Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XV 5 Apr 2018
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Sicily, Akragas AR Tetradrachm. Circa 470-450 BC. Sea eagle standing left with wings closed; AKRACANTOΣ around / Crab; below, fish (?) to right, prey protruding from mouth (?). Pozzi 381; Lockett 694. 17.58g, 24mm, 8h.
Near Mint State, minor marks. Extremely Rare.
Ex Roma Numismatics XII, 29 September 2016, lot 69.
The Pozzi collection records this very rare symbol as being a fish with prey protruding from its mouth, in the act of devouring whatever hapless creature it has caught. The Lockett collection more conservatively describes it as a fish, ending in a die break. The truth could be either, or neither - when viewed upside down it looks rather like a straightened-out seahorse.
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.
Near Mint State, minor marks. Extremely Rare.
Ex Roma Numismatics XII, 29 September 2016, lot 69.
The Pozzi collection records this very rare symbol as being a fish with prey protruding from its mouth, in the act of devouring whatever hapless creature it has caught. The Lockett collection more conservatively describes it as a fish, ending in a die break. The truth could be either, or neither - when viewed upside down it looks rather like a straightened-out seahorse.
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.