2017-07-06 Thu

Agathokles was the last ruler of Syracuse but to get to the throne wasn’t an easy job for him. He was born in Thermae in 361BCE to a Greek manufacturer of pottery, but pottery didn’t amuse him. He left for Syracuse and became an officer in the army and established himself as a skilful leader.

In 317 BCE, he overthrew the Syracusan rulers, banishing or murdering all of those who opposed him and, with the support of the common people, declared himself as a dictator.

He formed a large navy and strengthened his army and expanded the power of Syracuse. This growth caused his territory to bump against that of the Carthaginians, a force which would shape and consume the majority of his life.

Carthage took control over a large territory in western Sicily and had been enemies of the Sicilian Greeks since the sixth century BCE. Their army posed a formidable challenge for Agathokles, and after a bloody battle, the boundaries were largely unchanged, with a border established along the Halycus River.

In the summer of 311BCE, the Carthaginians somehow surrounded Agathokles by land and sea but it was his presence of mind that helped him escape. In August 310, the Carthaginians briefly relaxed their naval blockade. Agathokles immediately sailed from the Syracuse harbour with 60 ships and an army of 13,500 men, set to invade Carthage itself. Although he defeated the Carthaginian armies in North Africa, he did not capture their capital city.

Syracuse was constantly maintaining its stronghold against the Carthaganians while Agathokles was at the battle in Africa but during that time, he learned that his other cities in Sicily had claimed independence. This forced him to return to Sicily and leave his African army under the control of his son Archagathus.

The Carthaginians had split their army into thirds, each controlling a separate area. Archagathus did the exact, however, that resulted in several of his factions to be destroyed. By the time Agathokles returned, there wasn’t anything he could do: Archagathus was killed, and the army was forced to surrender to Carthage.

Many of his soldiers were either recruited into the Carthaginian army or crucified. Agathokles decided to make peace with the Carthaginians in 306 BCE by giving up large territories in west Sicily in exchange of a good amount of gold and grain.

This truce did not leave him idle. Agathokles followed the footsteps of Alexander, the great and adopted the title of the sole king of Sicily. He then extended his power to the Greek areas of southern Italy and western mainland Greece.

However, his desire to extend his dynasty was brought to an end when his second son was murdered by a jealous relative. Agathokles then occupied his time working to consolidate control over his empire. He realised he had no heir and restored the Syracusan democracy as he lay dying of jaw cancer at the age of 72 in 289 BCE.

He didn’t accomplish all his military goals but he did show that it was possible to invade Carthage, leaving the door open for the Romans.

The silver tetradrachm from Agathokles’ second series of the silver coins, marks the beginning of a deviation from traditional types. The designs of the Syracusian tetradrachms and dekadrachms pictured the local spring nymph Arethusa. The design of the coin is of Persephone.

Agathokles didn’t want to make any major changes, considering how recognisable it was. However, he still replaced Arethusa with the Sicilian goddess who would now show that he ruled the entire island. Whereas rethusa was adorned with seaweed, Persephone is crowned with grain, paying homage to Sicily’s fame as the wheat-wealthy island of the Mediterranean. In Greek mythology, Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of grain and all of the fruits on earth. The artists after observing the similarities in design decided to engrave the name Kore, the common name of Persephone in Greek, meaning “the maiden”.

The coin was struck when the Agathokles’ was in power and proudly displays his greatest achievements. The reverse shows a gracefully standing, winged figure of Nike – the goddess of victory. Amusingly, this type is stylistically similar to another issue by Seleukos, minted at the eastern end of the Greek empire.

This coin became a part of the Hunt Collection, one of the greatest collections assembled in the 20th century. It comes across as the finest example, designed with dies of the highest quality, believed by most to be the best-known example.