A uncommon fifth century B.C. gold coin minted through the Carthaginian invasion of Sicily has been discovered within the historic metropolis of Agrigento, Sicily. It was minted round 405 B.C. by the tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius I the Elder.
The coin was discovered throughout an emergency excavation to salvage a Greek-era tile-lined capuchin tomb on the mouth of the Akragas River. The tomb was a part of the Maddalusa burial floor, in lively use from the primary quarter of the sixth century B.C. till the tip of the fifth century B.C.
It’s a 20 Litrai coin weighing over a gram that’s in wonderful situation. On the obverse is the profile head of Heracles sporting the pores and skin of the Nemean lion. The reverse includes a four-part incuse sq. with a feminine head within the middle. 4 Greek letters — ΣΥΡΑ — are inscribed within the corners of the incuse sq., that means “Syra” for Syracuse.
Based as town of Akragas by Greek colonists from Gela, Crete and Rhodes in 582–580 B.C., Agrigento was besieged and sacked in 406 B.C. through the conquest of Sicily by Carthaginian normal Himilco. Syracusan normal Dionysius had fought in opposition to Carthage for the reason that invasion started in 409 B.C. and took energy because the tyrant of Syracuse (previously a democratic polis) in 405 B.C.
After a short interval of peace purchased with monumental concessions of territory that expanded Punic management over nearly all of Sicily, in 398 B.C. Dionysius I of Syracuse marshalled his forces and fought to expel Carthage from Sicily. He lowered their territories, however wasn’t capable of boot Carthage from Sicily. Dionysius by no means stopped attempting, although, alternating between peace treaties and conflict till his demise in 367 B.C.
The [coin] is especially vital not just for the rarity of the specimen however particularly as a result of it’s located in a particular historic second: through the dramatic Carthaginian invasion of Sicily, on the finish of the fifth century B.C., Syracuse, allied with Akrágas, minted extraordinary gold points to assist the conflict effort. The coin that was discovered belongs to this collection, which recollects the tragic occasions that shook Greek Sicily, culminating within the conquest and destruction of Akrágas by the Carthaginians in 406 B.C.
