coins - Hellenistic History

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Architects of the Hellenistic Age Part I: The Legacy of Alexander’s Companions

by Hellenistic Historyupdated on March 28, 2024March 26, 2024Leave a Comment

The conquests of Alexander the Great should be understated. From 336 to 323 BCE, Alexander would usher in a new era in world history. To aid him in this immense task were his “Companions”. These were Alexander’s closest friends and confidants. Some were childhood friends, others had fought with his father Philip II or gained …

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Hellenistic people IV: Nabis of Sparta

by Hellenistic Historyupdated on March 15, 2024March 15, 2024Leave a Comment

On the blog, you’ll find a treasure trove of articles exploring various aspects of the Hellenistic era. This is part four in our Hellenistic Peoples Series, a series about some of individuals that shaped the Hellenistic Period, in which we take a closer look at Nabis of Sparta, the ruler of Sparta. Nabis rose to …

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Myth and Polis XI: Hellenistic kings and kinship myth

by Hellenistic Historyon March 17, 2022March 17, 2022Leave a Comment

We have now reached the eleventh part of the series on the use of mythological kinship in Greek diplomatic interaction. Since most of the sources come from the epigraphic material of the Hellenistic period, we have already looked several times at how mythological kinship was used by cities in that period in their interactions with …

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Myth and Polis VII: Mythology and the depiction of Alexander the Great

by Hellenistic Historyon July 20, 2021July 20, 2021Leave a Comment

When I visit one of the great archaeological museums of Europe, I always look for two things: how many busts of Alexander the Great are there, and which Greek coins are on display? So when I was at the Altes Museum in Berlin last week, I noticed that whenever Alexander the Great is represented in …

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Hellenistic Women III: Berenice I of Egypt

by Hellenistic Historyon April 13, 2021April 13, 2021Leave a Comment

To conclude our weeklong celebration of the women from Greek Antiquity, we are looking at another important queen from the Hellenistic period: Berenice I of Egypt. She was the fourth wife of the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty but also the most important one as she was the mother of his successor Ptolemy II Philadelphus …

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An introduction to the Seleucids II: The (Re)birth of an Empire

by Hellenistic Historyupdated on March 20, 2021March 20, 2021Leave a Comment

This is the second part of the introduction into the seleucid empire, click here to read the first part. This time Guest blogger Nicolaas verhelst introduces us to the founder of the Seleucid dynasty, Seleucos I Nicator. Read on to learn more about the man, the myth and the legend as well the earliest and …

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Numismatics and the legend of horned Bukephalos

by Hellenistic Historyupdated on February 25, 2021February 25, 2021Leave a Comment

In her last post, Michelle simon introduced us to Alexander’s horse bukephalos. One of the most famous horses of the ancient world. Despite his famed beauty and nobility, he had a rather common name, since boukephalous in greek means ‘ox-headed’. According to tradition, there were several explanations for his name, the most interesting of which …

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The Ptolemies

by Hellenistic Historyupdated on February 8, 2021December 29, 2020Leave a Comment

How many Ptolemies were there? Why was Cleopatra number seven? Where did the custom of brother‑sister marriage come from? This guides delves into the Ptolemaic dynasty who ruled over Egypt from the early years after Alexander’s death in 323 BC until the fall of Cleopatra in 31 BC. Distinct aspects of Ptolemaic rule will be …

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Numismatics: the silver coinage of the Achaean Koinon

by Hellenistic Historyupdated on February 8, 2021September 14, 2020Leave a Comment

Today’s coins are actually two coins posing as one. These silver hemidrachms were minted in two cities that were members of the Achaean League: Megara and Aegira. Read below to find out more about the coins of this Greek federal state! Silver coins of the Achaean Koinon Aside from the civic coinage used by member …

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Numismatics: Lysimachos’ tetradrachm

by Hellenistic Historyupdated on October 19, 2020August 31, 2020Leave a Comment

This week’s coin of the week is a rather special one as it shows a portrait of Alexander the Great on the obverse. However, he himself did not order the coins to be made. It was in fact one of his successors who had these coins struck: Lysimachos. Read on to discover who he was …