51 Gallery
June 2017 Auction 9 Jun 2017
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MACEDON, SILVER TETRADRACHM OF PHILIP II, Pella, ca. 348-342 BC, 14.315g, 12h. Le Rider 165. Old cabinet tone. Splendid portrait of Zeus of high style. Choice extremely fine. Tradart 1999 (11) lot 33; Frank Sternberg 1988 (21) lot 73
"Philip took care to have his victories at Olympia engraved upon his coins..." (Plutarch, Life of Alexander, 4.9). Coins were frequently used to advertise victories at Olympia and other games. Philip displayed his synoris (two horses chariot race) victory on gold staters, and his keles (horseback race) victory on silver tetradrachms. The keles was added to the Olympic program in 648 BC and seems to have covered a distance of six stadia, approximately 1.2km. The jockeys were small boys, probably slaves, who rode without benefit of saddle or stirrups (which had not yet been invented). It was a double triumph for Philip: he not only won the race, but he had been admitted to the games as a true Greek; a barbarian, indeed, as many enemies called him, was note eligible...
"Philip took care to have his victories at Olympia engraved upon his coins..." (Plutarch, Life of Alexander, 4.9). Coins were frequently used to advertise victories at Olympia and other games. Philip displayed his synoris (two horses chariot race) victory on gold staters, and his keles (horseback race) victory on silver tetradrachms. The keles was added to the Olympic program in 648 BC and seems to have covered a distance of six stadia, approximately 1.2km. The jockeys were small boys, probably slaves, who rode without benefit of saddle or stirrups (which had not yet been invented). It was a double triumph for Philip: he not only won the race, but he had been admitted to the games as a true Greek; a barbarian, indeed, as many enemies called him, was note eligible...