One big isle made up of many different cities and many different settlements sounds normal to us now, but back then it was a recipe for a strained relationship. That is certainly the backdrop for the next coin we will be covering as part of our blog series following along with Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest Ancient Coins. Author Harlan J. Berk goes into the cycle of the complex relationship among the settlements and the coin that came from one of them after it was over. As a reminder, Berk leads us through this particular series from the earliest coinage and onward. Furthermore, their rankings are out of order among the top 100.
#5 – Syracuse Demareteion Decadrachm (Sicily – Circa 470 BC)
On the isle of Sicily, Syracuse was the largest city and the wealthiest Greek settlement. For that reason, their relationship with other Greek settlements on the isle was strained, in addition to their relationship with the Punic city of Carthage. It was in North Africa, and it controlled a large portion of the western half of the isle of Sicily. The cities in Sicily would often operate independently from each other, always creating tension and eventual bitterness even during times of peace.
However, a threat from Carthage to take control of the entire island, including Syracuse, would not only create war, but also unite the entire isle against them despite the differences between the cities. The Greeks became one and would defeat the North African city, returning to their settlements and reigniting their combative nature for independence again and again.
When the Greeks from Sicily defeated Carthage in 480 BC, the wife of Gelon (who led Syracuse) pleaded with her husband to gift considerate terms to Carthaginians. At the time, many of them had been captured and the Punic city was facing the possibility of losing their long-established portion of the western part of Sicily. The Carthaginians were grateful to her, sending her a golden crown. It has long since been thought that she sold the crown for the silver content, using it to strike the decadrachms. However, the story does not line up for some, as it is thought by historians that the crown was sent to Demarete around 480 BC and the decadrachms were struck around 470. Battling that narrative told is the emblem on the coin as numismatists point out that it does not reference Demarete in any way but instead references the chariot victories of Gelon’s brother and successor, Hieron. He participated in the Pythian Games at Delphi in 470 BC and at the Olympics in 468.
No matter the reason for the striking of the coins, it seems that the coin’s composition is also a reflection of the transition from early Archaic Green art to the natural, classic style. A four-horse chariot, or quadriga, is seen on the obverse of the coin while the goddess Nike flies above. A lion, which is possibly the symbol of the Demarete family, is seen in the exergue, or the space below the line used to separate design. The reverse depicts the head of Arethusa surrounded by four dolphins, referencing the island of Ortygia which is where the city of Syracuse was first founded.