c. 400-350 BCE
Æ 17mm, 5.71g, 9h
Male head r.
R/ Corinthian helmet r.
SNG ANS 716
Legend had it that a group of Achaeans went marauding in Troy with all the other Greeks for ten years, then on the way back their ship caught a storm and they wound up in Macedonia, so they created a settlement.
Skione was the scene of one of the saddest moments of the Peloponnesian War. After Athens and Sparta had declared a truce, Skione declared independence from Athens while being egged on by Sparta. Athens wasn’t too pleased and sent a force to teach them a lesson. It took them a bit, but eventually they overran the city. Every male was killed and the women and children were sold into slavery. The land was then given to one of their allies.
The ancient city was located on a fortified cliff. Alexander the Great is recorded as having taken Skione around the time he reduced Thebes.