Ancient Greece - 410-380 BCE Dynasts of Lycia, Vekhssere II AR Third-Stater NGC Choice XF★ in Fine Style

Zagaba Mint. (3.08g) Obverse: scalp of lion facing out. Reverse: Head of goddess Athena wearing necklace and triple-crested Attic helmet, facing slightly to the left. Lycian writing to her left. Monogram behind. All is within a circular incuse. Very rare. With a wonderful facing head of Athena. A lovely and beautifully preserved coin in very good silver. Apparently among the finest known examples of this type.

This beautiful head of Athens was inspired by the high style tetradrachms engraved by the Syracusan master Eukleidas. His coins were found in circulation during the time of this issue. SNG Copenhagen Supp. 469; Cf. Falghera 186; Reuter 128 (no monogram); Podalia 21–5 corr. (A5/P5; Zagaba not a dynast); SNG Copenhagen Supp. 469 corr. SNG von Aulock –; SNG Keckman II –. 

Lycian rock cut tombs of Dalyan. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The wealth of Lycia is evident by their elaborate architecture beginning from the 5th century BC and stretching into the Roman period. Lycia fought alongside the Persians in the Persians Wars, however upon the defeat of the Achaemendid Empire by the Greeks, it became sporadically an unallied power. After a short spell in the Athenian Empire, it seceded and became independent.

Then Lycia sided again with the Persians, but then revolted, and then was defeated by Mausolus of Caria. Then they returned to the Persians and finally fell under the authority of Macedonia after Alexander the Great defeated the Persians. Cultural diffusion over the years had resulted in an ever-shrinking number of Lycian native speakers. Combine that with a significant influx of Greek speakers and the Lycian language disappeared from inscriptions and coinage as the nation state became more and more Hellenized under Macedonian rule.