A Study of the Syracusan Coins From the Ottilia Buerger Collectio

8/16/2019 A Study of the Syracusan Coins From the Ottilia Buerger Collectio

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Lawrence University

Lux

L$$ U$ H P$

5-26-1993

A Study of the Syracusan Coins from the OiliaBuerger Collection

Kelly Swe Lawrence University

F++ ' # ##+ * : '


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This honors thesis submitted by

Kelly Swett has been read and

found acceptable for Honors in

Independent Study

Carol L Lawton

Daniel J Tayler

Michael T Orr


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A Study

of the

S

yr c

usan Coins

from the O tt i li a

uerger

o l l ect ion

Kelly

Swett

May

26

1993

IRTLUHC


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cknowledgements

Miss t t i l i a

Buerger made

t h i s research

of

Syracusan

coins

possib le due to

the

generous loan of

her col l ec t ion

to

Lawrence

Universi

ty

Ms.

Carol Lawton

advised

t h i s

s tudy without

whose

ass i s t ance th i s pro j ec t

would

never have

been

undertaken o r

completed .


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In t roduc t ion

History

of

Schola rsh ip

Hi s t o ry

Iconography

Sty le

Conclus ion

Endnotes

Catalogue

Glossary

Maps

ib l iography

Pla t e s

Table o ontents

2

7

12

18

26

27

32

56

58

60

63


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n troduct ion

The

s tudy of

Syracusan numismatics i s

i l l u s t r a t e d

th rough

the

examinat ion o f t h i r t e e n co i n s from the S i c i l i a n c i t y in

the

Ot t ili Buerger C o l l e c t i o n o f Lawrence

Unive rs i ty .

The

coins

range in date from

the f i f t h to

the

t h i rd cen tury

B.C.

Although

t h e i r major

func t ion

was economic t he Syracusan co i n s have

c o n t i n u a l l y been the objec t s

of

ad mi ra t io n

and s tudy

even

from

ncient

t imes

In

the p as t

s t u d i e s of Syracusan co ins

have

u s u a l l y

been

l imi t ed to one t op ic and in

genera l . s ty l e

has

r a r e ly been

discussed.

This

ana lys i s of

the

Syracusan

co ins

in

co n t r a s t d i s cu s s e s and i l l u s t r a t e s the impor tance of four

i n t e r r e l a t e d

areas : the hi s to ry

of

scho larsh ip on

Syracusan co ins

the re l a t i o n s h ip of the

coins

to h i s t o r i c a l

developments

the

iconography o f

the

co ins

and changes

in

t h e i r s t y l e over t ime.

As a who l e it w i l l prov ide an

i n t eg r a t ed approach

fo r a more

complete

understanding

of

the

Syracusan coins


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i s tory

o f

cholarship

n examination of the l i t e r a tu re

on

Syracusan coins provides

an

unders tanding

of

the di rec t ion

of research devoted to these

coins

The study of Syracusan numismatics ser iously commenced in

the l a s t quar t e r of the nineteenth century .

This research

has

taken many d i rec t i ons : h is to r ica l , s t y l i s t i c , i conographi

c,

economic,

and

numismat ic .

Many

people,

both

co l l e c t o r s and

numismat i s t s ,

have spec i f i c a l l y

s tudied the

Syracusan

coins

because of t he i r beauty and excel lent

workmanship,

though only the

scholars

whose

works were

major

contr ibut ions

to

the f i e ld

wil l

be

examined

here .

In 1874, Barclay

Head

published

a

comprehensive a r t i c l e on the

chronology

of

the coins

of Syracuse.1 He

based

his

chronology on

s im i l a r i t i e s in the co ins

iconography, on

assoc ia t ion

of the

coins with h i s t o r i ca l events c i ted from

ancient

sources ,

and

on

changes

in

the i r

weight and

epigraphy.

Prior to h i s research , the

study of ancient

coins was

l imi ted to

f i r s t -hand

observat ion

o f

coins

o r

to

information conveyed

in l i ne drawings.

He became

the

f i r s t

to use photographs in

add i t ion

to personal

observat ion

of

co ins

. 2 In

1876, Head s c la s s i f i ca t ion

was summarized

in

the

format used by the Bri t i sh Museum

in

i t s cata logue of coins , the

Syracusan

s ec t ion o f which was wr i t t en by Head.3 In t h i s

c lass i f i ca t ion , Head divided the coins

in to

s ix general s t y l i s t i c

per iods : Archaic ( l a te s ix th century to 479

B.C. ,

Transi t ional

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(479

to

412

B.C.) ,

Fines t

(412 to

345

B.C.) , ear ly Decline (345 to

275 B.C.) ,

l a t e Decline

(275 to 212 B.C . ) , and Roman

Dominion

f r om

212 B.C

. ) . 4

These categor ies were then subdivided in to the

re igns of spec i f ic ru le r s .

Head l i s t e d the

coins , but did

not

comment on any

spec i f i c

i s sue

s .

In 1887, Head inc luded the

Syracusan coins in

the f i r s t

ed i t ion

of

his invaluable t ex t of

numism tic rese

r

ch

j s t o r i a

u

oru i

ch

encomp ssed

the

h i s to ry of coins from

a l l

of the

Greek wor

ld in

a

chronological

sequence according to

geographical

regions.5

He

presented general

de

sc r ip t ions , but littl

e

s ty l i s t i c analysis

.

In

1892, A. J . Evans completed a

book

focusing on many issues

co

ncerning the f i f t h century dekadrachms.6

He

c r i t i c a l l y analyzed

t he i r s t y l e s ,

espec ia l ly in

a n e

f f

or t

to d i f f e ren t i a t e

spec i f ic

a r t i s t s s ty l e s and to a t t r i b u t e uns ig ned coins to ce r t a i n

a r t

i s t

s .

He

based h i s chronolog

i

cal sequence on

thes e

s t y l i s t i c

nuances

and

changes

in the

l e t t e r i ng and

spe

l l i ng

of

the

legends

of the coins .

In 1903, G F. Hil l pre sented

a

broader s tudy

o f

the coins of

Sic i ly , with Syracuse

as its focus due to

i t s

import ance for

the

i s l and and the importance of i t s

coinage

for Si c i l i an

coinage

. ?

In add i t ion

to his s l i gh t change o f

Head s

date

from

306 B. C. to

30

4 B. C .

for Agathokles assumption of the t i t l e of kin

g ,

Hil l

compi led

previously

s ta ted

knowledge of the

coins

of Sic i

l y,

using

Head,

Evans

and others as resources , resu l t ing

in

a

resource for

a

gene r a l study of S i c i l i an coins .

As a

r e su l t

o f

Hil l s fur ther

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research on the

Si c i l i an

coins , he modified the

Si c i l i an

sec t ion

of Head's

second edi t ion

of His to r ia

Nurnorum

in

1911.8 Among

the

changes

he

made

were

to

begin

the

major

per iod

of signed

coinage

a t 413

B.C

.

ra the r

than 405 B.C. ,

as

Head

had s ta ted ,

and

to s t a r t

the

coinage of Hieron I I

a t

274 B.C .

not

275 B. C . , as Head

had

done. In addi t ion , Hil l

dated

the e lec trum

coinage

to the re ign

of Dion

(357-354 B. C.

ra the r

than to the t ime

of Timoleon (345-

33817 B.C.) .

The next

major

s tudy

in

Syracusan numismat ics

was

E.

Boehr inger s Die Milnzen yon

Syrakus

an e x t e n s ive s t y l i s t i c

examinat ion of the Syracusan coins from

530 to 435 B.c.9 His

s t y l i s t i c ca tegor i es di f fe red from those

of Head,

by divid ing

Head's

Archaic and

Trans i t iona l s ty l e s in to

s ix

groups, which

correspond genera l ly to

the s tandard periods in

Greek

a r t : ear ly

Archaic (530-510 B.C.) , r ipe Archaic (510-485 B. C. ) , l a t e Archaic

with

dec l ine (485-479

B.C.) ,

Severe

(474-450

B . C.) , ea r ly

C la s s i c a l (450-439 B.C.) , and r i pe C la s s i c a l (439-435 B.

C.)

s t y l e s .

These groups

were

then fu r the r separa ted in to

ser i es ,

based

on fac tors

such

as s pe l l i ng

and

depth

of

the stamped

impr in t . His work has become a s t andard

for

compara t ive

examination and

ident i f i ca t ion of Syracusan

coins of

th i s period.

In 1930, Alber t Gal la t in es tab l i shed a

d ie

se r i e s for the

dekadrachms of the

l a t e

f i f t h century

by

Euainetos. lO This

se r ie s

i s

based

on comparative i den t i f i ca t i on

of both the obverse

and

reve rse d ies to

es t ab l i sh

the connect ions between them. His

4


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sequence

i s st ll

used

as a

re fe rence work

for

iden t i f i ca t ion

of

these co ins .

Charles

Seltman,

i n h i s

handbook on

Greek coins , proposed an

e a r l i e r a l t e rna t i ve chronology from previous

scho la r s

for the

elect rum coinage.11 He dated the coins to the re ign of Dionysius,

on the

bas i s

of

the

inf luence of Thebes with

i t s i n t r o

du ct ion of

electrum and also s imi la r iconography to t ha t of other coins of

the period.

In

addi t ion h is dates for other

Syracusan

coins

not

included in the Buerger Col lec t ion

were also

ea r l i e r

than

these in

both

previous

and

l a t e r works on

the

subject

.

He

a t t r i bu t e d

these

changes to recent numismatic developments

but does not

descr ibe

them.12

In

1941, J . H.

Jongkees

wrote a

de ta i led

desc r ip t ion of the

dekadrachms of the

a r t i s t

Kirnon

in

cata logue

form.13 He presented

a

c r i t

i c a l account of the r e l a t ive chronology , based on d ie

i n t e r l i nk i ng

. In

add i t ion

Jongkees

es tab l i shed

an

absolu te

chronology

for

the Kimonian coins which

he

r e l a t e d to the

h i s t o r i ca l

event of

the Syracusan and Athenian

ba t t l e of 413 B.C.

He discussed Kimon, Euainetos and the other engravers and t he i r

s t y l i s t i c s i m i l a r i t i e s

and d i f fe rences

fo r the purpose of

i n t e r re l a t i ng and dat ing the coins

.

This book d i f fe red from

tha t

by

G a l l a t i n

because

he

not

only

developed

the chronological

sequence based on dies

but

also

discussed

s ty le .

G.

K Jenkins presented

a

l a t e r chronology for the

electrurn

coinage than Head, Hi l l or Seltrnan . 14 Jenkins, who assigned the

elect rum

coins

to the re ign of Agathokles

3

17-289

B.C. ,

ut i l i zed

5


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his hoard s tudies which estab l i shed comparative evidence for

th i s

dat ing of the

co

i

ns.

Within the context o f genera l

b

ooks about Greek ar t Gisela

Richter devoted

a

whole

chapter

to co ins

are

from

Syracuse l5

She demonst ra ted

of which

the

major i ty

t ha t the coins were

s t y l i s t

i ca l ly

simi

l a r

to sculpture in

other

media and exemplify

the s t y l i s t i c periods which

charac ter ize

Greek

a r t

As

t h i s

br i e f summary of the l i t e r a t u r e on Syracusan coins

demonst ra tes

research

has ranged from

works

on spec i f i c

coins or

a r t i s t s

to

more

genera l overviews of the

Syracusan

coins .

Although

a general consensus

on the chrono

logy

of

Syracusan

coins

has been

es t ab l i shed research

cont inues to be done to provide

more evidence for fur ther c la r i f i ca t ion of the dates for example

for the l a te f i

f th

century dekadrachms.

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i s tory

The Syracusan coins

cor re l a t e

with the

c i ty

s h i s to ry by

i l l u s t r a t i n g important themes or

commemorating events

chosen for

rep resen ta t ion by t he government . In the past the coins were

di r

ec t ly

assoc i ated with

h i s t o r i ca l

events ,

al though

now,

due

to

grea te r

access

i b

i ty

of coins

through casts and

photographs,

and,

in

genera l the

grea te r

volume of coins now known which

can

be

analyzed, some

of

these di rec t

cor re l a t ions

have been reexamined.

The ques t ionab le connect ions w i l l be discussed and

da tes

wil l

t en ta t ive ly be given .

Syracuse did not s t a r t minting

un t i l

more

than

two hundred

years a f t e r i t s founding as a Corin th ian colony in

734/3

B. c . 16

I t was one

of the

l a t e s t

c i t i e s

in Sic i ly to

begin i t s coinage,

which would then become very in f luent ia l throughout Sic i ly and the

Greek world.

In the l a t e s ix th and ear ly f i f t h

centur ies

Syracuse was ruled

by

an a r i s toc racy , the Gamoroi,

unt i l the i r

defeat

by

the

ty rant

Gelon

in 485 B.C.

They u t i l i zed

the quadriga as a

c iv ic

symbol

al luding to t he i r eques t r ian in te res t s . During the re ign of Gelon

(485-478 B.C.) , t h e composit ion of the

quadriga

was modified

to

inc lude Nike crowning the

horses

. This add i t ion probably a

reference to

Gelon s

Olympic vic tory

in

488 B.C., i s i l l u s t r a

ted

on

the

ea r l i e s t coin in

the

Buerger Col l ec t ion (coin no . 1 ) .1 7

After the

s t

r

ong

mil i t a ry re igns

of

Gel on and his brother

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Hieron I , the weak ru le

by

t he i r successor/b r other Thra sybulus,

gave way to a

democrat ic government which

was i n i t i a t ed by a

Syracusan

group ass i s ted by

other

Si c i l i an

forces

from Akragas,

Himera, Gela, and Sel inus .

18

Smaller denominations, exemplif ied

by the l i t r a with the female head and sepia no . 2

) ,

re f l ec t

one

category of the monet ary

system

and economy tha t continued

during

t h i s new democrat ic

per iod

.

The l i t r a

represented

the

economic

realm of the

Sice l s

tha t

of the Greeks,

the indigenous people of

Sic i ly

ra the r than

whose in f luence was seen in the l a rge r

denominat

i

ons.

The

l i t r a

was

probably

used for t rade

ra the r

than

for pay ing

mercenar

i es or for prizes as the l a rge r denominations

of t e t r

adrachm or dekadrachm had

been.19

In the

middle

of the f i f t h century numerous t r ea t i e s were made

tha t

divided Sic i ly

in to two fac t ions one

headed by

Syracuse and

the other by Athens. After t h i s many ba t t le s

were

fought tha t

ra re ly

a l t e red

the

s t a t us

quo, un t i l 416 B. C.

when

the western

Si c i l i an

c i t i e s of

Segesta

and

Sel inus resumed t he i r conf l i c t .

Syracuse came to the

a id

of Sel inus while Athens sent t roops

for

Segesta.

y 414

B.C., Athens focused on Syracuse,

supported

by

numerous S i c i l i a n

c i t i e s

in add i t ion

to Cor in th and Spa

r t a .

Final ly in 413 B.C . , Syracuse crushed

Athens,

which had sent a

massive

armada to a t t a c k the

S i c i l i a n

c i ty .

The Syracusan

vic tory a major

defeat

for Athens, i s perhaps al luded to on la rge

commemorative

co ins

the

dekadrachms nos . 4 , 5 , 6 . The

connect i

on

between

these

coins

and

the vic tory was p r oposed

8


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because of the

unusual ly large s ize

of the

coins, although now,

due

to more

research,

the

two coins wi th

the

mil i ta ry equipment in

the i r

exergues are thought

to

be l a te r .

In

the

aftermath

of

th i s

great

vic tory

Syracuse cont inued i t s

democrat ic

government in

a

s l i gh t l y a l t e r ed form, ye t

was

a f f l i c t e d

with many i n t e rna l

con f l i c t s as

par t i cu l a r l y the young

Dionysius,

vied

for

power.

i nd iv idu

a l s

Meanwhile,

in

410 B.C.,

Sel inus resumed

i t s

conf l i c t with

Segesta,

which th i s

t ime

asked

Carthage

for

ass is tance . car thage quickly defea ted

Sel inus

and began

i t s

campaign

to

conquer

more

of

Sic i ly

inc lud ing Akragas,

Gela,

and

Kamarina

.

The

ambit ious mil i ta ry

po l i t i c ian Dionysius helped to

s e t t l e

a peace t rea ty with the

Carthag in ians to avoid

the invasion of

Syracuse in 406 B. C . an

event which was possib ly commemorated

by another se r i e s

of

dekadrachms

nos . 5 , 6 .

This

agreement

placed Dionysius

in a

s t r a t eg i c

pos i t ion

to

se ize

contro l

of

Syracuse

and

re turn

t

to

tyranny

.

Dionysius

led a

rev ival

in both

the

mil i ta ry and cul ture

of

Syracuse, which made t one

of

the grea tes t c i t i e s in the Greek

world.

In

addi t ion to his

conquests throughout

Sic i ly

and in to

southern I t a l y he

bat t l ed

Carthage

in four wars over

contro l of

Sic i ly

.

This continuous

s t ruggle

i s

probably

a r t i s t i c a l l y

re fer red to in a depict ion

of Herakles wres t l ing

th e Nemean

Lion

on a hundred

l i t r a e

dat ing

400

370 B. C . no . 7 .20

This

representa t ion

would al low Dionysius to compare himself

to

the

hero Herakles, while

Carthage

i s

represented by the l ion.

9


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16/82

re ign whi le concent ra t ing on

h is

own persona l enr ichment . He

exempl i f ied the Hel len i s t i c type of monarchical propaganda through

the

use

of the titl of king and p o r t r a i t u re of

hi s family on hi s

co ins no.

13

.

P o r t r a i t u r e was

used

as

a method of publ i c i z ing

the

r u l e r s

and t h e i r

fami l ia l

connect ions.

Syracusan

h i s t o ry i s ch a r ac t e r i z ed by

s t ro n g

t y r a n t s l i k e

Gelon,

Dionys ius , Agathokles and Hieron I I . a long wi th a

b r i e f

in te r lude

of

democracy. Ref lec t ions of

t h i s

h i s to r y espec ia l ly

the

mi l i t a r y

conquests can be seen on

the

obverses and reverses

of the co i n s . While the e a r l i e r co ins a re

concerned pr imar i ly

w i th r e f e r en ces

to

v i c to r y

in gene ra l t e rms the change of

a t t i t u d e o f the r u l e r s can be seen in the l a t e r co ins of

Agathokles and

Hieron I I

who r e f e r

to

or

represen t

themselves on

the co ins .

Fur the r the t r a n s i t i o n of Syracusan co i n s from

i l l u s t r a t i n g c iv i c and r e l i g io u s concerns to personal r e f e ren ces

marks

the

t r a n s i t i o n of

Syracuse

from a Greek

c i t y - s t a t e to

a

Hel l en i s t i c kingdom.


17/82

Icon

o

graphy

The iconography of the Syracusan coinage in the

Ot t i l i a

Buerger

Collec t ion has three s igni f icant themes:

prominent

patron

dei t i es

of

Syracuse

symbols

or a t t r i bu t e s of

gods

s i gn i f i c an t to

Syracuse, and references

to

vic tor ie s .

The heads, usual ly

on

the obverse, represent the pat ron gods

and

goddesses o f

ancient Syracuse

:

Artemis, Apol lo, At hen

a

Persephone,

and Arethusa;

one

of the Hel len i s t i c coins depic ts a

mortal , Queen

Phi l i s t i s .

Artemis had

played

an

important

ro le

for

Syracuse from

i t s

founding by the Corinthians in 734/3 B.C . when

Ortygia the

i s l and

where Syracuse was f i r s t

es tab l i shed

was

consecrated

to her

(Diodorus

Siculus

v . 3 .

}

. 23

She remained

a

revered f igure as can be

seen

in her e p i t h e t

~ . L I E . \

P f \ savior

or de l ive re r

on

an

elect rum coin

of the

l a t e four th and

ear ly

th i rd centur ies

(no

.

10

} .

Artemis

twin,

Apollo, was also highly

revered by Syracuse, which

erec ted

a temple to

Apollo

in the

ear ly

s i x th

century

and mainta ined t th rough the centur ie

s . He

cont inued in importance,

as

exemplified in his appearance on coins

of the four th and th i rd centur ies (nos.

8

10

11 }.

Athena, who

also had a

temple

dedicated

to her

in the ear ly f i f t h century on

Ortygia , i s represented

on

a coin, the type of which was borrowed

from

the coin of

Alexander

the

Great

(no

.

12 }.

Persephone,

spec i f ica l ly ident i f i ed

as

Kore

in the legend of a

t e t radr

achm of

12


18/82

Agathokles

no.

9

) ,

was widely worshipped with her mother

Demeter

in Syracuse and in a l l of

Sic i ly ,

as a t t e s t e d by the i r many

sanc tua r i e s and vot ives .

Persephone, as the goddess

assoc ia ted

with crops and the

changing

of seasons, was important to Sic i ly ,

which had an economy tha t was pr imar i ly

agr icu l tura l

.

Arethusa

has a legendary connect ion with

Syracuse Pausanias

V.7.2)

A nymph of El i s in the Peloponnese, she was pursued

by

the r i ve r

god, Alpheios .

To

escape him, she

withdrew

under the

sea, f ina l ly emerging a t Syracuse . She was

t r ansp lan ted

as the

f resh

water

nymph

on

the

i s l and

of

Ortygia

.

She

i s

s pe c i f i c a l l y

i den t i f i ed by the

legend on

the

Kimonian

t e t radrachm with the

facing head no . 4 ) . Other heads on the Syracusan coins are a lso

now

genera l ly i de n t i f i e d

as

representa t ions

of

Arethusa

nos. 1 ,

2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 ) ,24

ye t

none i s conc lus ive ly i den t i f i ed .

The

dolphins

enc i rc l i ng

most of

the

heads

perhaps

r e f e r

to her

s p r ing s

locat ion

on

the

i s land,

which i s

surrounded

by

the

sea

.

Label led representa t ions of

Arethusa

in other media are l a t e r

than

the

coins and

therefore

do

not he lp in the

iden t i f i ca t ion of

the

heads

on

the coins .2 5

Other scholars have var ious ly i de n t i f i e d

the heads

as Nike,

Artemis,

Persephone,

and Cyane, a nymph from a spr ing

in

the

ou t sk i r t s

of

Syracuse Diodorus

Siculus

v .

4.1)

. Any

of

these

ident i f i ca t ions are poss ib le due

to

the

lack

of

evidence, al though

the three coins from Syracuse tha t are

labe l led

Arethusa

no

. 4 ) ,

Kore Persephone) no

. 9 ) ,

and Sote i ra

Artemis)

no

.

10

) do

provide bases for comparison .

On

these

coins , Arethusa i s

13


19/82

depic ted with

a

headband and dolphins flowing through her

ha i r

Persephone has an ear of

corn

inter twined

in her ha i r

and Artemis

has

a

quiver and

bow

beside her

head.

Four coins

do

have

heads

with some sor t

of hairband and dolphins

enci rc l ing the head nos.

1 , 3 , 5 , 6 . Two

coins which

do

not

have the dolphins do hav

e

s imi la r composi t ions to coins with

the

dolphins , and t he re f

ore

cou ld a l s o be i d e n t i f i e d as

Are thusa

nos.

2 , 7

I The

i d e n t i f i c a t i o n

of

t he head as Nike

i s p o s s i b l e

bu t

unsubs tan t ia ted because she i s usual ly

depic ted

on coins in a

fu l l

body

view with wings or in assoc ia t ion with

a

char io t .

2 6

While these other coins

do

not

have

a bow represented , Artemis i s

also

an

opt ion

because

she was highly

revered

in Syracuse and

i s

a l so represented with her ha i r pu l l ed back

,

as seen

on

the

elect rum coin

no

.

10

_

27

Due

to

the

comparat ive

evidence of the

l a b e l l e d

c o ins Arethusa seems to be the most

l i k e ly

i d e n t i f i c a t i o n because

her probable

i de n t i f y ing fea tu res of

hai rband

and

dolphins are present

while

the a t t r i bu te s of Nike,

wings,

and

Artem

i

s the

bow,

are not .

The female head

on

the

dekadrachm a t t r i bu t ed

to

Euainetos

no

.

6 1, sometimes ident i f i ed

as

Arethusa,

has

also been ident i f i ed

as

e i the r

Persephone2

8 or Cyane. 2 9

These two i d e n t i f i c a t i ons are

based on her

ha i rp iece

composed of e i t he r water reeds or

grain .

I f the plant i s to be

ident i f i ed

as grain, then the

arrangement

of

the

ha i r

resembles

tha t of

the l a t e r

coin

with Persephone

and

the

ear of corn in her ha i r no

. 9

I The grea t importanc

e

of

14


20/82

Persephone to Syracuse has a l ready been discussed . The other

i n t e rp r e t a t i on of

the

p lan t as a water

reed

supports the

i den t i f i ca t i on of the

heads

as e i t he r Arethusa or Cyane.30 The

reeds

re fe r to

the

water

environment

of both the nymphs.

There

i s

l e ss evidence for Cyane,

due

to the fac t t ha t there are no known

heads

on coins or o ther media

spec i f i ca l l y iden t i f i ed as

t h i s

nymph . Her cu l t was important

because

of

i t s

assoc ia t ion

with

Persephone the two

sometimes combined

as Persephone-Cyane. 3 1

Although

there i s

more comparat ive

evidence

to

i den t i fy

th i s

head

as

Persephone or Cyane than

for

the other non- label led coins, th i s

head does have the

dolphins

enci rc l ing

t

and

i s s imi la r to

the

previous heads usual ly

thought to

be

Arethusa;

t he re fo re th i s

head should a l so be viewed in the same

way,

as most probably

represent ing

the Syracusan nymph, Arethusa.

The

next iconographic category i s tha t of symbols or

a t t r ibu tes

of the

gods . wo

examples of

th i s

group are

the

gold

s ta te r with

the fea thered l igh tn ing bo l t of Zeus no . 12 and the

elect rum

coin wi th

the

t r ipod

an a t t r i bu t e of Apollo

no.

11

. In

reference to the thunderbol t , zeus was revered

in Syracuse, where

a temple was dedica ted to him.

More important ly , though, th i s

coin was

a

type copied

from a coin

of

Alexander

the Great in

an

at tempt to

assoc i a t e

Agathokles with Alexander , two

s t rong

mil i ta ry leaders . In the

example

of the t r ipod a representa t ion

of Apollo

occurs

on the obverse of the coin giv ing a double

reference to

Apollo.

15


21/82

The th i rd

iconographic

theme

re fe rs to

vic tor ie s

.

The ea r l i e s t

supposed

r ep resen ta t ion

of a Syracusan

v ic to ry

, in t h i s

case

an

Olympic vic tory , i s the quadriga with Nike crowning horses on the

te tradrachm

of Gelon

no . 1 .32 Although the quadr iga apparent ly

began

as

a depic t ion of the a r i s toc r a c y s enjoyment of horses

and

poss ib ly

of

t he i r eques t r i an

v i c t o r i e s , the

quadr iga

with the

addi t ion of the Nike soon became accepted as

the

generic symbol of

the mil i t a ry v ic to ry .

Whatever the year o r ba t t l e , the quadriga

was

su i t a b l e and

appropr ia te

for

the

v ic to r ious

occasion nos.

3,

5 . 6. .

One example of a proposed reference

to

a

spec i f ic

vic tory

regards the

dekadrachms

of the

l a t e f i f t h

century

nos . 5 ,

6). The

reverses depic t

mil i t a ry

equipment

in

the exergue and the

word •p r i zes •

on

some

coins

no

. 5 along with

the t r ad i t i ona l

iconography of the quadriga. The exac t i n t e rp r e t a t i on of t h i s

word

and

i t s

re la t ion

to the mil i t a ry equipment

i s

st ll

unknown

.

Numismatists

long

assoc ia ted

the pr izes with the

booty

awarded a t

the Ass ina r i an games

commemorating

the

Syracusan v ic to ry

over

Athenians

in 413 B.c.33

Later dates

for

these

coins

are now given

which span a

range

of t ime down to the

ear ly

four th century . n

a l t e rna t ive

date

of 405 B.C.

or

l a t e r could al low

these

coins

to

commemorate

the

vic tory of Dionysius.34

Another representa t ion of vic tory on a tetradrachm of the

l a t e

four th

cen tu ry

i l l u s t r a t e s

Nike

crowning a

t rophy

which

i s

composed of

mil i t a ry equipment

no. 9

) .

This depic t ion also seems

more

d i r e c t ly re l a t ed to mil i t a ry v ic to r i e s , spec i f i ca l ly those by

6


22/82

Agathokles in Sic i ly and a t

Carthage,

because the booty

i s

ac tua l ly

represented as t may be in the dekadrachms. Some

scho l a r s a l so i n t e r p r e t o t he r

composi t ions as

s i gn i fy i ng

par t i cu la r accomplishments, the s t ruggle between

Herakles

and the

Nemean Lion,

for

example, r e p re s e n t ing t he Syracusan and

Carthaginian forces symbolic

of

Greek over barbar ian no.

7 . 35

The iconography of each of the coins symbolizes the important

aspects which Syracuse

or

i t s ru l e r wanted

to promote

a t tha t

time,

whether t

be in re la t ion to a vic tory or

to

a god . The

most

common

combination

of the

head

and

the quadriga

couples

both

of

these

elements in to one

coin,

which

could

re fe r

to many

o s ions

Syracusan

iconography

i s s imi la r to tha t on other

Greek

coinage

with i t s

reference to loca l ly important

gods, while

spec i f i ca l l y the v ic to r ious

reference of

the quadriga, begun a t

Syracuse, i s f a i r l y

i sola ted

to

Sic i ly

.

The wide

inf luence in the

Greek

world

of

two

of

the

representa t ions

of

Arethusa

i s

unusual

due to the fac t tha t she i s a nymph s t r i c t l y l oc a l i z e d to

Syracuse .

17


23/82

Sty l e

The Syracusan coins are

unusual

in the

fac t

tha t they r e f l ec t

the changing s ty l e s of the t imes , responding to even s l i g h t

nuances of

change

in

s t y l e

and close ly pa ra l l e l Greek

a r t in

other media not

only

in

Magna Graecia but also on the mainland

They follow the s t y l i s t i c changes through the Archaic, Class ica l

and Hel len is t ic periods , ra ther

than

remaining with a se t s ty le .

The ea r l i e s t

coin

in the col lec t ion a tetradrachm from 485-479

B.C.

no.

,

exempli f ies

the

Archai c s ty le prevalent between 660

B.C and

480

B c .36 The Archaic

s ty

l e

on t h i s coin i s

charac te r i zed by the pro f i l e view of the

composi t ion

and

i t s

l inea r de t a i l n

the obverse, another important component

of

the

Archaic s t y l e i s i l l u s t r a t ed in

the

bearded char io teer and horses

of the quadr iga , whose bodies

are

divided in to

disc re te pa r t s by

emphasizing the pa t te rns and forms

of

the

bodies.

The reverse

head has the d i s t i n c t almond eye, segmented

ha i r and

smi le

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c

of the

Archaic

s ty l e .

In

these re spec t s t

resembles a t yp ica l l a t e

Archaic

s ta tue such as the

kore

from

Chios on

the

Athenian Acropolis 37

The l i t r a

of

474-450 B.C no. 2 i l l u s t r a t e s

the

ea r ly

Class i ca l o r Severe s t y l e prevalent between

480 and

450

B.c

38

The

Severe

s t y l e

of the

head

of the

coin i s more s impl i f ied and

na tu ra l i s t i c than tha t

of the

Archaic s ty le

ye t

t st ll re ta ins

8


24/82

some

Archaic charac te r i s t i c s

spec i f ica l ly

the almond

eye and

the

del ineated hai r . The head on

the obverse of the

coin shows

a

more

sculptured

face, a f leshy

qual i ty .

The fu l l closed

l i p s

are l e ss

def ined between the

l i p s and

the surrounding

fac ia l area

than

in

the Archaic

s ty le

.

The eye st ll has the Archaic oval shape, but

t

curves

near

the edges in to the

surface

of the face,

while

the

eye i s surrounded

by a

cha rac t e r i s t i c

r idge . The ha i r i s st ll

wig-l ike , d i s t i nc t l y

divided in to a l inea r pat tern . The heavy jaw

i s

smoo

th ly sculpted

in to the

neck. These charac te r i s t i cs

of the

head compare

c lose ly

with

those

of the enthroned goddess of

Tarentum,39 a Severe

s t y l e

scu lp tu re probably

made by

an

a r t i s t

from Southern I t a l y . The sepia on the reverse i s na t u ra l i s t i c in

the modell ing of the body and smooth,

f ree -f lowing

form of the

l egs .

The

smooth

t r a n s i t ions

between the appendages give the

creature s

skin

ont inuous

surface.

Overa l l the compositions

are s impl i f i ed

with

smooth,

subt le

t r a ns i t i ons

between di f fe ren t

par t s

of

the forms,

unifying

them in to

a

whole

.

From the

next period,

a tetradrachm

dat ing

to 450-439 B.C . no .

3

exemplif ies the high Class ica l s t y l e which i s typ ica l

of

the

per iod between 450 B.C .

and

400 B.

c 4 0

This Class i ca l

s t y l e

r e f l ec t s

a

l e s s l inea r more na t u ra l i s t i c and

idea l i zed

approach

to the rep resen ta t ion

of

f igures . Modelling and

a

concern with

l i gh t

and shade

c rea te a

sculp tura l qual i ty

even on the

genera l ly

f l a t coins .

The

obverse of

the te t radrachm represents

a quadriga

in which the

horses

have na tu ra l i s t i c

musculature.

The smooth

19


25/82

forms

o f the

cha r i o t ee r s

body

are

revea led through his c l inging

drapery

.

The head on

the reverse

has

an

eye seen

in a

pro f i l e

view,

r a the r than the

typ ica l

Archaic almond shape depic ted

in

pro f i l e

as though from a

f ronta l

view .

The brow

i s chise led in a

r idge above the eye. The hai r ,

al though e

labora te ly

arranged in

an unusual ha i r s ty le , has

na t u ra l i s t i c

s t rands t ha t are res t ra ined

in t he i r posi t ion

.

The fac ia l express ion i s calm and composed.

These

cha rac t e r i s t i c s

of the

head

on the coin

are

s t y l i s t i c a l l y

s imi la r

to

those of the

heads from the Parthenon

f r ieze .41

Four coins

in the

co l l ec t ion nos

. 4 ,

5,

6 , 7 exemplify

the

next phase of the

Class ica l per iod,

of ten ca l l ed the

Rich s ty le ,

which extends from the l a t e f i f t h century to the ea r ly four th

cen tu ry . 42 The coins , whose depic t ions are

energized,

f ine ly

worked,

and

e legan t ,

are

s imi la r

s t y l i s t i c a l l y to

works of the

vase pa in te rs

of

th i s period, spec i f ica l ly

the Athenians

l ike

the

Meidias pa in te r .43

The

faces

on

the obverses are

idea l ized

and

calm, with

a f leshy,

so f t model l ing. The

heads

have

a high

forehead, s t r a i gh t nose, and

dis tan t

gaze

in

the de ta i l e d eye.

Minute

de t a i l s

f igu re

prominent ly

in every aspec t

of the

composit ion,

from

the

curls of

the

ha i r to the de l ica te earr ing .

The ha i r i s in a

complex arrangement with

i n t r i ca t e

and

elaborate

cur l s

.

No

longer

in the

s teady

t r o t of

the

Archaic

per iod, the

quadrigas

on the reverses are

in

an energized, rac ing form with

the

horses rea r ing on

t he i r hind

l egs .

The

char io tee r s lean

forward, arms s t re tched toward the

horses

.

Perspect ive , also

2


26/82

developed

in t h i s per iod ,

can be seen

in the

angles of the

quadr iga

s wheels .

Through the u t i l i za t ion of the t h ree -quar t e r

view, depth

i s

sugges ted , even

in

the

smal l , r e l a t ive ly

f l a t

r e l i e f of the coins . All four horses can be seen now,

not

jus t

the

one depic ted

as

c loses t to

the

viewer, as in the

tetradrachm

of the Archaic

s ty l e

(no. 1

) .

The wres t l ing

match between

Herakles

and the

Nemean Lion

of the one

hundred l i t r a e (

no.

7 )

emphasizes

the scu l p t u ra l representa t ion

through the

increased

physica l he igh t

o f

v s

of in tense s t r e ng th

the r e l i e f of the

I t

was in

the per iod of the Rich s t y l e

t ha t

Syracusan

coins

were

f i r s t

signed by the a r t i s t s . The a t t r i bu t ion of the

unsigned

coins to the famous a r t i s t s - Kimon, Euainetos,

and o ther s

- i s

problematic

.

Although t he i r s ty l e s

are

qu i t e s imi la r , spec i f ic

t r a i t s dis t inguish them from one

another .

Both

Kimon ,

poss ib ly

from

Athens,

and

Euainetos,

whose

or ig ins

a re unknown, worked in

Syracuse

and elsewhere in

Si c i l y

from

approximate ly t he 420s to a f t e r

the

t u rn of

the century;

the re fo re

,

through contact , the

a r t i s t s

share

many

composi t ional

elements, espec ia l ly in the l a t e r per iod of both t he i r

careers .

Euainetos

career

in

signed coinage seems

to have begun ear l i e r

than

tha t

of

Kimon ,

as

a t t e s t e d by

evidence

of Euainetos

work

in

other Si c i l i an c i

t i e s

a t an ea r l i e r date .

Minted

l a t e

in both

a r t i s t s careers , the hundred l i t r a e with Herakles and the

Nemean

Lion

(no.

7 )

i l l u s t r a t e s the

problem

of

a t t r ibu t ion , because both

Euainetos

and Kimon

s igned coins

with th i s image .

2


27/82

Kimon

i s

known

for quie t contro l led composit ions, evident in

a

dekadrachm from the Buerger co l l ec t ion (no . 5

) ,

a t t r i bu t e d to him

due to

s ty l i s t i c

and composi t ional s i m i l a r i t i e s with his s igned

works. On the dekadrachm,

de ta i l s

cha rac t e r i s t i c of his work

include the curve

a t

the t i p of the nose and the small up l i f t

a t

the

corner of

the mouth. The ha i r

i s

t i gh t l y con t ro l l ed

in an

i n t r i c a t e r e s t r a i ned arrangement . The face seems f leshy

al though t au t over the

eye.

The te t radrachm

a t t r i bu t ed

to

Kimon

(no. 4 i l l u s t r a t e s s imi lar charac te r i s t i c s al though in a f ronta l

view ins tead of the usual pro f i l e .

The

f ronta l view of Arethusa

emphasizes the l a rge

de ta i l ed

eyes

with

a

faraway

gaze . The hai r

through

which

the dolphin s now swim rad ia te s in

a l l

di rec t ions .

Although

many spec i f ic

elements

d i f fe r

in the two coins , s imi la r

s t y l i s t ic elements l i ke the f leshy model l ing of the chin

and

forehead, upward curve of the

mouth

and the modelling

around

the

nose

i den t i fy

the s t y l e

as

tha t of Kimon .

on

both coins , a thick

headband

holds

back the

ha i r

of which a few s t r a nds a re

s t r a t eg ica l ly al lowed

to

escape

from

i t s hold.

also the place where Kimon s igns

his

name.

The

headband i s

In cont ras t to Kimon s highly contro l led

s ty le

Euainetos has

majest ic , energized composit ions . On

the dekadrachm

a t t r i bu t e d

to

Euainetos

(no

. 6 ) , the female head exhib i t s an aloof forward gaze

and the

l i d of

the

eye curves

down

near

the bridge

of

the

nose

.

The head by

Euainetos

has a

long

s t ra ight nose,

while Kimon s

nose

has

a

curve

a t

the top of the

brow

and s l i gh t curve

a t

the t ip .


28/82

In

addi t ion ,

Euainetos used energized

cur l s

which br ing

the

composit ion upward, while on

Kimon•s dekadrachm the ha i r i s more

re s t ra ined

in

a

t i gh t e r

arrangement.

On the head

a t t r i bu t ed

to

Euainetos, every

s t rand

of

ha i r

i s

de l ibe ra te ly

and s t r a t eg i ca l l y

placed to enhance the vibrancy of the composit ion, which overflows

the

edge

of the coin.

The l a t e fourth

and

ear ly

th i rd

century Syracusan

coins

nos.

8,

9 ,

10,

11. 12

are

representa t ive

of

a

t r ans i t i ona l s t y l e

between the

High

Class i ca l

and

the Hel len is t i c s ty le s

. Overa l l

the coins a re conserva t ive in sub jec t matter . The s ty l e i s

reminiscent of

the

High

Class ica l coins

in

the

s t ra igh t prof i le s ,

ye t there i s

a new f leshiness

and an

emotional ,

sens i t ive qual i ty

which

makes

the faces

more

indiv idual ized , express ive ,

and

l e ss

a loof .

The ha i r has

a

so f t ,

impress ion i s t i c

qua l i ty . ore

model l ing i s

u t i l i z ed

to

ill

out the fea tures in

a

more

na tu ra l i s t i c manner.

These

c ha ra c t e r i s t i c s

are

s imi la r

to

those

found in the works of the four th century sculp tor , Praxi te les ,

who

i s known for

the

gent le , sens i t ive

qual i ty

of h i s sculp ture .44

On

the

gold drachm with

Apollo

and

biga from 317-310 B.C

. no. 8

,

the head on the obverse

has

a

f leshy forehead and area around the

eyes ,

with an

open

mouth giving an

emotional

or more

indiv idual

qual i ty to the face.

The

head of

Apollo

with i t s furrowed brow,

gazing

eyes,

and

open

mouth has

s imi la r


to l a t e

four th

century p o r t r a i t s of

Alexander

the Great .

4 5

Similar

fea tures are seen in the head of Athena on the gold s t a t e r

no

.

3


29/82

2

and

the heads

of

Apollo on

the electrum

coins

nos .

,

,

which a l l date to

t

he l a t e fourth and

ear ly

t h i rd

centur ies .

The

head

of Artemis on the r ever se of an elec t rum coin no.

exemp

l

i f

i es a

t r a n s i t i o n a l s t y l e with i t s

combina t ion of a

s t ra igh t c l ass ica l

forehead and d i s t i nc t r idge

above

the

eye

with

a l a rge , de ta i l e d

eye, which

gives

an

expres s ive , emot iona l

qual i ty to the head

.

Two

coins

in the

col lec t ion

exemplify


of the

Hel lenis t ic period ca. 330 to

31

B.C.) .46 Fi rs t , the

te t radrachm

with Persephone no . 9 has a nude representa t ion of Nike .

Second, the

s ix teen

l i t r a e with Queen

Phi l i s t i s

no. 3

u t i l i z e s

por t ra i tu re

for

i t s

di rec t

representa t ion

of the ru l e r

o r

ru l e r s

family

for propagand i s t i c

purposes .

Another

H e l l e n i s t i c

c ha ra c t e r i s t i c of th i s

coin

i s

the

expanded range of movement in to

space

as seen by the developed use of perspec t ive for the

representa t ion of the

quadriga.

The Nike

on

the te tradrachm of 310-304 B.C. no. 9 d i f f e r s

from

any

of

the ea r l i e r v i c t o r i e s

nos . 1 or 6 because she i s

nude .

Unti l the l a t e

Class ica l

period when Praxi te les

popular ized

the female

nude

with his sculp ture , the Aphrodite of Knidos

from

approximate ly 340

B. C . 47

the female

in

Greek

a r t

was always

c lo thed i n some way .

This

reverse of the nude Nike therefore

i l l u s t r a t e s a type

which

i s then prominent in

the Hel len is t i c

period

.

On the

obverse o f

the

s ix t e e n

l i t r a e no .

13 ) , Queen

24


30/82

Phi l i s t i s the wife o f

Hieron I I i s represented

in

a genera l ized

female p o r t r a i t t ype with the i n sc r ip t ion

of

her name. She has a

ch ise led

pro f i l e

with great

de t a i l

given

to the

la rge

eye

. The

drapery over her head

folds

according

to

the

contour

of

her head

and h a i r underneath i t which exempl i f i es a Hel len i s t i c t r a i t of

n a t u r a l i sm.

The

reve rse de p ic t s the quadr iga wi th highly

developed perspec t ive . The wheels

of

the char io t are pa ra l l e l and

angle in the same d i rec t ion . This quadriga

can

be compared with

the Class ica l

char io t s

nos

. 5 6 ), which

i l l u s t r a t e

a not

fu l ly

developed

form

of perspec t ive

with

one wheel

in th ree quar te r

view

and

the

other in prof i le .

The coins

of

Syracuse the re fo re i l l u s t r a t e

the

s ty l e s of the

Archaic ,

Class i ca l and Hel len i s t i c per iods . The

coins

para l l e l

Greek scu lp tu re and vase pa in t ing and the re fo re i l l u s t r a t e

t he i r

c lose

s t y l i s t i c

r e l a t i ons h ip

to o ther

media . This con t inua l

t r ans i t ion

of

s ty l e

i s

unusual for

coins,

which

do

not

cont inua l ly

fol low

the varying nuances of s ty l e but remain with

se t

s t y l e s and

types

for lo ng p er i ods of t ime,

as

exemplif i ed by

the coins

of

Athens

and

Corinth

.

5


31/82

onclusion

The

examination of the Syracusan

coins

through the analys is of

scho la rsh ip h i s to ry i c onog

raphy and s t y l e

al lows d i f fe ren t

perspec t ives

to be viewed. The review of the

h i s t o ry

of

scholarship i l l u s t r a t ed

tha t the scope of research was

l imi ted

to

e i t he r very genera l discuss ion of Syracusan coins or

e lse

very

spec i f ic s tudies

done

on one

topic .

I t

also

showed tha t the re are

st ll quest ions remaining

on some aspects of

the chronology. The

d i scuss ion of the coins and t he i r r e l a t i onsh i p to Syracusan

h i s t o ry demonstrated how the

coins exempl i fy

the change of

Syracuse from

a

Greek c i t y - s t a t e to

a

Hel len i s t i c kingdom.

The

sec t ion on

iconography

revealed tha t

the re

a re th ree genera l

themes:

gods references

to

gods

and

v ic to r i e s

wo

types the

head

of

Arethusa

and

the

quadriga

had

a

long

l i f e

in

Syracusan

iconography. In addi t ion

the quadriga

was in f luent i a l

in Sic i ly

while the head of Arethusa was i n f l uen t i a l

throughout

the

Greek

world.

Final ly

the s t y l i s t i c

analys is

of the coins demonstrated

the close re la t ionship tha t Syracusan coins unl ike those from

other

c i t i e s

have with

other media

and

t ha t they

cor re la te

with

the major

s t y l i s t i c

categor ies of Greek a r t

These areas provide

d i f f e r e n t

approaches

to resea rch and t oge the r i l l u s t r a t e

a

comprehensive view of

these

coins .

This s tudy has i n t eg ra ted

previous knowledge with

new research

providing broader conclusions

for a more thorough

unders tanding

of the Syracusan

coins

from the

26


32/82

Ot t i l i a Buerger

Col lec t ion .

Endno t e s

1

B. V .

Head

•

on

t

he Chronologica l Sequence

of

the Coins of

Syracuse, •

Numismatic Chronicle (18741 1-80 .

2 I .

Carradice and

M. Price

Coinage in the Greek

World

(London

1988) 12 .

3 R. Stuar t Poole, B.

v .

Head,

and

P . Gardner A Catalogue of

Greek Coins

in the Bri t i sh Museum -

Sic i ly

(London

18761.

4 Poole,

v i .

5 B.

v.

Head, i s t o r i a Numorum A Manuel

o f

Greek

Numismatics

(Oxford

1887

I .

6 A. J . Evans Sy r

acusan

Medall ions (London

18921

.

7

G. F. Hi l l Coins

of

Ancient

Sic i ly (Oxford 1903) .

8 B v . Head i s tor ia

Numorum-

A Mantle o f Greek N11mismatics2

(Oxford 1911,

Chicago

rep r in t

19671

xv; the Sic i l i an

sec t ion

115-191.

9 E. Boehringer, Die MUnzen yon Syrakus (Ber l in 19291.

10 A.

Gal la t in

Sy racusan

Dekadrachms of

the Euainetos

Type

(Cambridge 19301 .

11

c . Seltman,

Greek Coins

2

(London

1955, London r ep r in t 19601

187-8

.

12 Seltman,

v .

13 J . H. Jongkees, The Kimonian Dekadrachms

(Utrecht

19411

.

14 G. K. Jenkins Electrum

Coinage

a t Syracuse , • Essays in

Greek

27


33/82

Coi nage P r e s e n t e d to

S t a n l e y

Robinson

C. Kraay

and G. K.

Jenkins, eds . Oxford

1968)

145-162.

15

G.

Richter ,

A Handbook of Greek

Art

New York 1959)

243-250.

16

Head, His to r i a Numorum, 171; C . Kraay

and

M. Hirrner,

New York

1966)

288.

17

c .

Kraay, Archaic and

Class i ca l

Greek

Coins Berkeley

1976)

210; Head, 172 .

18M.

Finley,

Ancient Sic i ly New York 1968) 59 .

19 carrad ice

and

Price

68.

20 Seltman, 128 ; G. K. Jenkins

Ancient

Greek

Coins2

London

1990) 107; Kraay,

232.

21

Jenk ins

Ancient Greek Coins, 144;

Head,

His to r i a Numorum,

181.

22 R. R. R. Smith, Hel len i s t i c Royal Por t ra i t s Oxford

1988

) 13.

23

B . D . Wescoat e d . Syr ac us e t he

F a i res t

Greek City {Rome

1989) 18 .

24 The indiv idua l

coin

numbers are

given below.

After

each number

t h e

s ourc e s a r e c i t e d

t h a t

i d e n t i f y t he

head on the respec t ive

coin as

Arethusa:

1 Kraay

and Hirmer,

289; Carradice

and

Price,

66.

2 Kraay and Hirmer, 290.

3

Kraay and Hirmer, 290.

female

5 Kraay and Hirmer,

292;

Hi l l 98 ; Head, His to r i a Numorum,

176; Jenkins,

Ancient

Greek Coins, 106.

6 Kraay

and Hirmer, 291.

28


34/82

7

Kraay and Hirmer, 291; Jenkins , Ancient Greek Coins, 107;

Hil l ,

111;

Carradice

and Price ,

68.

25 H Cabo, Arethousa, Lex icon I conograph icum Mytho log iae

Class i cae ,

vol .

I I

(Zurich

19841

582-4.

i den t i f i e s

a

te t radrachm

from 495 B.C .

and

a

dekadrachm

from 480/479 B.C . as

depic t ions

of Arethusa, but

they are

not spec i f i ca l ly label led .

26 A. Moustaka, A.

Goulaki-Voutira, and u.

Grote, Nike,

Icooographicum Mytho log ia e

C l a s s i c a e , va l . VI Zuri ch

19921 850-904.

In L..I..M.C. Nike i s depic ted

on

two coins

tha t

have

only

her

head,

yet

one

shows

the

t i p

of

a

wing

f ig .

7271

while the

other

has the

legend

of

NIKA,

spec i f i ca l ly

iden t i fy ing

her f ig . 7301 .

27 L . Kahil and N.

Ica rd ,

Artemis,

Lexicon Iconographicum

Mvthologiae Classicae , vol. I I (Zurich 19841 618-753. Artemis

i s usua l ly port rayed

with

her a t t r i bu t e the

bow, although

many

of the coins

which

klMC

i den t i f i e s

as

poss ib ly

being

Artemis

depic t jus t a head. Many of the heads exh ib i t no a t t r i bu t e s or

legends spec i f i ca l ly ident i fy ing

them

as

Artemis

.

28 Head, His tor ia Numorum,

176; Hil l ,

99.

29 White ,

Donald . The Morris Coin A Maste rp iece

of

Euaenetus ,

Expedit ion

Bul l e t in

of the Univers i t y

Museum o f

the

Univers i ty

of Pennsylyania Phi ladelphia 27 (19861 18.

30 White

,

18

.

31 White,

19.

32

Kraay, 210; Head, Histor ia Numorum, 172.

33

Kraay, 223; Head, Histor ia

Numorum,

177.

29


35/82

34 Kraay and Hirmer, 288 .

35

Seltman, 128

;

Jenkins, Ancient Greek Coins,

107; Kraay, 232.

36 The c ha ra c t e r i s t i c s of

the

Archaic Sty le are l i s t e d in B . S.

Ridgway,

The

Archaic Style

in Greek

Sculpture

Princeton, NJ

1977)

12-14

; J .

Hurwit, The Art and

Culture

of Early

Greece.

1100-480

B c ( I thaca 1985) 18-31.

37 G.

M

A.

Rich ter ,

Korai ;

Archaic

Greek Maidens

London

1968 )

no.

123, f igs . 394-397.

38

For

a summary

of the

Severe Sty le see B. S .

Ridgway

, The Severe

Style in

Greek

Sculpture

Princeton,

NJ 1970) 8-11.

39 E . Langlotz , Ancient

Greek

Sculpture of South

I t a l y

and S ic i l y

New York

1965) ,

p ls .

50-51.

40 For

fu r the r

discuss ion

and

desc r ip t ion

of the

Class ica l Sty le

see

B. S.

Ridgway,

Fi f th

Century

Sty les in Greek Sculp tu re

Princeton , NJ 1981)

12-14.

41

Ridgway,

Fi f th

Century Styles , p l . 46.

42 The Rich

Style i s

def ined b r i e f l y in Ridgway, F i f t h Century

~

x v i i i ;

a l so discussed as the s ty l e

of t h e

l a t e r f i f t h

cen tu r y ,

in J . J .

P o l l i t t ,

Art and Experience in

Class ica l

Cambridge

1972)

111-135.

43 For

an example of the

work of

the

Meidias

p a in t e r see

Pol l i t t ,

Class i ca l Greece, 124,

f ig

. 55.

44 G.

Rich ter ,

A

Handbook of

Greek

Art

New York

1959)

129-134,

f igs .

185-188

,

191-192.

45 The so -ca l l ed

Azara

herm

i s assumed t o be a Roman copy o f a

30


36/82

four th

cen tury

po r t r a i t

of

Alexander by the a r t i s t Lysippos.

J J Po l l i t t

Art

in the Hel len i s t i c Age Cambridge 1986) 21,

f ig 7.

46 A

general

overview of the s ty les of the Hel l en i s t i c period i s

given in

Po l l i t t Hel len i s t i c Age.

47 Po l l i t t Class i ca l

Greece,

158, 160, f igs

67-68.

3


37/82

c t logue

3


38/82

no. 1

R Tetradrachm

485-479

B.C

ace. no. 91.029)

Ob Quadriga r .

Nike

crowning

horses

Rv

i _ \ j > t _ A \ . . ) ~ 1 0 1 - J : of the Syracusans; head of Arethusa surrounded

by four dolphins

17.33 g.

Purchased

from Edward Gans,

Jan 1959

This

coin

demonstrates the development of two themes t ha t

became commonplace in Syracusan

coinage

The obverse dep ic t s

a

quadr iga with Nike

crowning

the horses in

v i c t o ry .

The

representa t ion of

the quadriga

i s

thought

or i g i na l l y to have

depic ted the favor i t e past ime

of

the

Syracusan

a r i s toc racy the

Gamoroi,

who

bred horses and sent

char io ts to

compete

under the i r

names in

the Olympic

games.

The composit ion on the reverse

has

i t s or ig in in the ea r l i e s t

Syracusan

r ever se

type

of

a

simple

square pat t e rn .

In

l a t e r

coins, a

small female head then emerged

from

the

cen te r

of the

square

The next development of the r ever se

re su l ted in

the

square being replaced by

an enlarged

head

surrounded

by dolphins,

which st ll continue the geometr ica l

shape

of the square.

The

coin i s

dated

to

the

f i r s t

quar ter of

the

f i f t h century due

to i t s Archaic s ty le .

More spec i f ica l ly

numismatists

hypothesize

tha t

the

coin

was

minted

between 485 B.C. and 479

B C through

i t s

r e l a t i on to c e r t a in h i s to r i ca l events .

Afte r the t y ran t Gelon

se ized Syracuse in 485 B.C., the Nike crowning the

horses

was

33


39/82

introduced, probably

in commemoration of

his

pas t Olympic vic tory

in

488 B

1

In addi t ion under the current

da t ing

of Syracusan

co ins t h i s

type

of

te tradrachm

i s

placed

p r i o r to the famous

dekadrachms

of

479 B C.

through s ty le

and die s tud ies .

1

c Kraay, Archaic and Class ica l Greek Art Berkeley

1976)

210;

B Head is t

oria

Numorum- A Manuel o f Greek Numismatics2

Oxford 1911, Chicago r ep r in t

1967)

172.

34


40/82

no.

ace. no. 91.030)

R

i tra

474-450

B.C.

Ob. Head

of Arethusa r .

Rv .

~ V i l

A Syracuse ; sepia

\, 0 . 76 g .

Purchased from Bank Leu, June

1,

1972

Dating between 474 and

450

B.C . , th i s

coin

was minted

during

the beginning of s ix ty

years

of

democracy

in Syracuse.

This

form

of

government

was

a dra s t i c change from the

pas t tyranny

under

Gelon.

On the

obverse

i s

Arethusa, while the

reverse depic t s a sepia ,

a

type

of cu t t l e f i sh ,

probably

re fe r r ing to

the

r i ch sea l i f e of

the

harbor

a t Syracuse.

The

reverse design for t h i s

na t ive

Sice l -

based

currency d i f f e r s

from

the

common

char io t

representa t ion used

for the

Syracusan coins

of Greek monetary system based upon the

drachm.

The l i t r a

i s the s tandard

denomination of

the

na t ive

S ice l currency and

i s equiva lent to

one

f i f t h the value of the

drachm.

The

var i a t ion in design might be re la ted to the c o in s

or ig in

from

a di f fe ren t monetary system

and a l so

to

i t s func t ion

as

a smal ler denomination.

Both

the obverse

and

reverse

are depicted

in

the

Severe s t y l e

,

which i s c ha ra c t e r i z e d

by smoother t r a n s i t i o n s

and more


representa t ions than in

the

Archaic s ty l e no. 1 .

5


41/82

no. 3

R

Tetradrachm

450-439

B.C. lace .

no. 91.031)

Ob. Quadriga r .

above

Nike f ly ing, crowning horses

Rv. i ' i l 'AI '.(o]l lo[NJ:

of the

Syracusans;

head of Arethusa,

surrounded

by

four

dolphins

\ 17.42

g

Purchased from Seaby s Oct.

12,

1972

This coin,

dep ic t ing

the t r ad i t i ona l

v ic to r ious char io t

and

Arethusa (no.

1 ,

da tes

between

450

and

439 B.C.

due

to i t s

render ing

in

a

high

Class ica l s t y l e

1450-400

B.C . . This more

n a tu ra l i s t i c and

le s s

l i nea r s ty l e u t i l i z e s

mode l l ing ,

which

crea tes

areas

of

l i gh t

and

shade

as exemplif ied in the musculature

of

the horses

on the

obverse.

Arethusa

has

an unusual

ha i r s ty le

with her ha i r wrapped four

t imes w it

h a

t h in cord. The

enc i rc l ing dolphins

a re not so

r i g i d l y r e s t r a i n e d by the o r i g i n a l geometr ic form which

es tab l i shed

t he i r

arrangement as

th

ose

in

the Archaic

coin (n o .

1

36


42/82

no. 4

AR Tetradrachm 412-4 00 B.C . no

ace

. no . )

Ob . \? E t C ~ o A j:

Arethusa;

facing head of Arethusa

Rv .

i . ( l A . I ( o [ ~ I J L . I J } : of

the Syracusans;

quadriga;

ear

of

bar ley

n

x rgu

[This coin was recent ly

purchased

by Miss Buerger and has not

ye t

been t rans fe r red to Lawrence

Univers i ty]

This coin ,

a t t

r i buted

to the a r t i s t Kimon demonstrates

a

new

f ronta l render ing

of

Arethusa . Great de ta i l i s given to the eyes

which a re l arge and c lea r ly def ined . He r h a i r

no

longer

in

a

bun f lows f r e e ly

around

her face . The headband in most

composi t ions

bears the

name

of

the a r t i s t .

The

dolphins pass

through

her ha i r as

though swimming in

waves

.

On the

reverse

the quadriga i s por t rayed in rac ing

form

.

The

i tem j u s t below

the

hooves

of the

horses

probab

ly represen t s

a

rac ing pos t

th

a t has

been

knocked

down dur ing

the race . The

char io tee r t u rns h i s head back for a glance a t

the

comp e t i t i

on

.

These

elements add a

r e a l i s t i c

touch to the t r a d i t i ona l

depic t ion

of the

racing

char io t as exemplif ied

i n

the char io t s

of no . 5

or

no. 6 in the same

per iod .

The Nike i s in a

s tanding

pos i t ion

wh i ch i s a mod i f i c a t i on

of

her usual f ly ing pos i t ion .

In

the

exergue

the

ear

of

bar ley

probably r ep resen t s the a gr i c u l tu r a l

prospe r i ty

of

the

i s land.

The t r a d i t i ona l

view

places t h i s coin in

as soc ia t ion

with the

Sy r acusan v ic to ry over the

Athenian

t roops in 413 B.C .

a

date

37


43/82

once

also thought for nos. 5 and 6 a l though now

r e fu ted

because

of

more

research.

This

coin

i s

one of the

most i n f lue n t i a l

coins

of

the ancient

world

because

of

i t s

new

yet well developed

facing

composit ion

on

the

obverse . Probably inf luenced by

t h i s co in s i m i l a r

facing

female heads

can

be

seen on coins

from

l l p a r t s

of

the

Mediterranean

from Larissa to

Tarsus . Although the

coin did not

c

cu la te

widely i t s range of inf luence was

vas t

undoubtedly

due

to aes the t i c s ra the r than economics .

8


44/82

no. 5

R Dekadrachm

405-400

B.C.

ace . no. 91 . 033)

Ob . i . i ' P I ' I . K . o ~ I J l . . : of the Syracusans; head of Arethusa, 1 . with

band and

net

holding hair ,

surrounded by four dolphins

Rv.

Victorious

quadriga

1. ;

thorax, helmet,

shie ld

and

greave

s

in

exergue;

below,

A,e/\A

: pr izes

' 43.15

g .

Purchased from Bank

Leu

Oct.

26, 1973. Ex Pennisi

Collect ion,

Acirea l e , S ic i ly

This

unsigned coin i s

a t t r ibu ted

to the master engraver Kimon .

His

ind iv idua l

c l a s s i c a l s t y l e i s seen

in

s pe c i f i c

d e t a i l s

: a

downward gaze, a

small

up l i f t a t the corner of the l i p s , a curve

a t the t i p of

the

nose, a t i gh t composit ion of

fac ia l

fea tures ,

and an organized

cont ro l over

the ha i r .

The

reverse , as in the dekadrachm no . 6 ,

dep ic t s

a

rac ing

quadriga with

mil i t a ry

equipment

in

the

exergue .

The

pos i t ion

of

the horse s heads i s even more varied ,

showing

t he i r s t r eng th and

energy . The c h a r i o t e e r and the f ront

horse

cross the beaded

ou t l i ne of the coin

and seem to break

f ree

of the

framing

cons t ra in t s .

The

composit ion has smooth

model

l ing

and

i n t r i ca t e

de ta i l s

which re su l t in

a

de l i ca te

approach .

Mil i ta ry equipment, cons is t ing of a

thorax

, greaves, shie ld and

a

helmet ,

i s

placed in

the exergue

along with

the word

pr izes • ,

which poss ib ly r e f e r s to the awards of captured Athenian weapons

given a t Assinarian Games, which commemorated the

Syracusan

defeat

of

Athenian

t roops

in

413 B.C

. As a re su l t

of fur ther research

on

39


45/82


46/82

no

6

R

Dekadrachm

400-370

B.C. ace

no.

91.032)

Ob ~ ' i P A K . l o £ \ . n . . . N ] : of the Syracusans; head of Arethusa, crowned

with

reeds,

surrounded

by

four dolphins, dot

below

chin

1.

Rv.

Victorious

quadriga 1 ;

thorax, helmet,

sh ie ld and greaves

in

exerg ue

\ 43. 16 g.

Purchased from Stacks,

July 5,

1969

This coin,

unsigned ye t

a t t r ibu ted to the

a r t i s t

Euainetos,

has

an obverse

mark of a

dot

The

dot , with unknown s ignif icance has

been

i n t e rp r e t e d

in th ree

d i f fe ren t ways : as a

symbol of an

ass i s t an t

the mark of a spec i f i c sec t ion of a mint which copied

the Euainetos or ig ina l o r

a

representa t ion for

the

second decade

of minting th i s

Euainetos

type of

coin

1

The Arethusa

i s

rendered in the Rich s t y l e . Her

face i s

de l i c a t e ly modelled,

with grea t a t t e n t ion

devoted

to the eye

Minute de t a i l s are

seen

in

the s t rands of

h a i r and

the dangling

ear r ing . Her qu ie t ye t

majes t ic

composure

i s r e f l ec t i ve

of the

c l a s s i c a l approach to express ion in

t h i s

per iod Spec i f i c

charac te r i s t i c

t r a i t s of Euainetos inc lude

:

the s t r a igh t nose, the

l i d

of the eye

curved

down

near

the br idge

of

the

nose, and

energized

cur l s

of

ha i r

which

br ing the

composi t ion

upward

The

reverse a

composit ion

tense

with energy,

i s a

Class ica l

render ing

of the quadr i ga type. The modelled

horses

revea l

curves

in t he i r

bodies and

legs

which r e f l e c t the Class ica l


4


47/82

r ep resen ta t ion of

the body The

horses

are

no

longer

in

d i r e c t

p ro f i l e but in

th ree -quar te r

view,

as

are

the two

wheels

of the

quadr iga ,

u t i l i z i ng

the techniques of fo reshor ten ing

developed in

the l a s t quar ter of the

f i f t h century.2

The horses are rear ing on

t he i r

hind l egs with only one horse touching the

ground l ine .

The heads

of the horses a re turned in

var ious

d i rec t i ons

demonstrat ing great movement With one arm extended

and holding

a

whip,

the

char io tee r

i s

hunched

over

in

racing form

A Gal lat in Syracusan Dekadrachms

o f

the

Euainetos Type

(Cambridge 1930) 10, 12

2 c c vermeule,

Chariot

Groups in

Fi f th Century Greek

Sculpture• .

Journal of Hellenic

Stttdies

75

(1955)

104.

42


48/82

no. 7

U 100

Li t rae

Dionysius I

400-370

B.C .

(ace

.

no.

91.034)

Ob . Head of

Arethusa

1 .

pe l le t

behind

neck.

Double

s t ruck .

Rv. Young nude

Herakles

kneel ing r . s t r ang l ing Nemean Lion

l

5.80

g.

Purchased from

Malter

Auction Mar . 20, 1975. Ex Santa

Barbara

Museum of Art, 56

Dionysius I the

tyrant

of Syracuse

between

405

and 367

B.

C.,

had a re ign marked

by

almost

cont inua l warfare, espec ia l ly with

the

Carthaginians .

His

la rge denominations,

espec ia l ly

in gold

l i ke

t h i s

coin

equal to two

s i l v e r

dekadrachms, were minted

l a rge ly for

the

purpose

of

paying mercenar i e s in h i s

frequent

ba t t l e s .

The

coin

i s

dated

to 400-370

B.C.

for

economic and

po l i t i c a l reasons

.

Economical ly ,

go ld

was

f i r s t minted

in

Syracuse around

the

turn of

the century,

thanks

to

i t s abundance

r e su l t i ng from conques ts .

Po l i t i c a l l y Syracuse

conquered

Carthage in 396 B.C. and a l so in 392

B.C.,

which may

have

given

ionys ius reason for t h i s c o i n s reverse composit ion of

s t ruggle . l

This coin probably

re fe rs

to Dionysius

mil i ta ry

campaigns

and

h i s

s t rugg les

with

Carthage. On

the

reverse

Herakle

s

wres t l ing

the

l ion symbolizes vic tory

spec i f i ca l ly Greek over

barbarian;

by

re fe r r ing d i r e c t ly to th i s famous deed, Dionysius equated

himself

with Herakles and Carthage with the ev i l

l ion

. This motif and

43


49/82

compos i t ion cou l d have

been

in f luenced by the e a r l i e r and

contemporary

r ep resen ta t ions of Herakles from Heraclea in Magna

Graecia

.

2

The

obverse

depic ts

the

head

of

Arethusa.

Her ha i r i s bound

in

a net

with

s t rands

f lowing

out

of the top

in gent le waves .

This

coin

has

the same

composi t ion as

coins by Euainetos

and

Kimon,

but l i ke

nos.

5

and

6 does

not

bear the

s igna tu re of

e i t he r

a r t i s t . The coin

has

a

pe l l e t

mark, which

poss ib ly s tands

for an

i ssue mark . 3

The

Rich

s t y l e

of the r ever se

has

a

n a tu ra l i s t i c manner

emphasizing the muscular s t ruc ture espec ia l ly in the to r sos of

both

Documents

A Study of the Syracusan Coins From the Ottilia Buerger Collectio