AR Obol/Hemiobol 357-353 BCE
8.93mm .36g
Obverse: Male head right, wearing taenia
Reverse: A-M-Φ-I, perch swimming downward in linear within incuse square
SNG ANS 83
Ex Marc Breitsprecher
If you were a self-styling king worth anything in Greece during the 4th century BCE, or you wanted others to notice you, then you needed Amphipolis.
Amphipolis wasn’t just the hottest destination in the north. It had all the designer labels, and silver mines. Silver meant power, so three states jostled for its attention.
The first was Philip II. He had “badass” written all over him after losing an eye during a battle. His goal was nothing short of all of Greece and Asia Minor, and those silver mines provided a huge step toward paying the army necessary to accomplish it.
The next suitor was Athens. They’d been poking their noses in everything Greece related for the last two centuries, and they also had their own ambitions of regaining the power they had before the Peleponnesian War. Many of the other Greeks didn’t like them because they were a) snobby and b) talked a lot. Their speeches would just never end.
The final suitor was the Chalkidian League. Nowadays, few have heard of them, but back then they were a major player. Their capital was Olynthus, and they played between Athens and Philip to expand their influence.
355-353 BCE
AE 12mm 1.4g
Obv: Diademed head of Apollo right
Rev: A-M/F-I above and below torch
SNG ANS 88-92
In 357 BCE, Philip II finally succeeded in conquering Amphipolis. While he’d promised to hand it over to Athens, that never happened. It was just too nice of a place and Philip felt his own staters looked far better than those lame owls coming off the press.
So, he kept it, and Athens huffed and they puffed, and they gave a lot of speeches. Those speeches didn’t really do anything, and a few years later in 348 BCE Philip rolled right through the Chalkidian League. Not long after that, he defeated Athens itself.
It didn’t take too long to incorporate Amphipolis into Macedon. By the time Alexander the Great took over, it was as much a Macedonian capital as Pella. A large portion of the coins of Alexander the Great, Antipater, and Kassander were minted there.
Circa 187-168/7 BCE
Æ 17mm, 5.59g
Diademed head of Poseidon right /
Horse advancing right; A()MIΠ above (missing Φ), OΛITΩN below. Monogram to right.
Touratsoglou, Macedonia 8 var; HGC 3, 424 var
Histaios of Miletos founds the city of Myrkinos, on the site of what later would be Amphipolis. Aristagoras, also of Miletos, would later occupy the city and perish in the siege of a nearby town.
Athenians create a colony in Eion, just south of Amphipolis.
The Athenian colony near Amphipolis is annihilated by the Thracians, with ten thousand colonists killed.
Athenians found a new colony at Amphipolis under the general Hagnon.
The Athenian general Kleon attempts to take Amphipolis, but fails in the attempt. Both Kleon and the Spartan general Brasidas perish.
Amphipolis declares independence from Spartan control and operates as a self-governing city-state.
The Chalkidian League leave Sparta and join and alliance with Athens, but that soon falls out over ownership of Amphipolis.
Amyntas III supports Athens‘ claim over Amphipolis.
Philip II of Macedon conquers Amphipolis.
June
Polyperchon and Olympias march against Adea Eurydike. Adea’s soldiers refuse to fight against Alexander’s mother and switch to Olympias’ side. Adea is captured near Amphipolis.
March
Kassander completes the siege of Pydna and executes Olympias. Alexander IV and Roxana are imprisoned in Amphipolis.
Demetrios I Poliokcetes of Macedon gains control over Amphipolis.
Demetrios I Poliorketes loses control of Macedon, including Amphipolis, to Lysimachos.
Amphipolis falls under the control of Antigonos II Gonatas after his victory over the Gauls at the Battle of Lysimachia.
Amphipolis becomes the capital of one of the four meris created by Rome out of Macedon.