c 370-333 BC - ASPENDOS Silver Stater - ATHLETES WRESTLING

$1,100.00

Silver Stater, Ancient Greece

Pamphylia: Aspendos, c. 370-333 BC.

Obv: Two naked athletes wrestling.

Rev: Slinger advancing right, Triskeles in right field.

Sear 5396v, 23 mm, 10.94gm

Fine detail, toned.

Aspendos was an ancient Greek (later Roman) city in Antalya province of Turkey. It is located 40 km east of the modern city of Antalya and16 km north of the Mediterranean. In the 5th century BC, Aspendos became the most important city in Pamphylia. At that time, according to Thucycdides, the Eurymedon River was navigable as far as Aspendos, and the city derived great wealth from a trade in salt, oil and wool.

Aspendos was one of the earliest cities to mint coins. It began issuing coinage around 500 BC. From 370-333 BC Aspendos minted a series of silver staters with Olympic-style athetes wrestling on the obverse. The slinger on the reverse represents the soldiery for which Aspendus was famous in antiquity.

When Alexander the Great marched into Aspendos in 333 BC after capturing  Perge, he extracted peace terms that required 100 gold talents as well as 4,000 horses would be given in tax annually. The "wrestler" coinage was superseded at that time by the Alexander-type tetrdrachms with the famous Hercules Bust/seated Zeus iconography. In 190 BC, Aspendos surrendered to theRomans.

 

  • Inventory# PA-3076