Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 138 18-19 May 2023
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Tylisos.
Stater circa 320-270, AR 11. 16 g. Head of Hera r., wearing pendant earring and stephanos decorated with palmettes. Rev. TYΛIΣON retrograde Apollo standing l., r. leg advanced, holding bow in l. hand and goat's head in outstretched r. hand; in l. field, small laurel tree. Svoronos 1, pl. XXX, 29 (these dies). Le Rider pl. VI, 17. BMC 1. Jameson 2526. SNG Delepierre 2433.
Extremely rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Struck on an unusually
fresh metal and with a lovely old cabinet tone. An almost invisible trace of
overstriking on obverse, otherwise extremely fine
Ex Roma Numismatics sale XIX, 2020, 360. From the David Freedman collection and previously privately purchased from London Coin Galleries on 20th March 2015.
Very little is known about the small city of Tylisos on Crete and indeed J. N. Svoronos remarked in his seminal work on the ancient coinages of Crete that it may not have been known at all if not for the survival of extremely rare coins like the present tetradrachm-one of only 6 to appear at auction in the last two decades. Archaeological excavation in the early twentieth century showed that the site of Tylisos had been occupied since the Minoan period in the Bronze Age, but that the Greek city was not constructed directly on top of the Minoan settlement. All that presently remains of the Greek city are the scant ruins of a sanctuary consisting of an altar and a temenos wall. Inscriptions from Tylisos and Argos in mainland Greece show that in the mid-fifth century BC these cities together with Knossos on Crete and perhaps others formed an alliance with a federal assembly to decide on questions of war and peace. The language of the inscriptions suggests that Argos was the leading force of the alliance and that Tylisos may have been its dependency rather than an independent member. Perhaps tellingly, the inscriptions state that the Argive assembly was to mediate in any disputes between Tylisos and Knossos and neither Cretan city was permitted to absorb the other's territory, however, Tylissians were permitted to own property in Knossos while Knossians were prohibited from doing the same in Tylisos. Argive influence is also detectable in the coinage of Tylisos through its use of the Aeginetan weight standard and a representation of Hera on the obverse that is clearly modelled on staters struck at Argos in the period c. 370-350 BC. The reverse type may also have Argive connotations if the type of Apollo holding the head of a goat is correctly identified as a representation of Apollo Karneios. This was a distinctly Dorian Greek form of the god as a protector of flocks and herds. Apollo Karneios was especially worshipped in Sparta, where his festival-the Karneia-took place over nine days in August during which it was forbidden to wage war. It is clear that Apollo Karneios was also worshipped by the Argives, who were also Dorians. Thucydides (5.54) reports that in 419 BC, when Argos was in conflict with Sparta, the Argives manipulated their calendar so that they would not have to break off hostilities for the Karneia at the same time that the Spartans were forced to lay down their arms for the festival.
Stater circa 320-270, AR 11. 16 g. Head of Hera r., wearing pendant earring and stephanos decorated with palmettes. Rev. TYΛIΣON retrograde Apollo standing l., r. leg advanced, holding bow in l. hand and goat's head in outstretched r. hand; in l. field, small laurel tree. Svoronos 1, pl. XXX, 29 (these dies). Le Rider pl. VI, 17. BMC 1. Jameson 2526. SNG Delepierre 2433.
Extremely rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Struck on an unusually
fresh metal and with a lovely old cabinet tone. An almost invisible trace of
overstriking on obverse, otherwise extremely fine
Ex Roma Numismatics sale XIX, 2020, 360. From the David Freedman collection and previously privately purchased from London Coin Galleries on 20th March 2015.
Very little is known about the small city of Tylisos on Crete and indeed J. N. Svoronos remarked in his seminal work on the ancient coinages of Crete that it may not have been known at all if not for the survival of extremely rare coins like the present tetradrachm-one of only 6 to appear at auction in the last two decades. Archaeological excavation in the early twentieth century showed that the site of Tylisos had been occupied since the Minoan period in the Bronze Age, but that the Greek city was not constructed directly on top of the Minoan settlement. All that presently remains of the Greek city are the scant ruins of a sanctuary consisting of an altar and a temenos wall. Inscriptions from Tylisos and Argos in mainland Greece show that in the mid-fifth century BC these cities together with Knossos on Crete and perhaps others formed an alliance with a federal assembly to decide on questions of war and peace. The language of the inscriptions suggests that Argos was the leading force of the alliance and that Tylisos may have been its dependency rather than an independent member. Perhaps tellingly, the inscriptions state that the Argive assembly was to mediate in any disputes between Tylisos and Knossos and neither Cretan city was permitted to absorb the other's territory, however, Tylissians were permitted to own property in Knossos while Knossians were prohibited from doing the same in Tylisos. Argive influence is also detectable in the coinage of Tylisos through its use of the Aeginetan weight standard and a representation of Hera on the obverse that is clearly modelled on staters struck at Argos in the period c. 370-350 BC. The reverse type may also have Argive connotations if the type of Apollo holding the head of a goat is correctly identified as a representation of Apollo Karneios. This was a distinctly Dorian Greek form of the god as a protector of flocks and herds. Apollo Karneios was especially worshipped in Sparta, where his festival-the Karneia-took place over nine days in August during which it was forbidden to wage war. It is clear that Apollo Karneios was also worshipped by the Argives, who were also Dorians. Thucydides (5.54) reports that in 419 BC, when Argos was in conflict with Sparta, the Argives manipulated their calendar so that they would not have to break off hostilities for the Karneia at the same time that the Spartans were forced to lay down their arms for the festival.