★ An Extremely Rare and Beautiful Composition ★

Sicily, Syracuse AR Tetradrachm. Deinomenid Tyranny. Time of Hieron I, circa 470-466 BC. Charioteer driving walking quadriga to right, holding reins with both hands; Nike above, flying left to crown charioteer with wreath, ketos to right in exergue / Head of Arethusa to right within linear circle, wearing simple earring and bead necklace, hair tied at back with pearl headband; ΣVRAKOΣION and four dolphins swimming clockwise around. Boehringer 437 (V233/R313); SNG ANS 135 (same obv. die); Rizzo -; Jameson 757 (same dies) = Benson 290 (same dies; HGC 2, 1310. 17.42g, 25mm, 11h.

Near Mint State; a beautiful composition. Extremely Rare; no other examples offered at auction in the past 20 years.

From the Long Valley River Collection;
Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., Auction V, 23 March 2013, lot 116;
Ex Comery Collection (Gibraltar), acquired prior to 1980.

Issued under Hieron I this charming tetradrachm exemplifies many of the tropes associated with the Demareteion issue, although it dates from later in his reign and is amongst the last examples of coinage issued under Deinomenid rule of Syracuse. One of the four sons of Deinomenes, three of whom were successive tyrants of Syracuse, Hieron I seems to have been the most well-rounded ruler of the brothers. His predecessor Gelon is perhaps the best known of the Syracusan tyrants, mainly for his role in the defeat of the Carthaginians at the Battle of Himera in 479 BC, but also for being responsible for enhancing the prestige of Syracuse in the Greek world, embarking on an impressive building program in the city. Gelon’s record was not entirely honourable, however: when his uncle, Hippocrates, the tyrant of Gela died he went to assist his cousins in dealing with the unrest that ensued, but Herodotos informs us that “Gelon made a pretence of serving the cause of Hippocrates’ sons Euclides and Cleandrus, whose rule the citizens would no longer bear. When he had defeated the men of Gela, however, he deposed the sons of Hippocrates and held sway himself” (Histories, vii.155).

Hieron I’s successor, his brother Thrasyboulos, had a very short-lived reign that lasted less than a year and was notable only for its brevity. In a similar vein to his brother’s actions in Gela, Thrasyboulos forcibly seized power from his nephew, who had been in line to become tyrant after Hieron’s death. So unpopular was his accession to power that Thrasyboulos was overthrown by members of his own family and allies from neighbouring cities; these events were then followed very quickly by the end of the rule of tyrants and the beginning of democracy on Syracuse (Aristotle, Politics, v.1312b).

In contrast, Hieron’s rule as tyrant of Syracuse was marked by alliances with neighbouring cities, a time of flourishing literature, art and philosophy, success in athletic contests, including the Olympic Games, as well as a significant military success against the Carthaginians of his own, at the battle of Cumae in 474 BC. Many poets and philosophers are attested as having been members of his court, including the tragedian, Aeschylus, the philosopher, Xenophanes and the poet Pindar who wrote one of his odes to Hieron, heaping praises upon him for his masterful horsemanship (Olympian Odes 1). Xenophon of Athens, writing about a century later, details a conversation between the poet Simonides and Hieron, in which the poet defers to Hieron’s greater wisdom and says to him “I know you were born a private citizen…and are now a tyrant. Therefore, as you have experienced both fortunes, you probably know better than I how the lives of the tyrant and the citizen differ as regards the joys and sorrows that fall to man’s lot” (Hiero, i.2). It is never advisable to speculate on hypothetical outcomes in history, however, given the positive light in which Hieron is portrayed by both his contemporaries and later writers, perhaps had he not been succeeded by so woeful a candidate in Thrasyboulos democracy may have taken a little longer to reach Syracuse.