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Numismatic Auction 5  18 February 2014
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Lot 6

Estimate: 500 USD
Price realized: 300 USD
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Lakonia, Lakedaimon (Sparta). Ca. 48-35 B.C. Æ hexachalkon (23.0 mm, 7.43 g, 1 h). ΛYKOYPΓOC, bearded head of Lykourgos right / Λ-A / ΦI - monogram I, club with handle ending in kerykeion. Grunauer group XVII, series 7, 81.1; BCD Peloponnesos 907. F/VF, Rare.

Lycurgus was the the founder of the Spartan constitution,the earliest mention of him being in Herodotus in the fifth century B.C. Nothing is known of his life-when he lived or if he was a real man, a god, or a mythical figure. However, he is generally associated with the 7th cent. B.C. at the time when a revolt of the Messenians nearly felled Sparta. After an inspired visit to the Oracle at Delphi, Lycurgus led a reform in the government and in the city\'s social system to establish a machine of war that would preclude further trouble from both internal and external foes. All of his reforms were directed towards the three Spartan virtues: equality among Spartan citizens, military fitness, and austerity. Later classical writers added details to his life as the tradition developed until Plutarch wrote his biography in A.D. 75. A translation of Plutarch\'s biography of Lykourgos can be found here: http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/lycurgus.html

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