Silver Tetradrachm, Catane, 405-403/2 BCE

Silver Tetradrachm, Catane, 405-403/2 BCE; Reverse: Four-horse chariot, Nike overhead.
Signed by Herakleidas

Type/Object Name: Ob: Head of Apollo. Inscription 螚巍螒螞螝螘螜螖螒危 (鈥淗ERAKLEIDAS鈥 = artist鈥檚 signature). | Re: Four-horse chariot, Nike overhead.

Dates: 405-403/2 BCE

Medium: Silver, Tetradrachm

Dimensions: Diameter聽24.6 mm, Weight 16.9274 g

Credit Line: Courtesy of John Nebel

Notes: Shared Visual Expressions

This magnificent coin of Catane, in Sicily, shows the head of the god Apollo in three-quarter view, with his hair flowing all around his head and the irises and pupils of his eyes clearly portrayed. Although the inscription at the right is hard to see on this coin, other examples show it was signed by the artist Herakleidas. The reverse shows a charioteer shaking the reins of his horses to urge them to move faster. The goddess of victory, Nike, crowns the charioteer. Chariot victories were a particularly common image on Sicilian coins after Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, defeated the Carthaginians in 405 BCE. The city of Catane was conquered in 403/2 by Dionysius, who enslaved its entire population, so this coin was made before then.

Collection: Coin, John Nebel

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