010 Ptolemaic Kingdom Ptolemy I Soter as Satrap

Greece, Ptolemaic Kingdom

Ruler: Ptolemeus I Soter, as Satrap. 323-305 BC, struck in the name of Alexander III of Macedon

Obverse:  Diademed head of Alexander the Great right, wearing elephant skin headdress.

Reverse: ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟY; Athena Promachos ("Athena who leads in battle") advancing right, brandishing spear and holding shield; in left field, monogram (crown?) and in right field, ΔI and eagle. 

Denomination: Tetradrachm

Mint: Alexandria mint, circa 310-305 BC

Reference: Svoronos 142, SBG Cop. 21 (Alexandria)

Weight: 15,34 g.

Diameter: 28,9 mm

Note: In the decades that followed the death of Alexander III, the deified king's legacy lost none of its lustre. Indeed, it remained an important tool of the diadochi in their individual quests for legitimacy. The head of Alexander on the obverse of this tetradrachm lies at the core of Ptolemy's claim as the inheritor of Alexander's legacy, for in 322/1 BC he had taken possession of Alexander's embalmed body by intercepting it in Syria while it was being escorted from Babylon to Macedon. Ptolemy brought the corpse to Memphis, but some time later it was relocated to a grand tomb in Alexandria. In the same way that Alexander's body became an object of cult worship, Ptolemy's coinage with the head of Alexander wearing an elephant scalp promoted the idea that the conqueror's legacy was firmly rooted within the realm of the Ptolemies. Interest in Alexander's corpse survived well into Roman times, and many emperors visited his tomb. Suetonius (Augustus 18) tells us that when Augustus landed in Alexandria after his victory at Actium, he gazed upon Alexander's mummified remains, placed a golden diadem on its head and sprinkled flowers on the body. When the attendant asked him if he wished to see the Mausoleum of the Ptolemies, Augustus replied "I came to see a king, not a row of corpses."

The presentation of Alexander's portrait on this coinage is layered in symbolism: the elephant scalp refers his easternmost conquests and perhaps also alludes to his connection to Heracles; the ram's horn is an attribute of Zeus-Ammon and must allude to the king's visit to the oracle of Ammon in Siwa; and the scaly aegis is a refe- rence to Zeus. The band at Alexander's forehead, usually described as a diadem to signify kingship, may be a tainia intended to symbolise victory, perhaps in association with Dionysus.

The version of Athena on the reverse is often described as Athena Promachus ("Athena who leads in battle" or "fighter in front"), which may have been inspired by a mid-5th Century statue by Phidias that was installed to face the entrance of the Acropolis. She was known to the Athenians as the "bronze Athena" and was dedicated for the victory over the Persians. However, Zervos suggested she was a striding variety of the Palladian Athena, which had fallen from the heavens to Troy. Others, including Brett and Hazzard, describe her as Athena Alkidemos (the "defender/ protector of the people") because her temple was located in Pella, the birthplace of Alexander and home of the ancient palace of the Macedonians.

Collection : 17 Greek Tetradrachms and staters