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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Syracuse |
|---|---|
| Year | 413 BC - 405 BC |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | Fast quadriga driven to right by a charioteer who holds the kentron in his right hand and the reins in both hands; above, Nike flies left, crowning the charioteer with a wreath from which hangs a tablet inscribed EYAINETO in two lines. In the exergue, two confronted dolphins flank the lower border. The composition reflects the high-relief, dynamic style of the master engraver Euainetos, whose signature appears on the hanging tablet. |
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| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
This issue falls within one of the most catastrophic decades in Athenian history. The Sicilian Expedition of 415–413 BC ended in the complete annihilation of the Athenian force — an estimated 40,000 men dead or enslaved — and Syracuse emerged from the disaster as the preeminent power in the western Greek world. The sudden influx of Athenian silver captured as war booty almost certainly contributed to the coin production of this period.
These years also mark the height of the engravers' school at Syracuse, when die-cutters such as Kimon and Euainetos were signing their work — a nearly unprecedented practice in antiquity.