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Thasos, Thrace
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after 148 BC
AR Tetradrachm (33mm, 16.86g)
O: Head of young Dionysus right, wreathed in ivy and flowers.
R: Herakles standing nude left, holding club and lion's skin; ΣΩTHPOΣ left, HPAKΛOYΣ right, ΘAΣIΩN in ex.
SNG Cop 1040; Sear 1759
Inhabited since prehistoric times, the island of Thasos is said to be the mythological home of the Sirens.
Phoenician traders occupied Thasos by the late ninth century BC, drawn by her prolific gold mines. A hundred years later Greek colonists from Paros settled on the island and prospered from Thasos’ gold and marble production, as well as her fertile vineyards. Thasian wine was renowned throughout the Mediterranean, for which they honored Dionysus on their coinage.
A brush with the Persian army under King Darius at the beginning of the fifth century caused Thasos to increase her production of war ships, and after the defeat of Xerxes in 480 BC Thasos joined the Delian League. However a dispute with Athens over mining interests on the Thracian mainland led Thasos to revolt in 465 BC, only to submit after the Athenians destroyed her ships and razed the city walls.
The island was occupied by Sparta from 404 until 393 BC, when Thasos fell to Athens, who eventually granted her independence. Thasos then came under the control of Phillip II of Macedonia around 340 BC, who immediately seized the gold mines. Thasos remained a part of the Macedonian Empire until falling under Roman rule in 197 BC.
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![Thasos, Thrace
after 148 BC
AR Tetradrachm (33mm, 16.86g)
O: Head of young Dionysus right, wreathed in ivy and flowers.
R: Herakles standing nude left, holding club and lion's skin; ΣΩTHPOΣ left, HPAKΛOYΣ right, ΘAΣIΩN in ex.
SNG Cop 1040; Sear 1759
[i]Inhabited since prehistoric times, the island of Thasos is said to be the mythological home of the Sirens.
Phoenician traders occupied Thasos by the late ninth century BC, drawn by her prolific gold mines. A hundred years later Greek colonists from Paros settled on the island and prospered from Thasos’ gold and marble production, as well as her fertile vineyards. Thasian wine was renowned throughout the Mediterranean, for which they honored Dionysus on their coinage.
A brush with the Persian army under King Darius at the beginning of the fifth century caused Thasos to increase her production of war ships, and after the defeat of Xerxes in 480 BC Thasos joined the Delian League. However a dispute with Athens over mining interests on the Thracian mainland led Thasos to revolt in 465 BC, only to submit after the Athenians destroyed her ships and razed the city walls.
The island was occupied by Sparta from 404 until 393 BC, when Thasos fell to Athens, who eventually granted her independence. Thasos then came under the control of Phillip II of Macedonia around 340 BC, who immediately seized the gold mines. Thasos remained a part of the Macedonian Empire until falling under Roman rule in 197 BC.[/i]](albums/userpics/21312/normal_Thasos_tet.JPG "Click to view full size image
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Thasos, Thrace
after 148 BC
AR Tetradrachm (33mm, 16.86g)
O: Head of young Dionysus right, wreathed in ivy and flowers.
R: Herakles standing nude left, holding club and lion's skin; ΣΩTHPOΣ left, HPAKΛOYΣ right, ΘAΣIΩN in ex.
SNG Cop 1040; Sear 1759
[i]Inhabited since prehistoric times, the island of Thasos is said to be the mythological home of the Sirens.
Phoenician traders occupied Thasos by the late ninth century BC, drawn by her prolific gold mines. A hundred years later Greek colonists from Paros settled on the island and prospered from Thasos’ gold and marble production, as well as her fertile vineyards. Thasian wine was renowned throughout the Mediterranean, for which they honored Dionysus on their coinage.
A brush with the Persian army under King Darius at the beginning of the fifth century caused Thasos to increase her production of war ships, and after the defeat of Xerxes in 480 BC Thasos joined the Delian League. However a dispute with Athens over mining interests on the Thracian mainland led Thasos to revolt in 465 BC, only to submit after the Athenians destroyed her ships and razed the city walls.
The island was occupied by Sparta from 404 until 393 BC, when Thasos fell to Athens, who eventually granted her independence. Thasos then came under the control of Phillip II of Macedonia around 340 BC, who immediately seized the gold mines. Thasos remained a part of the Macedonian Empire until falling under Roman rule in 197 BC.[/i]")
