Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 134 21 Nov 2022
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Greek Coins. Demetrius Poliorcetes. 306 – 284.
Stater circa 290-289, AV 8.63 g. Diademed head of Demetrius r., with horn. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ – ΔΗΜΗΤP[ΙΟΥ] Horseman draped and wearing causia advancing r., holding spear; in field, two monograms. Jameson 1002 (this coin). Weber 2169 (these dies). Newell 83 (this coin listed).
Extremely rare. A portrait of superb Hellenistic style and a finely engraved reverse
composition. Minor marks in field, otherwise extremely fine
Ex Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge sale 17 July 1908, O'Hagan, 340. From the Jameson collection and from an ExceptionalCollection assembled between the early 70s and late 90s.
Demetrius Poliorcetes has been characterized as a comet that briefly illuminated the early Hellenistic period with his glory and then disappeared again into the darkness. He rose to prominence as the son of Antigonus Monophthalmus, the general who came the closest of the Successors to controlling the full empire of Alexander the Great. During the wars of the Successors, Demetrius accompanied his father on numerous campaigns to hunt down and destroy his chief rival, Eumenes of Cardia. In 317/16 BC, Demetrius led the cavalry wing at the battles of Paraitacene and Gabiene that ultimately led to the betrayal and execution of Eumenes. He also held independent commands during the struggle against an alliance of Cassander, Lysimachus and Ptolemy in 315-311 BC. At the opening of the war against a coalition of these same kings with the addition of Seleucus in 307-301 BC, Demetrius invaded mainland Greece where he was frequently greeted as a liberator and, at least in Athens, as a god on earth. In 306 BC, he won an impressive victory over the Ptolemaic fleet off Salamis, and in the following year both Antigonus and Demetrius claimed the royal title for themselves. In 305 BC Demetrius earned his nickname, Poliorcetes ("the Besieger"), when he undertook the siege of Rhodes. In order to prosecute the siege, he erected a 125-foot-tall tower known as the helepoleis, or "city-taker" and built a battering ram that required 1000 men to operate. Unfortunately, these impressive and expensive machines ultimately failed to capture Rhodes as the city continued to be supplied by sea thanks to the Ptolemaic fleet. Demetrius ultimately abandoned the siege and the Rhodians sold his equipment for a princely sum that permitted them to erect a colossal statue of Helios that became one of the Seven Wonders of the World. A few years later, in 301 BC, disaster struck when Demetrius and his father faced off against a coalition of their rivals at the battle of Ipsus. An impetuous charge of the cavalry wing by Demetrius carried him too far from the main infantry line and Antigonus was killed as the battle was lost. Demetrius subsequently attempted to hold together his remaining possessions in Greece, the islands and Cilicia and even managed to claim the Macedonian kingdom in 295/4 BC. Unfortunately, his haughty style of rule offended the Macedonian nobility, who expelled him from the kingdom in 290/89 BC with the aid of Pyrrhus of Epirus and Lysimachus. Giving up on Macedonia and Greece, Demetrius employed his still powerful fleet to sail to Asia Minor in the hope of carving out a new kingdom for himself there, but he continued to be dogged by bad luck. After years of campaigning and still little to show for it, Demetrius was at last hunted down by Seleucus in Cilicia in 285 BC. However, in a rather chivalric act typical of the early Hellenistic period, Seleucus did not strike him down, but imprisoned him in luxurious surroundings. The Besieger was safe and lived a life of magnificent opulence, but he would never be king or adventurer ever again. Demetrius could not overcome the deep grief he felt at this terrible loss and drank himself to death in 283 BC. This gold stater was struck during Demetrius' difficult reign as king in Macedonia, perhaps in the context of his wars against the Aetolian League and Pyrrhus. On the obverse he is depicted with a bull's horn-an allusion to his deification by the Athenians as a new Poseidon-while he is shown mounted on the reverse. This mounted type was intended to advertise his martial prowess, which was actually beginning to slip away, and his legitimacy as a Macedonian ruler.
Stater circa 290-289, AV 8.63 g. Diademed head of Demetrius r., with horn. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ – ΔΗΜΗΤP[ΙΟΥ] Horseman draped and wearing causia advancing r., holding spear; in field, two monograms. Jameson 1002 (this coin). Weber 2169 (these dies). Newell 83 (this coin listed).
Extremely rare. A portrait of superb Hellenistic style and a finely engraved reverse
composition. Minor marks in field, otherwise extremely fine
Ex Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge sale 17 July 1908, O'Hagan, 340. From the Jameson collection and from an ExceptionalCollection assembled between the early 70s and late 90s.
Demetrius Poliorcetes has been characterized as a comet that briefly illuminated the early Hellenistic period with his glory and then disappeared again into the darkness. He rose to prominence as the son of Antigonus Monophthalmus, the general who came the closest of the Successors to controlling the full empire of Alexander the Great. During the wars of the Successors, Demetrius accompanied his father on numerous campaigns to hunt down and destroy his chief rival, Eumenes of Cardia. In 317/16 BC, Demetrius led the cavalry wing at the battles of Paraitacene and Gabiene that ultimately led to the betrayal and execution of Eumenes. He also held independent commands during the struggle against an alliance of Cassander, Lysimachus and Ptolemy in 315-311 BC. At the opening of the war against a coalition of these same kings with the addition of Seleucus in 307-301 BC, Demetrius invaded mainland Greece where he was frequently greeted as a liberator and, at least in Athens, as a god on earth. In 306 BC, he won an impressive victory over the Ptolemaic fleet off Salamis, and in the following year both Antigonus and Demetrius claimed the royal title for themselves. In 305 BC Demetrius earned his nickname, Poliorcetes ("the Besieger"), when he undertook the siege of Rhodes. In order to prosecute the siege, he erected a 125-foot-tall tower known as the helepoleis, or "city-taker" and built a battering ram that required 1000 men to operate. Unfortunately, these impressive and expensive machines ultimately failed to capture Rhodes as the city continued to be supplied by sea thanks to the Ptolemaic fleet. Demetrius ultimately abandoned the siege and the Rhodians sold his equipment for a princely sum that permitted them to erect a colossal statue of Helios that became one of the Seven Wonders of the World. A few years later, in 301 BC, disaster struck when Demetrius and his father faced off against a coalition of their rivals at the battle of Ipsus. An impetuous charge of the cavalry wing by Demetrius carried him too far from the main infantry line and Antigonus was killed as the battle was lost. Demetrius subsequently attempted to hold together his remaining possessions in Greece, the islands and Cilicia and even managed to claim the Macedonian kingdom in 295/4 BC. Unfortunately, his haughty style of rule offended the Macedonian nobility, who expelled him from the kingdom in 290/89 BC with the aid of Pyrrhus of Epirus and Lysimachus. Giving up on Macedonia and Greece, Demetrius employed his still powerful fleet to sail to Asia Minor in the hope of carving out a new kingdom for himself there, but he continued to be dogged by bad luck. After years of campaigning and still little to show for it, Demetrius was at last hunted down by Seleucus in Cilicia in 285 BC. However, in a rather chivalric act typical of the early Hellenistic period, Seleucus did not strike him down, but imprisoned him in luxurious surroundings. The Besieger was safe and lived a life of magnificent opulence, but he would never be king or adventurer ever again. Demetrius could not overcome the deep grief he felt at this terrible loss and drank himself to death in 283 BC. This gold stater was struck during Demetrius' difficult reign as king in Macedonia, perhaps in the context of his wars against the Aetolian League and Pyrrhus. On the obverse he is depicted with a bull's horn-an allusion to his deification by the Athenians as a new Poseidon-while he is shown mounted on the reverse. This mounted type was intended to advertise his martial prowess, which was actually beginning to slip away, and his legitimacy as a Macedonian ruler.