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Tetradrachm - The Gamoroi
| Issuer | Syracuse |
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| Year | 500 BC - 490 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Boehringer#1 |
| Obverse description | Slow quadriga proceeding to right, driven by a charioteer clad in a long chiton, holding the reins extended in both hands; the horses depicted in a stately, archaic processional style characteristic of early Syracusan coinage. The scene occupies the full obverse field, rendered in high relief typical of the Gamoroi period. An ethnic legend appears in the exergual area. |
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| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square divided by a raised cross into four equal sunken rectangular compartments, each deeply recessed into the flan; a bold and geometric design characteristic of the earliest phase of Syracusan tetradrachm coinage, reflecting the influence of South Italian incuse coinage conventions. The surface within each quadrant is plain and unadorned. The overall execution is precise, with sharply defined ridges forming the dividing cross. |
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| Additional information |
The Gamoroi — the landowning aristocrats who dominated early Syracuse — were expelled by a democratic revolt of the lower classes, the Killichiroi, around 491 BC, then restored shortly after with the military backing of Gelon of Gela. This tetradrachm was struck during that fractious aristocratic period, before Gelon consolidated power and transformed Syracuse into the most formidable Greek city in the western Mediterranean. Boehringer's sequencing places this among the earliest Syracusan tetradrachms, making it foundational to the entire coinage tradition of the island.