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Boeotia. Thespiae
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SGCV 2458; BMC Central Greece pg. 90, 4; SNG Copenhagen 401-402
AR obol, .63 g., 9.78 mm. max.
Struck ca. 431-424 B.C.
Obv: Boeotian shield
Rev: ΘEΣ, upward-facing crescent comprised of three lines.
Thespiae was a member of the Boeotian League. In 424 B.C. during the Peloponnesian War, the Thespian contingent of the Boeotian army sustained heavy losses in the Athenian invasion of Boeotia at the Battle of Delium. In 423 B.C. the Thebans dismantled the walls of Thespiae, apparently as a measure to prevent a democratic revolution. The terminus of this emission coincides with these events.
The crescent on the reverse of this coin refers to Aphrodite Melainis, who was worshipped at Thespiai as a moon goddess. The legend is an abbreviation for ΘΕΣΠΙΕΩΝ of Thespians.
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