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Tetradrachm - Dionysius I
| Issuer | Syracuse |
|---|---|
| Year | 405 BC - 400 BC |
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| Currency | Litra |
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| Reverse description | Head of Arethusa facing left, rendered in fine three-quarter relief with elaborately waved and braided hair bound with a reed wreath; four dolphins swim around the bust in the field, encircling the effigy in the characteristic Syracusan manner. The portrait displays the sensitive modeling and fluid hair treatment associated with the dies of Kimon and Euainetos. The ethnic legend ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ appears below the neck truncation, distributed around the lower field. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Dionysius I seized power in Syracuse in 405 BC, the same year Carthage sacked and destroyed Akragas, Gela, and Kamarina in quick succession. The timing was not coincidental — the military catastrophe created the political vacuum he needed. These tetradrachms were struck in the early years of his tyranny, a period when Syracuse was simultaneously fortifying the Epipolae plateau and rebuilding its military capacity for what would become decades of grinding war with Carthage.
The engravers working under Dionysius included some of the most accomplished die-cutters of the ancient Greek world, several of whom signed their work — a practice that had emerged in Syracuse in the preceding decades and continued under his patronage.