Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 116 1 Oct 2019
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Gela
Tetradrachm circa 415-405, AR 17.22 g. Fast quadriga driven l. by charioteer holding kentron and reins; above, eagle flying l. and, in exergue, ear of barley l. Rev. ΓEΛAΣ Man-headed bull standing l.; to l., long barley-stalk with ear in front of bull's face and another below its beard. In exergue, barley grain. Rizzo pl. XIX, 4 (these dies). Jameson 593 (these dies). SNG Fitzwilliam 1010 (these dies). SNG Copenhagen 279 (these dies). AMB 291 (these dies). Gulbenkian 202 (these dies). Jenkins, Gela 485.10 (this coin).
Very rare and in unusual condition for this difficult and fascinating issue. Struck on a large
flan and exceptionally complete, lovely old cabinet tone and good very fine
Ex Hess-Leu 27 March 1956, 101; Gemini V, 2009, 331and Heritage 3012, 2011, 24389 sales. From the duplicates of the American Numismatic Society (inv. #1997.9.5) and from the estate of John D. Leggett, Jr.
Like the preceding didrachm of Agrigentum, and drachm of Catana, this tetradrachm of Gela was struck in the period of upheaval that engulfed Sicily in the last decades of the fifth century BC. When the Athenians dispatched their naval expedition to Sicily in 415-413 BC in an attempt to conquer Syracuse, the Geloans were among the first cities of Greek Sicily to provide support against the invader. In 406 BC, Gela also contributed to the defense of Agrigentum, but when that city fell to the Carthaginians Gela became a safe haven for Agrigentine refugees. Realizing that their city would be the next Carthaginian target, the Geloans sought aid from Dionysios I of Syracuse. This turned out to be of little use as the tyrant offered no tangible assistance and instead incited a democratic revolution in Gela. Himilco and the Carthaginian army arrived before Gela in 405 BC and lay siege to its walls, just as the Geloans had feared. Dionysios I reconsidered his previous position and marched out with a relieving force, but could not save the city. Gela fell and Himilco ordered its destruction although the peace settlement established later in the year permitted Geloan refugees to rebuild as Punic subjects. The present tetradrachm features the traditional types of Gela-a charioteer driving a quadriga and a man-faced bull. The former is copied from the tetradrachms of Syracuse, an early rival for supremacy in eastern Sicily. The man-faced bull is the common depiction of the river-god Acheloos, but here this creature represents the god of the nearby Gelas River. Since Acheloos was himself thought to be the father of all rivers, it makes perfect sense that Gelas and his other children should take the same peculiar taurine form. The river as a source of fecundity for the land is emphasized by the addition of a barleycorn in the exergue and grain ears before the man-faced bull. This specimen can be counted among the very finest known examples of this rare reverse type.
Tetradrachm circa 415-405, AR 17.22 g. Fast quadriga driven l. by charioteer holding kentron and reins; above, eagle flying l. and, in exergue, ear of barley l. Rev. ΓEΛAΣ Man-headed bull standing l.; to l., long barley-stalk with ear in front of bull's face and another below its beard. In exergue, barley grain. Rizzo pl. XIX, 4 (these dies). Jameson 593 (these dies). SNG Fitzwilliam 1010 (these dies). SNG Copenhagen 279 (these dies). AMB 291 (these dies). Gulbenkian 202 (these dies). Jenkins, Gela 485.10 (this coin).
Very rare and in unusual condition for this difficult and fascinating issue. Struck on a large
flan and exceptionally complete, lovely old cabinet tone and good very fine
Ex Hess-Leu 27 March 1956, 101; Gemini V, 2009, 331and Heritage 3012, 2011, 24389 sales. From the duplicates of the American Numismatic Society (inv. #1997.9.5) and from the estate of John D. Leggett, Jr.
Like the preceding didrachm of Agrigentum, and drachm of Catana, this tetradrachm of Gela was struck in the period of upheaval that engulfed Sicily in the last decades of the fifth century BC. When the Athenians dispatched their naval expedition to Sicily in 415-413 BC in an attempt to conquer Syracuse, the Geloans were among the first cities of Greek Sicily to provide support against the invader. In 406 BC, Gela also contributed to the defense of Agrigentum, but when that city fell to the Carthaginians Gela became a safe haven for Agrigentine refugees. Realizing that their city would be the next Carthaginian target, the Geloans sought aid from Dionysios I of Syracuse. This turned out to be of little use as the tyrant offered no tangible assistance and instead incited a democratic revolution in Gela. Himilco and the Carthaginian army arrived before Gela in 405 BC and lay siege to its walls, just as the Geloans had feared. Dionysios I reconsidered his previous position and marched out with a relieving force, but could not save the city. Gela fell and Himilco ordered its destruction although the peace settlement established later in the year permitted Geloan refugees to rebuild as Punic subjects. The present tetradrachm features the traditional types of Gela-a charioteer driving a quadriga and a man-faced bull. The former is copied from the tetradrachms of Syracuse, an early rival for supremacy in eastern Sicily. The man-faced bull is the common depiction of the river-god Acheloos, but here this creature represents the god of the nearby Gelas River. Since Acheloos was himself thought to be the father of all rivers, it makes perfect sense that Gelas and his other children should take the same peculiar taurine form. The river as a source of fecundity for the land is emphasized by the addition of a barleycorn in the exergue and grain ears before the man-faced bull. This specimen can be counted among the very finest known examples of this rare reverse type.