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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Segesta |
|---|---|
| Year | 390 BC - 385 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Litra |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The nymph Aigiste (Segesta) drives a fast quadriga to the right, holding grain stalks in her right hand and reins in both hands; above the horses, Nike flies to the left, extending a wreath to crown the charioteer. The scene is rendered in the dynamic style characteristic of late 5th-century Sicilian engraving. In the exergue, a grasshopper is depicted to the right, accompanied by the inscription ΣE-ΛEΣTAZIA above it. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Segesta's silver coinage of this period exists in the shadow of one of the ancient world's most catastrophic military failures. The city had famously appealed to Athens in 415 BC, presenting exaggerated claims of wealth to secure Athenian intervention against Selinus — a deception that helped draw Athens into the disastrous Sicilian Expedition. By the 390s, Segesta had pivoted entirely, allying with Carthage and watching Selinus destroyed in 409. These tetradrachms were struck during an uneasy period of Carthaginian dominance over western Sicily, with Segesta functioning effectively as a client city under that protection.
The weight standard follows the Attic norm, a deliberate choice signaling commercial ambition beyond purely local exchange.