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Greek Coins :
Alexander Tetradrachms : Macedonian Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander the Great
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Macedonian Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander the Great - C.6134
Origin: Minted in Aradus
Circa: 336
BC
to 323
BC
Collection: Numismatic
Medium: Silver
Additional Information: SOLD
$1,200.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
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Obverse: Head of Herakles Facing to the
Right
Reverse: Zeus Seated Holding an Eagles
and
Scepter
Alexander the Great, son of Philip II of
Macedon,
is arguably the most important
historical figure
in the ancient world. Born on July 20th,
356 BC,
he was an astute, if somewhat headstrong
student, and was schooled by various
famous
teachers, notably Aristotle. By the time
of his
death at the age of 32, he had
personally
supervised one of the largest land-based
military expeditions of all time, and
had
conquered the whole of the then known
world
from Asia Minor across the whole of
Persia,
Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Gaza,
Egypt,
Mesopotamia, Bactria, parts of India,
Afghanistan
and Pakistan. A legend in his own
lifetime, he
became known as much for his excesses
and
cruelty as his extraordinary military
prowess but
was nonetheless a comparatively fair and
temperate man. Perhaps due to his
supposed
descent from Achilles and Herakles, he
essentially became deified during the
Hellenistic
period. The Greeks celebrated Alexander
in art
and song, and his legend continued under
the
Romans, who had a fascination with
military
campaigns and tactics.
How many hands have touched a coin in
your
pocket or your purse? What eras and
lands have
the coin traversed on its journey into
our
possession? As we reach into our pockets
to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to
think of
who touched the coin before us, or where
the
coin will venture to after us. More than
money,
coins are a symbol of the state that
struck them,
of a specific time and place, whether
currency in
the age we live or an artifact of a long
forgotten
empire. Worth a month’s pay, a silver
coin like
this would have rewarded the bravery and
fortitude of the officers serving under
one of
history’s most celebrated generals,
Alexander
the Great. While his vast kingdom
dissolved after
his death, the carefully cultivated
legend of
Alexander will continue to live on not
only in our
history books and museums, but also in
artifacts
like this coin: concrete remnants of
ancient
empires passed from the hands of
civilization to
civilization, from generation to
generation.
- (C.6134)
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