and the
inscription “ΑΘΕ”, short for ΑΘΕΝΑΙΟΝ, “of the
Athenians
“

The
Classical period
saw Greek coinage reach a high
level of technical and aesthetic quality. Larger cities now produced a range of
fine silver and gold coins, most bearing a portrait of their patron god or
goddess or a legendary hero on one side, and a symbol of the city on the other.
Some coins employed a visual pun: some coins from
Rhodes
featured a

rose, since the Greek word for rose is rhodon. The use of
inscriptions on coins also began, usually the name of the issuing city.

The wealthy cities of Sicily produced some especially fine coins. The large
silver decadrachm (10-drachm) coin from
Syracuse
is regarded by many collectors as the
finest coin produced in the ancient world, perhaps ever. Syracusan issues were
rather standard in their imprints, one side bearing the head of the nymph
Arethusa
and the other usually a victorious
quadriga
. The
tyrants of Syracuse
were fabulously rich, and
part of their
public relations
policy was to fund
quadrigas
for the
Olympic chariot race
, a very expensive
undertaking. As they were often able to finance more than one quadriga at a
time, they were frequent victors in this highly prestigious event.

Syracuse was one of the epicenters of numismatic art during the classical
period. Led by the engravers Kimon and Euainetos, Syracuse produced some of the
finest coin designs of antiquity.

Hellenistic period

Gold 20-stater
of
Eucratides I
, the largest gold coin
ever minted in Antiquity.

Drachma of
Alexandria
, 222-235 AD. Obverse:
Laureate head of
Alexander Severus
, KAI(ΣΑΡ)
MAP(ΚΟΣ) AYP(ΗΛΙΟΣ) ΣЄY(ΑΣΤΟΣ) AΛЄΞANΔPOΣ ЄYΣЄ(ΒΗΣ). Reverse: Bust
of
Asclepius
.

The Hellenistic period was characterized by the spread of Greek
culture across a large part of the known world. Greek-speaking kingdoms were
established in Egypt
and
Syria
, and for a time also in

Iran and as far east as what is now
Afghanistan
and northwestern
India
. Greek traders spread Greek coins across
this vast area, and the new kingdoms soon began to produce their own coins.
Because these kingdoms were much larger and wealthier than the Greek city states
of the classical period, their coins tended to be more mass-produced, as well as
larger, and more frequently in gold. They often lacked the aesthetic delicacy of
coins of the earlier period.

Still, some of the
Greco-Bactrian
coins, and those of their
successors in India, the
Indo-Greeks
, are considered the finest examples
of
Greek numismatic art
with “a nice blend of
realism and idealization”, including the largest coins to be minted in the
Hellenistic world: the largest gold coin was minted by
Eucratides
(reigned 171–145 BC), the largest
silver coin by the Indo-Greek king
Amyntas Nikator
(reigned c. 95–90 BC). The
portraits “show a degree of individuality never matched by the often bland
depictions of their royal contemporaries further West” (Roger Ling, “Greece and
the Hellenistic World”).

The most striking new feature of Hellenistic coins was the use of portraits
of living people, namely of the kings themselves. This practice had begun in
Sicily, but was disapproved of by other Greeks as showing
hubris
(arrogance). But the kings of
Ptolemaic Egypt
and
Seleucid Syria
had no such scruples: having
already awarded themselves with “divine” status, they issued magnificent gold
coins adorned with their own portraits, with the symbols of their state on the
reverse. The names of the kings were frequently inscribed on the coin as well.
This established a pattern for coins which has persisted ever since: a portrait
of the king, usually in profile and striking a heroic pose, on the obverse, with
his name beside him, and a coat of arms or other symbol of state on the reverse.

Minting

All Greek coins were
handmade
, rather than machined as modern coins
are. The design for the obverse was carved (in
incuso
) into a block of bronze or possibly
iron, called a
die
. The design of the reverse was carved into
a similar punch. A blank disk of gold, silver, or electrum was cast in a mold
and then, placed between these two and the punch struck hard with a hammer,
raising the design on both sides of the coin.

Coins as
a symbol of the city-state

Coins of Greek city-states depicted a unique
symbol
or feature, an early form of
emblem
, also known as
badge
in numismatics, that represented their
city and promoted the prestige of their state. Corinthian stater for example
depicted pegasus
the mythological winged stallion, tamed
by their hero
Bellerophon
. Coins of
Ephesus
depicted the
bee
sacred to
Artemis
. Drachmas of Athens depicted the
owl of Athena
. Drachmas of
Aegina
depicted a
chelone
. Coins of
Selinunte
depicted a “selinon” (σέλινον
– celery
). Coins of
Heraclea
depicted
Heracles
. Coins of

Gela depicted a man-headed bull, the personification of the river
Gela
. Coins of
Rhodes
depicted a “rhodon” (ῥόδον^[8]
– rose
). Coins of
Knossos
depicted the
labyrinth
or the mythical creature
minotaur
, a symbol of the
Minoan Crete
. Coins of
Melos
depicted a “mēlon” (μήλον –
apple
). Coins of
Thebes
depicted a Boeotian shield.

Corinthian stater with
pegasus

Coin of
Rhodes
with a
rose

Didrachm of
Selinunte
with a
celery

Coin of
Ephesus
with a
bee

Stater of
Olympia
depicting
Nike

Coin of
Melos
with an
apple

Obolus from
Stymphalia
with a
Stymphalian bird

Coin of
Thebes
with a Boeotian shield

Coin of Gela
with a man-headed bull,
the personification of the river
Gela

Didrachm of
Knossos
depicting the
Minotaur

Commemorative coins

 

Dekadrachm
of
Syracuse
^{[disambiguation
needed]}. Head of Arethusa or queen
Demarete. ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΟΝ (of the Syracusians), around four dolphins

The use of
commemorative coins
to celebrate a victory or
an achievement of the state was a Greek invention. Coins are valuable, durable
and pass through many hands. In an age without newspapers or other mass media,
they were an ideal way of disseminating a political message. The first such coin
was a commemorative decadrachm issued by
Athens
following the Greek victory in the
Persian Wars
. On these coins that were struck
around 480 BC, the owl
of Athens, the goddess
Athena
‘s sacred bird, was depicted facing the
viewer with wings outstretched, holding a spray of olive leaves, the
olive tree
being Athena’s sacred plant and also
a symbol of peace and prosperity. The message was that Athens was powerful and
victorious, but also peace-loving. Another commemorative coin, a silver
dekadrachm known as ” Demareteion”, was minted at
Syracuse
at approximately the same time to
celebrate the defeat of the
Carthaginians
. On the obverse it bears a
portrait of
Arethusa
or queen Demarete.

Ancient Greek coins
today

Collections of Ancient Greek coins are held by museums around the world, of
which the collections of the
British Museum
, the
American Numismatic Society
, and the
Danish National Museum
are considered to be the
finest. The American Numismatic Society collection comprises some 100,000
ancient Greek coins from many regions and mints, from Spain and North Africa to
Afghanistan. To varying degrees, these coins are available for study by
academics and researchers.

There is also an active collector market for Greek coins. Several auction
houses in Europe and the United States specialize in ancient coins (including
Greek) and there is also a large on-line market for such coins.

Hoards of Greek coins are still being found in Europe, Middle East, and North
Africa, and some of the coins in these hoards find their way onto the market.
Coins are the only art form from the Ancient world which is common enough and
durable enough to be within the reach of ordinary collectors.