SYRACUSE in SICILY 275BC Persephone and Bull Hieron II Ancient Greek Coin i52748
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SYRACUSE in SICILY 275BC Persephone and Bull Hieron II Ancient Greek Coin i52748:
$150.00
Item: i52748
Authentic Ancient Coin of:
Greek city ofSyracuse inSicily
Bronze 18mm (5.50 grams)
Struck under kingHieron II circa 275-265 B.C.
Reference: HGC 2, 1469; CNS II, no. 19-192
ΣYPAKOΣIΩN,Head of Persephone left, wreathed with grain.
Bull charging left; club and monogram above.
When in it\'s foundations that the city of Syracuse only consisted of the island of Ortygia, that island was said to have been the home of the nymph Arethusa. She had been a chaste, faithful attendant of Artemis. It is said that she got the unwanted attentions from the river god, Alpheios, while bathing in his Peloponnesian stream. Artemis hid her in a cloud in an attempt to save her, however she sweated so profusely out of fear that she was transformed into a stream. Artemis broke apart the ground to allow her to escape. She found her way to the island of Ortygia where she became the fountain on that island.
You are offerding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
InGreek mythology, Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and the harvest-goddessDemeter, and queen of theunderworld; she was abducted byHades, the god-king of the underworld.
The myth of her abduction represents her function as thepersonification ofvegetation which shoots forth inspring and withdraws into the earth after harvest; hence she is also associated with spring and with the seeds of the fruits of the fields. Persephone as avegetation goddess (Kore) and her motherDemeter were the central figures of theEleusinian mysteries that predated theOlympian pantheon. In theLinear B (MyceneanGreek) tablets dated 1400-1200 BC found atPylos, the \"two mistresses and the king\" are mentioned;John Chadwick identifies these asDemeter, Persephone andPoseidon.
InClassical Greek art, Persephone is invariably portrayed robed; often carrying asheaf of grain. InRoman mythology, she is calledProserpina.
Hieron II (c. 308 – 215 BC), king ofSyracuse from 270 to 215 BC, was the illegitimate son of a Syracusan noble,Hierocles, who claimed descent fromGelon. He was a former general ofPyrrhus of Epirus and an important figure of theFirst Punic War.
On the departure of Pyrrhus fromSicily (275 BC) the Syracusan army and citizens appointed him commander of the troops. He strengthened his position by marrying the daughter of Leptines, the leading citizen. In the meantime, theMamertines, a body ofCampanian mercenaries who had been employed byAgathocles, had seized the stronghold ofMessana, and proceeded in harassing the Syracusans. They were finally defeated in a pitched battle nearMylae by Hieron, who was only prevented from capturing Messana byCarthaginian interference. His grateful countrymen then made himking (270).
In 264 BC he again returned to the attack, and the Mamertines called in the aid of Rome. Hieron at once joined the Punic leaderHanno, who had recently landed in Sicily; but fighting a battle to an inconclusive outcome with the Romans led by theconsulAppius Claudius Caudex, he withdrew to Syracuse. Pressed by the Roman forces, in 263 he concluded a treaty with Rome, by which he was to rule over the south-east of Sicily and the Eastern coast as far asTauromenium.
From this time till his death in 215 BC he remained loyal to the Romans, and frequently assisted them with men and provisions during the Punic war. He kept up a powerful fleet for defensive purposes, and employed his famous kinsmanArchimedes in the construction of those engines that, at a later date, played so important a part during the siege of Syracuse by the Romans.
According to a story told byVitruvius, Hiero suspected he was being cheated by the goldsmith to whom he had supplied the gold to make avotive crown for a temple. He asked Archimedes to find out if all the gold had been used, as had been agreed. Archimedes, on discovering the principle ofdisplacement needed to measure thedensity of the crown is said to have shouted \"eureka, eureka!\" while running naked through Syracuse. Vitruvius concludes this story by stating that Archimedes\' method successfully detected the goldsmith\'s fraud; he had taken some of the gold and substituted silver instead.
A picture of the prosperity of Syracuse during his rule is given in the sixteenth idyll ofTheocritus, his favourite poet.
In The Prince (VI),Machiavelli cites Hiero as an exceptionally virtuous man and a rare example of someone who rose to princehood from private station.
Syracuse pronounced,Sicilian: Sarausa, is a historiccity insouthern Italy, thecapital of theprovince of Syracuse. The city is famous for its rich Greek and association toArchimedes, playing an important role in ancient times as one of the top powers of theMediterranean world; it is over 2,700 years old. Syracuse is located in the south-east corner of the island ofSicily, right by the Gulf of Syracuse next to theIonian Sea.
The city was founded byAncient Greek Corinthians and became a very powerfulcity-state. Syracuse was allied withSparta andCorinth, exerting influence over the entire Magna Grecia area of which it was the most important city. Once described by Cicero as \"the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all\", it later became part of theRoman Republic andByzantine Empire. After thisPalermo overtook it in importance, as the capital of theKingdom of Sicily. Eventually the kingdom would be united with theKingdom of Naples to form theTwo Sicilies until theItalian unification of 1860.
In the modern day, the city is listed byUNESCO as aWorld Heritage Site along with theNecropolis of Pantalica. In the central area, the city itself has a population of around 125,000 people. The inhabitants are known as Siracusans, and the local language spoken by its inhabitants is theSicilian language. Syracuse is mentioned in theBible in theActs of the Apostles book at 28:12 asPaul stayed there.[2] The patron saint of the city isSaint Lucy; she was born in Syracuse and her feast day,Saint Lucy\'s Day, is celebrated on 13 December.
Greek periodSyracuse and its surrounding area have been inhabited since ancient times, as shown by the findings in the villages of Stentinello, Ognina, Plemmirio, Matrensa, Cozzo Pantano and Thapsos, which already had a relationship withMycenaean Greece.
Syracuse was founded in 734 or 733 BC by Greek settlers fromCorinth and Tenea, led by the oecist (colonizer)Archias, who called it Sirako, referring to a nearby salt marsh. The nucleus of the ancient city was the small island of Ortygia. The settlers found the land fertile and the native tribes to be reasonably well-disposed to their presence. The city grew and prospered, and for some time stood as the most powerful Greek city anywhere in theMediterranean. Colonies were founded atAkrai (664 BC),Kasmenai (643 BC),Akrillai (VII century BC), Helorus (VII century BC) andKamarina (598 BC). The descendants of the first colonist, called Gamoroi, held the power until they were expelled by the Killichiroi, the lower class of the city. The former, however, returned to power in 485 BC, thanks to the help ofGelo, ruler ofGela. Gelo himself became the despot of the city, and moved many inhabitants of Gela, Kamarina and Megera to Syracuse, building the new quarters ofTyche andNeapolis outside the walls. His program of new constructions included a new theater, designed byDamocopos, which gave the city a flourishing cultural life: this in turn attracted personalities asAeschylus, Ario ofMetimma, Eumelos ofCorinth andSappho, who had been exiled here fromMytilene. The enlarged power of Syracuse made unavoidable the clash against theCarthaginians, who ruled western Sicily. In theBattle of Himera, Gelo, who had allied with Theron ofAgrigento, decisively defeated the African force led byHamilcar. Atemple, entitled to Athena (on the site of the today\'s Cathedral), was erected in the city to commemorate the event
Gelon was succedeed by his brotherHiero, whofought against theEtruscans at Cumae in 474 BC. His rule was eulogized by poets likeSimonides of Ceos,Bacchylides and Pindar, who visited his court. A democratic regime was introduced byThrasybulos (467 BC). The city continued to expand inSicily, fighting against the rebelliousSiculi, and on theTyrrhenian Sea, making expeditions up toCorsica andElba. In the late 5th century BC, Syracuse found itself at war withAthens, which sought more resources to fight thePeloponnesian War. The Syracusans enlisted the aid of a general fromSparta, Athens\' foe in the war, to defeat the Athenians, destroy their ships, and leave them to starve on the island (seeSicilian Expedition). In 401 BC, Syracuse contributed a force of 3,000hoplites and a general toCyrus the Younger\'sArmy of the Ten Thousand.
Then in the early 4th century BC, thetyrantDionysius the Elder was again at war againstCarthage and, although losing Gela and Camarina, kept that power from capturing the whole of Sicily. After the end of the conflict Dionysius built a massive fortress on the Ortygia island of the city and 22km-long walls around all of Syracuse. Another period of expansion saw the destruction ofNaxos, Catania and Lentini, then Syracuse entered again in war against Carthage (397 BC). After various changes of fortune, the Carthaginians managed to besiege Syracuse itself, but were eventually pushed back by a pestilence. A treaty in 392 BC allowed Syracuse to enlarge further its possessions, founding the cities of Adrano, Ancona,Adria, Tindari and Tauromenos, and conqueringReggio Calabria on the continent. Apart from his battle deeds, Dionysius was famous as a patron of art, andPlato himself visited Syracuse several times.
His successor wasDionysius the Younger, who was however expelled byDion in 356 BC. But the latter\'s despotic rule led in turn to his expulsion, and Dionysius reclaimed his throne in 347 BC. A democratic government was installed by Timoleon in 345 BC. The long series of internal struggles had weakened Syracuse\'s power on the island, and Timoleon tried to remedy this, defeating the Carthaginians in 339 BC near theKrimisos river. But the struggle among the city\'s parties restarted after his death and ended with the rise of another tyrant,Agathocles, who seized power with a coup in 317 BC. He resumed the war against Carthage, with alternate fortunes. He however scored a moral success, bringing the war to the Carthaginians\' native African soil, inflicting heavy losses to the enemy. The war ended with another treaty of peace which did not prevent the Carthaginians interfering in the politics of Syracuse after the death of Agathocles (289 BC). The citizens calledPyrrhus of Epirus for help. After a brief period under the rule of Epirus,Hiero II seized power in 275 BC.
Hiero inaugurated a period of 50 years of peace and prosperity, in which Syracause became one of the most renowned capitals of Antiquity. He issued the so-called Lex Hieronica, which was later adopted by the Romans for their administration of Sicily; he also had the theater enlarged and a new immensealtar, the \"Hiero\'s Ara\", built. Under his rule lived the most famous Syracusan, thenatural philosopherArchimedes. Among his many inventions were various military engines including theclaw of Archimedes, later used to resist theRoman siege of 214BC–212BC. Literary figures includedTheocritus and others.
Hiero\'s successor, the youngHieronymus (ruled from 215 BC), broke the alliance with the Romans after their defeat at theBattle of Cannae and acceptedCarthage\'s support. The Romans, led by consulMarcus Claudius Marcellus,besieged the city in 214 BC. The city held out for three years, but fell in 212 BC. It is believed to have fallen due to a peace party opening a small door in the wall to negotiate a peace, but the Romans charged through the door and took the city, killing Archimedes in the process.
From Roman domination to the Middle AgesThough declining slowly by the years, Syracuse maintained the status of capital of the Roman government of Sicily and seat of thepraetor. It remained an important port for the trades between the Eastern and the Western parts of the Empire.Christianity spread in the city through the efforts ofPaul of Tarsus and Saint Marziano, the first bishop of the city, who made it one of the main centres ofproselytism in the West. In the age of the persecutions massivecatacombs were carved, whose size is second only to those of Rome.
After a period ofVandal rule, Syracuse and the island was recovered byBelisarius for theByzantine Empire (31 December 535). From 663 to 668 Syracuse was the seat of Emperor Constans II, as well as metropolis of the whole Sicilian Church.
Another siege in 878, resulted in the city coming under two centuries ofMuslim rule. The capital was moved from Syracuse toPalermo. The Cathedral was converted into amosque and the quarter on the Ortygia island was gradually rebuilt along Islamic styles. The city, nevertheless, maintained important trade relationships, and housed a relatively flourishing cultural and artistic life: several Arab poets, includingIbn Hamdis, the most important Sicilian poet of the 12th century, flourished in the city.
In 1038, the Byzantine generalGeorge Maniaces reconquered the city, sending the relics of St. Lucy toConstantinople. The eponymous castle on the cape of Ortygia bears his name, although it was built under theHohenstaufen rule. In 1085 theNormans entered Syracuse, one of the lastArab strongholds, after a summer-long siege byRoger I of Sicily and his sonJordan of Hauteville, who was given the city as count. New quarters were built, and the cathedral was restored, as well as other churches.
In 1194Henry VI of Swabia occupied Syracuse. After a short period ofGenoese rule (1205–1220), which favoured a rise of trades, Syracuse was conquered back by emperorFrederick II. He began the construction of theCastello Maniace, the Bishops\' Palace and the Bellomo Palace. Frederick\'s death brought a period of unrest and feudal anarchy. In the struggle between theAnjou andAragonese monarchies, Syracuse sided with the Aragonese and defeated the Anjou in 1298, receiving from the Spanish sovereigns great privileges in reward. The pre-eminence of baronal families is also shown by the construction of the palaces of Abela,Chiaramonte, Nava,Montalto.
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SYRACUSE in SICILY 275BC Persephone and Bull Hieron II Ancient Greek Coin i52748:
$150.00