27 - SICILY. Entella. Punic Issues. Tetradrachm (Circa 320/15-300 BC). Obv: Head of Arethousa left, wearing grain-ear wreath, triple-pendant earring and pearl necklace; four dolphins around.Rev: Head of horse left; palm tree to right.Jenkins, Punic, 167 (O50/R131); CNP 267; HGC 2, 284.Ex Bourgey Paris (24-25 February 1983), lot 36.
The foundation of Entella is traced back to Acestes, son of the river god Krimisos and a Trojan woman or, according to other sources to Prince Elymus, son of Anchises and brother of Aeneas. The city stood on a summit overlooking the Belice valley. Records are scarce until the arrival of the Campanian mercenaries, recruited in 410 BC by the Carthaginians and discharged after the 405 BC treaty, then passed into the pay of Dionysius I of Syracuse. After liberating Dionysius on the island of Ortigia from the Punic siege, the were discharged with rich gifts and settled in various cities on the island. In 404 a group of these mercenaries seized Entella, exterminating the entire male population, and began to mint their own coinage. From then on they implemented a generally pro-Carthaginian policy and, in 398 B.C., were able to stop Syracusan siege attempts with the help of the Punic. The strategic location of the fortress of Entella was coveted for its control of the valley below, and this led to several siege attempts: in 345 it was attacked by the Carthaginians led by General Annon, then in 342 the city was taken by the Syracusans commanded by Timoleon, but in 338 it fell back under Punic influence. During the First Punic War the city was destroyed by the Carthaginians. The “Decrees of Entella,” which were requests for help engraved on bronze slabs, from the inhabitants to neighboring cities, date from this period. In 263 Entella was conquered by the Romans and enjoyed a new period of prosperity until the second century BC when it was abandoned. Condition: Very fine.Weight: 16.78 g. Diameter: 25 mm. Estimate: € 1000
