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The Coinage of the Ionian Revolt

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2013

P. Gardner
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Extract

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the British Academy, I tried to shew that the cities of Ionia which took part in the revolt against Persia in the years B.C. 500–494 issued an uniform coinage in electrum. So far as I am aware, this discovery has met with general acceptance. It may, however, in consequence of the place where it appeared, not have come fairly before most of those who are interested in Greek history and archaeology. I therefore propose here to state my view somewhat more in detail, and to trace certain corollaries which are as yet unpublished.

I need not go through the story of the Ionian Revolt, as narrated by Herodotus: it is fair to assume that every scholar is familiar with it. It may, however, be well here to mention the cities, the names of which occur in this section of the story of Herodotus, with the definite facts recorded of them, as the issues of coins would probably be civic issues. It was Miletus, under the guidance of Aristagoras, which began the revolt (v. 35). It spread rapidly to Mylasa and Termera in Caria, as well as to Mytilene and Cyme.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Hellenic Studies , Volume 31 , November 1911 , pp. 151 - 160
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 1911

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References

1 Vol. iii. 1908.

2 It does not seem necessary to give a detailed list of examples: such a list will be found in Babelon, , Traité, ii. 1, pp. 191–8Google Scholar; Head, , Cat. Ionia, pp. 7–8Google Scholar; Six, , Num. Chronicle, 1890, pp. 215–218Google Scholar.

3 Num. Chron. 1890, p. 215.

4 Traité des Monn. gr. et rom. ii. 1, 198.

5 Num. Chron. 1887, p. 281.

6 Br. Mus. Cat. Ionia; Introduction, p. xxv.

7 Six, , Num. Chron. 1890, p. 218Google Scholar: the variation is really from 40 to 20 per cent, of gold.

8 Anab. i. 3, 21.

9 v. 6, 23.

10 vii. 3, 10.

11 Traité, ii. 1, p. 191. The coin is said to be at S. Petersburg, and is published by Six, M., Num. Chron. 1890, p. 216Google Scholar, No. 2 bis. I owe a cast to the kindness of Dr. Imhoof. It is by mistake that I inserted in the plate which accompanies my paper in the Proceedings of the British Academy a somewhat more archaic coin of Chios. In fact some of the archaic coins of that island have been usually connected with the series which we are now considering. It seems better to give them to the middle of the sixth century, and to suppose a break in time between them and the coin in our plate, which is of fully developed though somewhat unusual archaic style.

12 Babelon, , Traité, ii. 1, p 187Google Scholar.

13 Demosthenes, , Against Phormio, p. 914Google Scholar.

14 Traité, ii. 1, pp. 190–8.

15 Br. Mus. Cat. Ionia, pp. 18, 119.

16 Br. Mus. Cat. Ionia, pp. 185–6. Pl. xxi. 4–3.

17 Several of these coins of Miletus occur in a find of coins in Egypt, of which few are later than about B.C. 500. Num. Chron. 1890, p. 4.

18 Hdt. vi. 42.

19 i. 95.

20 Br. Mus. Cat. Cyprus, p. lxxxviii.

21 Revue Numism. 1883, p. 265.

22 Cat. Cyprus, pp. 48–50.

23 So Babelon, , Traité, p. 586Google Scholar.

24 Cat. Cyprus, p. xcvii. The ΚΥ, however, may perhaps be ΧΥ.

25 Isocrates, , Evagoras, 22–24Google Scholar. Cf. Hill, Cat. Cyprus, p. xcvii.