Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XIII 23 March 2017
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Karia, Knidos AR Tridrachm. Symmachy coinage, circa 405/4 BC. Herakliskos Drakonopnigon: the Infant Herakles, nude, crouching facing on rock, head left, strangling a serpent in each hand; ΣY[N] around / Head of Aphrodite right, prow below chin, KNIΔIΩN around; all within incuse square. Hecatomnus 1 (A1/P1); SNG Keckman 164 (same dies); SNG Copenhagen -. 11.42g, 22mm, 11h.
Good Very Fine. Extremely Rare.
At some point around the turn of the fifth to fourth century BC several major cities in Asia Minor issued a joint symmachy (alliance) coinage, all bearing as the obverse type the figure of the Herakliskos Drakonopnigon, with the letters ΣYN featured prominently, which is generally interpreted as syn[machoi] (allies). Byzantium, Knidos, Kyzikos, Ephesos, Iasos, Lampsakos, Rhodes, and Samos were evidently all participants, and their coins retain their individualistic reverse types - for example, the bee for Ephesos, the roaring lion for Kyzikos, and as seen here, the head of Aphrodite for Knidos.
The dating and purpose of this extraordinarily rare alliance coinage remains a subject of some debate, and its placement in the chronology and events of the age depend partly on the interpretation of the obverse type by various scholars. At this juncture, we may relate the myth from which the type is derived: on the night that Herakles was to be born, Hera, knowing of her husband Zeus' adultery with the mortal Alkmene, persuaded Zeus to swear an oath that the child born that night to a member of the House of Perseus would be High King. Hera did this knowing that while Herakles was to be born a descendant of Perseus, so too was Eurystheos, son of Sthenelos. Once the oath was sworn, Hera hurried to Alkmene's dwelling and slowed the birth of Herakles by forcing Ilithyia, goddess of childbirth, to sit cross-legged with her clothing tied in knots, thereby causing Herakles to be trapped in the womb. Meanwhile, Hera caused Eurystheos to be born prematurely, making him High King in place of Herakles. She would have permanently delayed Herakles' birth had she not been foiled by Galanthis, Alkmene's servant, who lied to Ilithyia, saying that Alkmene had already delivered the baby. Upon hearing this, she jumped in surprise, untying the knots and thus allowing Alkmene to give birth to Herakles. Having failed to prevent his birth, Hera sent two serpents to kill the baby Herakles as he lay in his cot. While his twin brother Iphikles screamed in terror, Herakles throttled the snakes, one in each hand, and was found by his nurse playing with their limp bodies as if they were toys.
Karweise (Lysander as Herakliskos Drakonopnigon, NC 140, 1980, pp. 1-27) proposes interpreting this iconic design as representing Spartan domination over Athens in the Peloponnesian War, referring specifically to the Spartan admiral Lysander (who was of the Heraklidai and thus claimed direct descent from Herakles) who had 'strangled' the hegemonic power of Athens with his victory at Aigospotamoi. Certainly this was an overwhelming naval victory, in which the Spartans captured or destroyed nine tenths of the Athenian fleet with minimal losses of their own. It thus ended the war at a stroke since Athens, long reliant on its naval supremacy, could no longer import grain to feed herself nor maintain communication with and control over its empire. The analogy of having strangled Athens into submission is indeed fitting. For Karweise therefore, these coins should have been issued shortly after Aigospotamoi in c. 404.
Delrieux (Les ententes monétaires au type et à la légende SYN au début du IVe siècle" in Mecanismes et innovations monetaires dans l'Anatolie Achemenide, Paris, 2000) on the other hand favours attributing this coinage to the period after the 'shine' on the Spartan victory had worn off. Following their victory at Aigospotamoi, Spartan relations with Persia deteriorated to the point where Spartan forces began raiding the satrapies of Pharnabazos and Tissaphernes. Led by the Athenian commander Konon, an Athenian-Persian alliance established a base of operations at Rhodes in 395, and the following year in 394 the allied fleet won a decisive naval victory at Knidos. At this point, many cities including Ephesos and Samos joined the alliance, no doubt partly due to the fact that the fear of a resurgent Athenian empire had led the Spartans to offer to 'hand over' all of the Greek cities in Asia Minor to the Persians, in the hope of securing their own position in Greece. Then, from 389-387 the Athenian general Thrasyboulos began re-establishing Athenian alliances with the cities in Asia Minor that had previously been their allies (many of them having once once belonged to the Delian League), with the result that Sparta deployed its forces to attack the cities of the Hellespont and the Propontis, driving more cities into the pro-Athenian alliance. The settlement of the Peace of Antalkidas, or the King's Peace in 387, confirmed Persian overlordship of the Ionian Greek cities and parts of the Aegean, effectively ending the alliance and its symmachy coinage.
Good Very Fine. Extremely Rare.
At some point around the turn of the fifth to fourth century BC several major cities in Asia Minor issued a joint symmachy (alliance) coinage, all bearing as the obverse type the figure of the Herakliskos Drakonopnigon, with the letters ΣYN featured prominently, which is generally interpreted as syn[machoi] (allies). Byzantium, Knidos, Kyzikos, Ephesos, Iasos, Lampsakos, Rhodes, and Samos were evidently all participants, and their coins retain their individualistic reverse types - for example, the bee for Ephesos, the roaring lion for Kyzikos, and as seen here, the head of Aphrodite for Knidos.
The dating and purpose of this extraordinarily rare alliance coinage remains a subject of some debate, and its placement in the chronology and events of the age depend partly on the interpretation of the obverse type by various scholars. At this juncture, we may relate the myth from which the type is derived: on the night that Herakles was to be born, Hera, knowing of her husband Zeus' adultery with the mortal Alkmene, persuaded Zeus to swear an oath that the child born that night to a member of the House of Perseus would be High King. Hera did this knowing that while Herakles was to be born a descendant of Perseus, so too was Eurystheos, son of Sthenelos. Once the oath was sworn, Hera hurried to Alkmene's dwelling and slowed the birth of Herakles by forcing Ilithyia, goddess of childbirth, to sit cross-legged with her clothing tied in knots, thereby causing Herakles to be trapped in the womb. Meanwhile, Hera caused Eurystheos to be born prematurely, making him High King in place of Herakles. She would have permanently delayed Herakles' birth had she not been foiled by Galanthis, Alkmene's servant, who lied to Ilithyia, saying that Alkmene had already delivered the baby. Upon hearing this, she jumped in surprise, untying the knots and thus allowing Alkmene to give birth to Herakles. Having failed to prevent his birth, Hera sent two serpents to kill the baby Herakles as he lay in his cot. While his twin brother Iphikles screamed in terror, Herakles throttled the snakes, one in each hand, and was found by his nurse playing with their limp bodies as if they were toys.
Karweise (Lysander as Herakliskos Drakonopnigon, NC 140, 1980, pp. 1-27) proposes interpreting this iconic design as representing Spartan domination over Athens in the Peloponnesian War, referring specifically to the Spartan admiral Lysander (who was of the Heraklidai and thus claimed direct descent from Herakles) who had 'strangled' the hegemonic power of Athens with his victory at Aigospotamoi. Certainly this was an overwhelming naval victory, in which the Spartans captured or destroyed nine tenths of the Athenian fleet with minimal losses of their own. It thus ended the war at a stroke since Athens, long reliant on its naval supremacy, could no longer import grain to feed herself nor maintain communication with and control over its empire. The analogy of having strangled Athens into submission is indeed fitting. For Karweise therefore, these coins should have been issued shortly after Aigospotamoi in c. 404.
Delrieux (Les ententes monétaires au type et à la légende SYN au début du IVe siècle" in Mecanismes et innovations monetaires dans l'Anatolie Achemenide, Paris, 2000) on the other hand favours attributing this coinage to the period after the 'shine' on the Spartan victory had worn off. Following their victory at Aigospotamoi, Spartan relations with Persia deteriorated to the point where Spartan forces began raiding the satrapies of Pharnabazos and Tissaphernes. Led by the Athenian commander Konon, an Athenian-Persian alliance established a base of operations at Rhodes in 395, and the following year in 394 the allied fleet won a decisive naval victory at Knidos. At this point, many cities including Ephesos and Samos joined the alliance, no doubt partly due to the fact that the fear of a resurgent Athenian empire had led the Spartans to offer to 'hand over' all of the Greek cities in Asia Minor to the Persians, in the hope of securing their own position in Greece. Then, from 389-387 the Athenian general Thrasyboulos began re-establishing Athenian alliances with the cities in Asia Minor that had previously been their allies (many of them having once once belonged to the Delian League), with the result that Sparta deployed its forces to attack the cities of the Hellespont and the Propontis, driving more cities into the pro-Athenian alliance. The settlement of the Peace of Antalkidas, or the King's Peace in 387, confirmed Persian overlordship of the Ionian Greek cities and parts of the Aegean, effectively ending the alliance and its symmachy coinage.