★ A Masterpiece by Parmenides ★

Sicily, Syracuse AR Tetradrachm. Time of Dionysios I, circa 410-395 BC. Unsigned dies by Parmenides. Charioteer, holding kentron and reins, driving fast quadriga to left, about to turn left, Nike flying above to right, crowning charioteer; ear of grain beneath double exergual line, on which a broken chariot wheel / Head of Arethusa to left, hair in ampyx and sphendone ornamented with stars, wearing triple-pendant earrings and necklace; ΣVRAKOΣION and four dolphins around, one emerging from bust truncation. Tudeer 74 (V26/R51); Fischer-Bossert 74b (this coin); Jameson 838 (these dies); SNG ANS 284 (these dies); HGC 2, 1342. 17.50g, 27mm, 8h.

Extremely Fine. Very Rare; possibly the finest known example, well struck and centred on a very broad flan boasting excellent metal, lightly toned.

This coin cited in W.R. Fischer-Bossert, Coins, Artists, and Tyrants: Syracuse in the Time of the Peloponnesian War (ANSNS 33, New York, 2017);
From the Long Valley River Collection;
Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., Auction III, 31 March 2012, lot 74 (hammer: £48,000);
Ex Hermann Robinow Collection, Morton & Eden Ltd, Auction 51 (A Collection of Exceptional Greek Coins), 24 October 2011, lot 58;
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica AG, Auction 10, 9 April 1997, lot 148.

‘They say that there was a hunter called Alpheius, who fell in love with Arethusa, who was herself a huntress. Arethusa, unwilling to marry, crossed to the island opposite Syracuse called Ortygia, and there turned from a woman to a spring. Alpheius too was changed by his love into the river. […] Because the water of the Alpheius mingles with the Arethusa, I am convinced that the legend arose of the river's love-affair’ (Pausanias, Description of Greece, 5.7). Just as the tale of Arethusa captured the imagination of Pausanias, the Corinthians, who established the Syracusan colony on the island of Ortygia, chose the enchanting deity to be their patron. As the colony established itself and spread from its nucleus to the Eastern coast of Sicily, depictions of the nymph’s head started to appear on their early coins minted at the end of the 6th century BC.

As the colony of settlers grew and transitioned into a democracy, they gained both strength and territory as well as a flourishing cultural scene. With their growing ambition and power, clashes with neighbouring cities competing for supremacy were inevitable and Syracuse became embroiled in various conflicts until its transformation back into a tyranny under Dionysios I (c. 430-367 BC) gave way to a period of prosperity. Besides his highly successful military tactics, another dimension to the rule of Dionysios I was his patronage of the arts. Numerous sculptures and die-cutters were employed to enhance the city’s grandeur and, as the art scene blossomed, the opportunity for individuals to hone their skills and become famous arose. A number of die cutters proudly signed their works and thus we have come to know the names of some of them, including Exakestidas, Kimon, Euainetos and Parmenides.

Each artist succeeded in producing variation in style, especially in the treatment of the head of Arethusa, which by this time was prolific on the reverse of Syracusan coins. Here, depicted in side profile, Arethusa is adorned with a necklace and earrings while her hair is encased in an ornate net. She is surrounded by four dolphins, swimming around her, perhaps to symbolise the salt waters of the harbour in the vicinity of her fountain. On the obverse a chariot, guided by four spritely horses, races to the left while Nike flies overhead with a wreath of victory, reaching down to crown the charioteer. The depiction of the chariot, considered a fitting emblem of Syracuse’s aristocracy, stands in stark contrast to the static, two dimensional designs of the previous century. Gone is the slow pacing quadriga, replaced by a revolutionary new style that is fluid and dynamic: the horses’ heads turn with alertness as the motion of their powerful limbs drive the chariot forward.