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Nomos
| Issuer | Tarentum |
|---|---|
| Year | 400 BC - 390 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | A nude ephebic rider urges his horse at full gallop to the right, holding a goad in his raised right hand and gathering the reins in his left. The muscular horse is depicted in dynamic motion with all four legs extended. The composition fills the flan with accomplished archaic-classical draftsmanship characteristic of early Tarentine coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Tarentum was the only Spartan colony in Magna Graecia, founded according to tradition by the Partheniai — a group of illegitimate or disenfranchised Spartan youths — around 706 BC. That Spartan connection persisted into the monetary tradition: the horseman types on Tarentine nomoi reflect an aristocratic equestrian culture that the city cultivated deliberately, distinguishing itself from neighboring Italic communities. By 400 BC the city was at the height of its early commercial power, dominating the heel of Italy and trading aggressively across the Adriatic.
Vlasto 333 falls within a well-documented early series. The fabric at this period is notably broad and thin compared to later Tarentine production.