SICILY, Syracuse. Hieron I. 478-466 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25.5mm, 17.47 g, 4h). Struck circa 478-475 BC. Charioteer, wearing long chiton, holding kentron in right hand, reins in left, driving quadriga right; above, Nike, wearing long chiton, flying right, crowning horses with open wreath held in both hands / Head of Arethousa right, wearing pearl tainia and necklace; ΣVRAKO-ΣI-O-N and four dolphins around. Boehringer Series VIIIb, 139 (V57/R86); HGC 2, 1306. Light die wear and tiny scrape on obverse, minor delaminations at periphery on reverse. EF. Well centered.
Hieron I, assuming power after his brother, Gelon’s, death, expanded Syracuse’s influence onto the Italian mainland, where he won another signal victory over the Etruscans at Cumae in 474 BC. Like his brother, Hieron embellished Syracuse with amphitheaters, libraries, and other civic buildings, and were liberal patrons of art and literature. On the other hand, Hieron employed a secret police force, the first in Greek history, to retain his grip on power. Though both Gelon and Hieron were addressed as “king” by some contemporaries, there is no evidence they adopted the royal title and their names never appear on Syracusan coins. A third Deinomenid brother, Thrasybolos, attempted to rule Syracuse after Hieron’s death in 466 BC, but was quickly overthrown and replaced by a democratic government.
