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Stater - Agathokles
| Issuer | Syracuse |
|---|---|
| Year | 304 BC - 289 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Reverse description | Pegasus, the winged horse, depicted in full flight to the left with wings dramatically spread and feathers finely detailed, forelegs extended in a galloping posture. The musculature of the body is rendered with accomplished Hellenistic artistry. Beneath the figure, an olive branch or thunderbolt serves as a ground device in the lower field, filling the exergual area. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Agathokles seized power in Syracuse through a coup in 317 BC, massacring thousands of political opponents in the assembly before declaring himself tyrant. His later adoption of the title "King of Sicily" around 304 BC — the first Greek ruler of the west to claim royal status — directly reflects the Hellenistic kingship ideology spreading from the successors of Alexander. This stater belongs to that royal coinage period, struck as Agathokles positioned Syracuse as a peer monarchy to the Diadochi courts of the east.