3rd century BCE
Æ Trichalkon 20mm, 7.00g, 12h
Diademed head of nymph r.
R/ Warrior on horse trotting r.; grain ear below.
BCD Thessaly I 1249; BCD Thessaly II 566; HGC 4, 542
I find it interesting that so many cities in Thessaly start with ‘ph’. I have Phakion, Phalanna, Phaloria, Pharkadon, Pharsalos, and Pherai.
Not much is known about Phakion during the time of Alexander the Great. Before that, Brasidas of Sparta marched through there. The next we hear is Philip V destroying the city.
The town was named after the Greek word ‘phakos’, which means ‘lentils’. Evidently they really liked lentils.
The site of Phakion remains unknown.