Circa 339-307 BCE
Æ 1.40g, 13mm, 5h.
Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress /
Pegasos flying to right; K(?) below.
CNS I, 2-4; HGC 2, 653
Ex Mike Ballerini Collection
Kephaloidion, one of the many gorgeous cities of Sicily, is modern day Cefalù. The main town sits below a tremendous precipice, which is one reason the Greeks gave it such a name since ‘kefali’ means ‘head’.
The city was first mentioned with a treaty signed by Himilco there in 396 BCE, and it remained friendly to the Carthaginians until 307 BCE, when it was taken by Agathokles of Syracuse.
Of the original city only some walls remain, though it’s still one of the prettiest towns in Italy.
396 BCE
The general Himilco of Carthage concludes a treaty with Kephaloidion.
307 BCE
Kephaloidion attacked and taken by Agathokles of Syracuse.
254 BCE
The Romans Aulus Atilius Calatinus and Scipio Nasica take Kephaloidion by treachery.