Timoleon the Tyrant Slayer

[CPK]

A while ago I bought a group lot of 4 small Greek bronzes. Normally, I'm not much interested in these types, but they've all proved interesting in their own way.

Tonight, I was doing some research into this one:

I originally thought this coin was struck under the Tyrant Agathokles, but now I realize that it was actually struck earlier, under (or soon after) the rule of the tyrant-slayer Timoleon.

Affairs in Syracuse had reached a sorry state by the year 344 BC. Not only were they facing the threat of an aggressive and expansionist Carthage, they also were being cruelly oppressed and exploited by the reigning tyrants Dionysius I and later his son of the same name. A group of Syracusans sent an embassy to Corinth asking for aid. The Corinthians unanimously voted to send the general Timoleon.

Timoleon arrived in Sicily some time later with a small force and to everyone's surprise achieved notable victories, and eventually succeeded in capturing the city of Syracuse and driving Dionysius II into exile.

Timoleon then turned his attentions to the Carthaginians, and again won a surprising victory, despite being outnumbered 6 to 1, at the battle of the Crimissus in c. 339 BC. This crushing defeat brought the Carthaginians to the bargaining table, and Timoleon was able to negotiate a treaty whereby the Carthaginians agreed to remain on the west side of Sicily and not interfere with Syracusan politics.

With the foreign threat settled, Timoleon turned back to Syracuse and, as the de-facto ruler, began to rebuild the city-state's institutions. Instead of reigning as a tyrant, though, Timoleon restored the Syracusan democracy under a new constitution which emphasized freedom and fairness under the law. In his own life, Timoleon was noted for his moderation and clemency and was held in the highest esteem by the citizens of Syracuse.

 

The above coin seems to be somewhat scarce; I was able to find only 5 other examples online - one on wildwinds, which was sold by London Ancient Coins in 2012; two different specimens which were sold by Bertolami Fine Arts; one sold by Roma, and one by Savoca. This coin, of course, was sold in the group lot I purchased; it also appeared in an earlier group lot under the same auction house.

Perhaps the finest example was one of the Bertolami coins, which hammered for 340 GBP back in 2018:

Another very fine example was the one auctioned by Roma in 2014, with a hammer of 400 GBP:

Interestingly, the Roma coin may feature an extra "A" on the reverse; the auction house description explains:

"Calciati states that this extremely rare issue is to be dated for the third democracy 336-317 BC, however the A below the Pegasos suggests that in fact this could be an issue under Agathokles who ruled from 317-289; Cf. SNG ANS 646."

Whether or not this is so I couldn't say, but the extra 'A' also appears on this coin (the other specimen auctioned by Bertolami):

All in all, an interesting and rare little coin which opened up to me a fascinating period of history!

Main historical source: Timoleon - Wikipedia

[Phil Anthos]

Thanks for the historical close-up. 🙂

Here's one with Pegasus flying left...

Syracuse, Timoleon and the Third Democracy

344-317 BC AE Litra (19mm, 5.34g) O: Laureate head of Apollo left, cornucopia behind. R: Pegasos flying left; pellet above. HGC2,1486; CNS 85ff; Sear 1199v (under Agathokles) ~ Peter

Edited September 25, 2023 by Phil Anthos

[Curtisimo]

Timoleon is a fascinating historical figure. Nice addition @CPK.

Here is my Timoleon example.

SICILY, Syracuse
Time of Timoleon or the Third Democracy 
AE Hemidrachm (?) struck ca. 343-317 BC
(24.00 mm, 14.35 g)
Obv.: IEYΣ EΛΕΥ-ΘΕ-ΡΙΟΣ Laureate head of Zeus Eleutherios right
Rev.: ΣYPAK-OΣIΩN Τhunderbolt upright; barley
Ref.: HGC 1440 (Vol. 2); Calciati 71
Sometimes attributed to the time of Dion (357-354 BC)
From the collection of a Mentor, ex Naville Numismatics 74, lot 42 (June 2022)

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

What a charming acquisition, and a great writeup!

The only photographed coin of Syracuse (unless one includes the Byzantine SCL mint) is a very decrepit tetradrachm.

 

[Phil Anthos]

While going through my gallery to find this coin I noticed that the only historical note I had written was  "Timoleon was cool."

Syracuse, Timoleon and the Third Democracy

344-336 BC AE Hemidrachm (23mm, 12.40g) O: Laureate head of Zeus Eleutherios right, hair short; ZEYΣEA EΛE-YΘEPIOΣ to right. R: Thunderbolt; eagle with closed wings standing to right; ΣYPAKOΣIΩN around. HGC 2, 1440; Calciati II p. 167, 72; SNG ANS 477ff; SNG Cop 727; Sear 1192 ~ Peter

Edited September 25, 2023 by Phil Anthos

[ambr0zie]

Great coin(s) and write-up.

I have the same type as @Phil Anthos but worse condition

[CPK]

6 hours ago, Phil Anthos said:

While going through my gallery to find this coin I noticed that the only historical note I had written was  "Timoleon was cool."

Syracuse, Timoleon and the Third Democracy

344-336 BC AE Hemidrachm (23mm, 12.40g) O: Laureate head of Zeus Eleutherios right, hair short; ZEYΣEA EΛE-YΘEPIOΣ to right. R: Thunderbolt; eagle with closed wings standing to right; ΣYPAKOΣIΩN around. HGC 2, 1440; Calciati II p. 167, 72; SNG ANS 477ff; SNG Cop 727; Sear 1192 ~ Peter

That's not a bad summary! 😄 Nice coin. 👍 

[CPK]

7 hours ago, Curtisimo said:

Timoleon is a fascinating historical figure. Nice addition @CPK.

Here is my Timoleon example.

SICILY, Syracuse
Time of Timoleon or the Third Democracy 
AE Hemidrachm (?) struck ca. 343-317 BC
(24.00 mm, 14.35 g)
Obv.: IEYΣ EΛΕΥ-ΘΕ-ΡΙΟΣ Laureate head of Zeus Eleutherios right
Rev.: ΣYPAK-OΣIΩN Τhunderbolt upright; barley
Ref.: HGC 1440 (Vol. 2); Calciati 71
Sometimes attributed to the time of Dion (357-354 BC)
From the collection of a Mentor, ex Naville Numismatics 74, lot 42 (June 2022)

That Zeus is exquisite! What a beautiful piece of classical art.

[Deinomenid]

11 hours ago, CPK said:

Timoleon was noted for his moderation and clemency and was held in the highest esteem by the citizens of Syracuse

Great write up and coins. I'm restraining myself slightly as I'm a  bit of a fanatic about Timoleon. Or at last the version of  Timoleon that  has come  down to us.  It's  hard to  comprehend what a complete mess Greek Sicily was in by the the  time he was called for.

Plutarch - "The state of affairs in Syracuse, before the expedition of Timoleon into Sicily, was as follows.  After Dion had driven out Dionysius the tyrant, he was at once treacherously slain, and those who had helped him to free Syracuse were divided among themselves. The city, therefore, was continually exchanging one tyrant for another, and owing to a multitude of ills was almost abandoned,  while as for the rest of Sicily, part of it was ruined and already wholly without inhabitants by reason of the wars, and most of the cities were occupied by Barbarians of mixed races and soldiers out of employment, who readily consented to the successive changes in the despotic power."

For us coin-lovers too it was a bit of a disaster as  regular  coinage had plunged in output. Kraay - "In Sicily itself Timoleon found no local currency sufficient to pay his mercenaries, for no Greek coinage had been minted for several decades, and such older coins as remained in circulation were both worn and of very mixed origin; contemporary Siculo-Punic issues were available, but this alien currency provided only bullion for recoining."

 

There's almost something saintly about how  Timoleon is supposed to have rescued Sicily, from "some god  it would seem" intervening in Corinth to  have  him picked as the expedition's  leader, to the "greatness of  his soul", to appearing to  be crowned by the gods at Delphi, to his remarkable escape from assassination after which he was regarded as a "sacred personage, and one who had come under divine guidance" to the way the gods waited until his clear  success to kill off the mercenaries involved n the looting of the Delpic Sanctuary.

 

He accomplished an extraordinary  turnaround from the situation was when he arrived when  "For lack of population the market place of Syracuse had produced such a quantity of dense herbage that horses were pastured in it, while their grooms lay down in the grass; and the other cities, with almost no exceptions, were full of deer and wild swine, while in their suburbs and around their walls those who had leisure for it went hunting". The decree read at  his funeral said :

By the people of Syracuse, Timoleon, son of Timodemus, from Corinth, is here buried at a public cost of two hundred minas, and is honoured for all time with annual contests, musical, equestrian, and gymnastic, because he overthrew the tyrants, subdued the Barbarians, re-peopled the largest of the devastated cities, and then restored their laws to the Greeks of Sicily.

I admit I'm slightly skipping over the bit where he killed his brother for the greater good but  I thought the above was a good reason  to thoroughly overpay for the following coins :

 

SICILY. Syracuse. Timoleon, 344-337 BC. Dilitron (Silver, 13 mm, 1.54 g, 3 h). ΣYPAKOΣ-IΩN Janiform female head; to right, dolphin downwards. Rev. Horse galloping left; above, star.  R.C. Lockett collection, Glendining, 6 June 1955, 903.

 

Timoleon;  Struck c. 344-339/8 BCObv: Pegasus flying l. with pointed wing. Rx: ΣYΡΑΚoΣΙΩΝ Head of Athena r. wearing Corinthian helmet

 

Timoleon period (344-336 BC) - 2 Liter - Obverse: head of Zeus Eleutherios on the left - Reverse: galloping horse  left