Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction X 27 September 2015
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Ionia, Magnesia ad Maeandrum AR Hemiobol. Themistokles, governor. Circa 465-459 BC. Barley grain; ΘE monogram to left, E to right / Head of Apollo to right, wearing diadem; M-A-[Γ?]-N-E around; all within incuse square. Cf. Nollé & Wenninger Th5c. 0.43g, 7mm, 8h.
Extremely Fine. Apparently unique and unpublished.
Themistokles was one of the greatest statesmen and generals of the early Athenian democracy. It was his influence that led Athens to considerably increase its naval power, which would prove decisive in its conflicts with the Achaemenid Persian empire. He fought at the Battle of Marathon, and commanded the Greek allied navy at the battles of Artemision and Salamis. It was due in part to Themistokles' cunning that the allies were able to lure the Persian fleet into the straights of Salamis, and in the cramped conditions the superior numbers of the Persians became a hindrance. Disorganised and unable to manoeuvre, the Greeks formed in line and won a decisive victory. The following year, the Persian army was soundly defeated at the Battle of Plataea, ending the Persian attempts to conquer the Greek mainland.
These battles of Salamis and Plataea thus mark a turning point in the course of the Greco-Persian wars as a whole; from then on, the Greek city-states would take the offensive. A number of historians believe that a Persian victory would have hamstrung the development of Ancient Greece, and by extension western civilization, and this has led them to claim that Salamis is one of the most significant battles in human history.
Despite this and other accomplishments, the perceived arrogance of Themistokles alienated him from his fellow citizens and in 472/1 he was ostracised, and went into exile. Having before aroused the hostility of Sparta by ordering the re-fortification of Athens, the Spartans now implicated him in the treason of Pausanias, forcing Themistokles to flee from Greece to Asia Minor. There, he offered his service to his former enemies, and entered the service of the Persian Great King Artaxerxes. In recognition of his reputation and former glories, the Persian king made him governor of Magnesia, where he lived out the remainder of his life.
Extremely Fine. Apparently unique and unpublished.
Themistokles was one of the greatest statesmen and generals of the early Athenian democracy. It was his influence that led Athens to considerably increase its naval power, which would prove decisive in its conflicts with the Achaemenid Persian empire. He fought at the Battle of Marathon, and commanded the Greek allied navy at the battles of Artemision and Salamis. It was due in part to Themistokles' cunning that the allies were able to lure the Persian fleet into the straights of Salamis, and in the cramped conditions the superior numbers of the Persians became a hindrance. Disorganised and unable to manoeuvre, the Greeks formed in line and won a decisive victory. The following year, the Persian army was soundly defeated at the Battle of Plataea, ending the Persian attempts to conquer the Greek mainland.
These battles of Salamis and Plataea thus mark a turning point in the course of the Greco-Persian wars as a whole; from then on, the Greek city-states would take the offensive. A number of historians believe that a Persian victory would have hamstrung the development of Ancient Greece, and by extension western civilization, and this has led them to claim that Salamis is one of the most significant battles in human history.
Despite this and other accomplishments, the perceived arrogance of Themistokles alienated him from his fellow citizens and in 472/1 he was ostracised, and went into exile. Having before aroused the hostility of Sparta by ordering the re-fortification of Athens, the Spartans now implicated him in the treason of Pausanias, forcing Themistokles to flee from Greece to Asia Minor. There, he offered his service to his former enemies, and entered the service of the Persian Great King Artaxerxes. In recognition of his reputation and former glories, the Persian king made him governor of Magnesia, where he lived out the remainder of his life.