The Arcadian League minted this stater at Megalopolis during an extraordinarily compressed window — the city itself had been founded only in 371 BC as part of Epaminondas's deliberate restructuring of the Peloponnese following the Theban victory at Leuctra. The entire purpose of Megalopolis was political: a synoikism of some forty Arcadian communities forced together to serve as a permanent counterweight to Spartan power in the region.
The League's coinage authority collapsed after the Battle of Mantinea in 362 BC, making this one of the final issues struck under the unified Arcadian federal mint before member cities reverted to independent monetary policies.
The Arcadian League minted this stater at Megalopolis during an extraordinarily compressed window — the city itself had been founded only in 371 BC as part of Epaminondas's deliberate restructuring of the Peloponnese following the Theban victory at Leuctra. The entire purpose of Megalopolis was political: a synoikism of some forty Arcadian communities forced together to serve as a permanent counterweight to Spartan power in the region.
The League's coinage authority collapsed after the Battle of Mantinea in 362 BC, making this one of the final issues struck under the unified Arcadian federal mint before member cities reverted to independent monetary policies.