Odessos (modern Varna, Bulgaria) began as a Milesian apoikia (colony) on an older Thracian settlement in the late 7th-early 6th century BCE and became a leading member of the Pontic Pentapolis, trading between the Aegean world and inland Thrace.

Seneca (writing 62-65 AD) classifies the thunderbolt alongside torches and shooting stars as "fire squeezed out of the air" (ignis aere expressus). He views them as transient, fleeting events caused by physical "defects" or pressures in the atmosphere rather than spontaneous divine whims.

By the 3rd century BC, the geopolitical landscape had fractured. Alexander the Great was dead, and his Successors (the Diadochi) were tearing his empire apart. In this chaos, the independent city-state (polis) was no longer enough to ensure survival.

This silver double shekel (23 mm; 15.78 g; die axis 2h) belongs to the Babylonian series conventionally known as the “Baal / lion” coinage, struck at Babylon...

Akragas was the last of the major Greek colonies established in Sicily, founded circa 580 BC by settlers from Gela, who were themselves of Rhodian and Cretan origin. Situated on the southern coast between the rivers Akragas and Hypsas, the city occupied a strategic plateau that offered natural defenses and access to fertile hinterlands. For the first century of its existence, Akragas grew wealthy on agriculture - olives, grapes, and grain - and the breeding of horses, for whi

The “Third Democracy” is a classification used for the coins of Syracuse. This is specifically applied to coinage struck under Timoleon (ca. 344-317 BC). Coins from this era are routinely labeled “Timoleon and the Third Democracy” in auction catalogs. It is probably worth noting that “Third Democracy” is a modern analytical label, not an ancient one. The term applied to this coin from Syracuse prompted today's exploration of the tyrants and democracies of Syracuse...

Today's coin comes with several interesting connections: Herakles shipwreaked on Kos and the imagery of this coin Herakles' Second Labor (The Hydra) and the imagery on the reverse A seventh wonder of the world - the tomb of Maussolus built during the time of this coin. Herakles Detail from Hercule et l'Hydre de Lerne, 1876, oil on canvas, Gustave Moreau( 1826–1898), Public domain, via Art Institute Chicago According to legend, Herkles was shipwrecked on Kos after the Trojan W

2025 has been a better than average year across the board. 2024 wrapped up with surgery and a year later I am fully recovered with a very low chance of recurrence. On the coin front, I sold more than 150 coins and didn't add very many. I may have been more selective in buying this year - opting for quality over quantity - but it also feels like there were fewer coins available that I was interested in. Still no shortage of nice coins added this year. There is a long list o

In the late fourth to early third century BC, amid the shifting alliances and hard-fought wars that would determine the destiny of southern Italy, the Greek city of Neapolis struck a series of silver nomoi whose beauty and symbolism remain among the most evocative of Magna Graecia. This coin preserves the identity of an independent Greek polis negotiating the rise of Roman power, preserving local myth, and asserting civic pride through images deeply rooted in Neapolitan memor

National Archaeological Museum of Naples. From Boscoreale, Villa of P. Fannius Synistor. Personifications of Macedonia (on the left) and Persia (or Asia, seated); or possibly a representation of the Macedonian ruler (see the circular shield with a star), or Antigonus Gonatas and his mother Phila. Public Domain image via Wikimedia Commons . According to Greek belief, Pan could cause irrational terror in humans and animals, especially when his midday rest was disturbed. His sud

The Temple of Hera (“Tavole Palatine”), late 6th-century BCE Doric sanctuary near Metaponto (ancient Metapontion/Metapontum), Basilicata, Italy. Image source: Parco Archeologico dell'Area urbana di Metaponto Today's coin of interest was struck at Metapontion in Lucania (South Italy), ca. 325-275 BC, late Classical into early Hellenistic. That date‑band and the owl / barley‑ear with kerykeion type match standard references (HN Italy 1611; HGC I 1091). Lucania, Metapontion, ci

Today's post begins with the hope of making some sense of the weight standards for a set of staters in my collection. A number of questions started this deep dive: What weight standards did the ancient Greeks use for ancient Greek coins? Why are these standards named the way they are today? What sources are the most useful to understand these standards? When did each standard come into use and who initiated the standard? What are the the various denominations used for ancie

Kings of Macedon, Alexander III 'the Great' (336-323 BC), lifetime issue from 325 or 324/3 BCE, AR (17.24g, 27mm) Tetradrachm, minted in...

Kings of Mauretania, Bocchus II (or early Juba II) ŠMŠ mint Shemesh, circa 49-33 BC, Æ 16.00mm, 3.53 g Obv: Bearded head left,...

In 133 BCE, King Attalos III of Pergamum died without an heir and bequeathed his entire kingdom to Rome. Aristonikos, who claimed to be an illegitimate son of Attalos’ father King Eumenes II, rose to challenge Rome’s takeover. Aristonikos took the dynastic name Eumenes III, presenting himself as the rightful king and rallying support for his cause.

The Queen of Sheba: according to the biblical narrative (2 Chronicles 9:1-12; 1 Kings 10:1-13), the Queen of Sheba learns of King Solomon...

Kroton (aka Croton, which today is modern Crotone in Calabria, Italy) was founded around 710 BC by Achaean Greek settlers, according ...

Today's note is all about the pomegranate and more than 300 years of coins from Side (Σίδη), Pamphylia (Παμφυλία). For those who would...

Cilicia was a Persian military base in the 4th century BC and after Alexander defeated Achaemennid King Darius III at Issos it was...

2024 has had ups and downs - it seems that every year I start with same thought. This has been an unusual year with and earth quake,...