archaicwonder:The rare Demareteion (decadrachm) of Syracuse, Sicily c. 480-479 BCDemareteion is the

archaicwonder:The rare Demareteion (decadrachm) of Syracuse, Sicily c. 480-479 BCDemareteion is the name given in antiquity to a coin of Syracuse. The early Syracusan decadrachm was named the Demareteion because it was thought to have been struck from the proceeds of a gift of one hundred talents of gold made by the defeated Carthaginians to Demarete, the wife of the tyrant Gelon of Syracuse. However, this theory was later overturned. The dies of the decadrachms and the related tetradrachms, are by the artist called the Demareteion Master . This is a very rare coin, minted from the start, in small numbers. It is important because it is one of the first decadramma, equivalent to ten drachmas, and one of the few currencies quoted by the classics. The coin was issued by the tyrant of Syracuse, Gelon. Historical sources also mention this coin being made of gold as well.On the coin: the head of Arethusa facing right, wearing pearl diadem with the inscription ΣV-ΡΑ-ΚΟΣ-ΙΟΝ. Four dolphins swimming clockwise.In Greek mythology, Arethusa was a nymph and daughter of Nereus (making her a Nereid), who later became a fountain on the island of Ortygia in Syracuse, Sicily.The myth of her transformation begins when she came across a clear stream and began bathing, not knowing it was the river god Alpheus. He fell in love during their encounter, but she fled after discovering his presence and intentions, as she wished to remain a chaste attendant of Artemis. After a long chase, she prayed to her goddess to ask for protection. Artemis hid her in a cloud, but Alpheus was persistent. She began to perspire profusely from fear, and soon transformed into a stream. Artemis then broke the ground allowing Arethusa another attempt to flee. Her stream traveled under the earth to the island of Ortygia, but Alpheus flowed through the sea to reach her and mingle with her waters.Later, during Demeter’s search for her daughter Persephone, Arethusa entreated Demeter to discontinue her punishment of Sicily for her daughter’s disappearance. She told the goddess that while traveling in her stream below the earth, she saw her daughter looking sad as the queen of Hades.Arethusa occasionally appeared on coins as a young girl with a net in her hair and dolphins around her head. These coins were common around Ortygia, the location in which she ends up after fleeing from Alpheus. -- source link

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