Roma Numismatics Ltd
E-Sale 17 25 April 2015
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Sicily, Akragas AR Tetradrachm. Circa 460-446 BC. Sea eagle standing left on Ionic capital, AKRACANTOΣ around / Crab; spiralled tendril ornament with floral terminals below; all within shallow incuse circle. Lee Group II; SNG ANS 982 var. 17.11g, 27mm, 7h.
Attractive old toning, perfectly centred, Near Extremely Fine.
From a German collection.
Akragas was founded by colonists from Gela in around 582-580 BC in a highly favourable location on a plateau overlooking the sea, and was supplied with water by two nearby rivers. The city's position benefited it greatly, and it quickly became one of the wealthiest Greek colonies in Sicily.
Under the tyrant Phalaris, who seized power in the city after having been entrusted with the building of the temple of Zeus on the citadel, the city attained considerable prosperity. Phalaris also supplied the city with water, adorned it with grand public buildings, and strengthened it with defensive walls. Yet for all this, he was renowned for his cruelty and sadistic tendencies, which supposedly included cannibalism. His notorious reputation is etched in legend, as it was he who commissioned the Brazen Bull, a hollow bronze statue invented by the sculptor Perillos as a novel way to execute criminals, in which the victim would be placed, before a fire was set below the statue. A complex system of tubes converted the victim's screams into the sounds of a bellowing bull. Perillos, expecting a reward for his service, was instead thrown into the bull to test it. Phalaris himself was said to have been killed in his brazen bull after being overthrown by Telemachos, the ancestor of Theron.
Attractive old toning, perfectly centred, Near Extremely Fine.
From a German collection.
Akragas was founded by colonists from Gela in around 582-580 BC in a highly favourable location on a plateau overlooking the sea, and was supplied with water by two nearby rivers. The city's position benefited it greatly, and it quickly became one of the wealthiest Greek colonies in Sicily.
Under the tyrant Phalaris, who seized power in the city after having been entrusted with the building of the temple of Zeus on the citadel, the city attained considerable prosperity. Phalaris also supplied the city with water, adorned it with grand public buildings, and strengthened it with defensive walls. Yet for all this, he was renowned for his cruelty and sadistic tendencies, which supposedly included cannibalism. His notorious reputation is etched in legend, as it was he who commissioned the Brazen Bull, a hollow bronze statue invented by the sculptor Perillos as a novel way to execute criminals, in which the victim would be placed, before a fire was set below the statue. A complex system of tubes converted the victim's screams into the sounds of a bellowing bull. Perillos, expecting a reward for his service, was instead thrown into the bull to test it. Phalaris himself was said to have been killed in his brazen bull after being overthrown by Telemachos, the ancestor of Theron.