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Taras, Calabria
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302-290 BC (Period V - From Alexander the Molossian to Kleonymos)
AR Didrachm (20mm, 7.98g)
O: Naked warrior in crested helmet on horse prancing right, spearing downward with right hand, shield and two extra spears in left; ΔΑΙ below.
R: Taras riding dolphin left, holding trident over shoulder with right hand and shield decorated with hippocamp in left; ΦΙ to left, ΤΑΡΑΣ to right, murex shell below.
D'Andrea XXXIX, 848; Vlasto 594; Cote 239; Evans V, B5; Fischer-Bossert 1022a; SNG ANS 991; SNG Cop 845; McGill II, 52; HGC I, 801; HN Italy 935
ex Heidelberger Munzhandlung
Vlasto dates this coin to the time of Alexander the Molossian, but I believe it may be safely placed after the King’s death in 331, as the typical Epirote symbols are no longer seen (especially, as Evans points out, the eagle’s head). Alexander, uncle to Alexander the Great, arrived at Taras in 334 as defender, the leader of a mercenary army from Epirus hired to help defend Taras from the indigenous Italian tribes. However he was quickly seen to have something more in the way of conquest in mind. Having ignored the warning of the Oracle at the Temple of Zeus Dodona, Alexander pushed west and fulfilled prophecy, being killed while fighting the Lucanians at Pandosia, near the River Acheron.
The murex shell played a very large part in the Tarentine economy, producing a rich purple dye. In fact the early reference books simply describe it as “a purple shell”. Purple cloth from Taras was considered a great luxury throughout the Mediterranean.
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![Taras, Calabria
302-290 BC (Period V - From Alexander the Molossian to Kleonymos)
AR Didrachm (20mm, 7.98g)
O: Naked warrior in crested helmet on horse prancing right, spearing downward with right hand, shield and two extra spears in left; ΔΑΙ below.
R: Taras riding dolphin left, holding trident over shoulder with right hand and shield decorated with hippocamp in left; ΦΙ to left, ΤΑΡΑΣ to right, murex shell below.
D'Andrea XXXIX, 848; Vlasto 594; Cote 239; Evans V, B5; Fischer-Bossert 1022a; SNG ANS 991; SNG Cop 845; McGill II, 52; HGC I, 801; HN Italy 935
ex Heidelberger Munzhandlung
[i]Vlasto dates this coin to the time of Alexander the Molossian, but I believe it may be safely placed after the King’s death in 331, as the typical Epirote symbols are no longer seen (especially, as Evans points out, the eagle’s head). Alexander, uncle to Alexander the Great, arrived at Taras in 334 as defender, the leader of a mercenary army from Epirus hired to help defend Taras from the indigenous Italian tribes. However he was quickly seen to have something more in the way of conquest in mind. Having ignored the warning of the Oracle at the Temple of Zeus Dodona, Alexander pushed west and fulfilled prophecy, being killed while fighting the Lucanians at Pandosia, near the River Acheron.
The murex shell played a very large part in the Tarentine economy, producing a rich purple dye. In fact the early reference books simply describe it as “a purple shell”. Purple cloth from Taras was considered a great luxury throughout the Mediterranean.[/i]](albums/userpics/21312/normal_Vlasto_594.JPG "Click to view full size image
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Taras, Calabria
302-290 BC (Period V - From Alexander the Molossian to Kleonymos)
AR Didrachm (20mm, 7.98g)
O: Naked warrior in crested helmet on horse prancing right, spearing downward with right hand, shield and two extra spears in left; ΔΑΙ below.
R: Taras riding dolphin left, holding trident over shoulder with right hand and shield decorated with hippocamp in left; ΦΙ to left, ΤΑΡΑΣ to right, murex shell below.
D'Andrea XXXIX, 848; Vlasto 594; Cote 239; Evans V, B5; Fischer-Bossert 1022a; SNG ANS 991; SNG Cop 845; McGill II, 52; HGC I, 801; HN Italy 935
ex Heidelberger Munzhandlung
[i]Vlasto dates this coin to the time of Alexander the Molossian, but I believe it may be safely placed after the King’s death in 331, as the typical Epirote symbols are no longer seen (especially, as Evans points out, the eagle’s head). Alexander, uncle to Alexander the Great, arrived at Taras in 334 as defender, the leader of a mercenary army from Epirus hired to help defend Taras from the indigenous Italian tribes. However he was quickly seen to have something more in the way of conquest in mind. Having ignored the warning of the Oracle at the Temple of Zeus Dodona, Alexander pushed west and fulfilled prophecy, being killed while fighting the Lucanians at Pandosia, near the River Acheron.
The murex shell played a very large part in the Tarentine economy, producing a rich purple dye. In fact the early reference books simply describe it as “a purple shell”. Purple cloth from Taras was considered a great luxury throughout the Mediterranean.[/i]")
A little curiosity... François Lenormant in his travel report "La Grande Grèce", written between 1881 and 1884 describes the piles of murex shells that in those years were still visible in Taranto in the "site of Fontanelle." Bye friend
