Coinweek Ancient Coin Series - The Decline And Fall Of Macedon

Coinweek - THE OTHER ANCIENT GREEKS were ambivalent about Macedon[2]. Although Macedonians spoke a dialect of Greek and participated in the Olympic games, they were seen as marginal barbarians, never accepted as fully "Hellenic." Macedonians retained their old-fashioned tribal kings while Greek city-states experimented with democracy, oligarchy, the republic and other innovative forms of government. In 338 BCE, Philip II of Macedon defeated an alliance of Greeks and imposed a rough peace on their squabbling cities.

After Philip was assassinated in 336, his son Alexander went off and conquered much of the known world. When Alexander died in Babylon in 323, his empire was partitioned among his generals. The Macedonian homeland came under the rule of the "Antigonids", descendants of Antigonus the One-Eyed (who reigned 306-301 BCE). The last Antigonids issued some of the most beautiful and collectible Hellenistic coins, with sensitive, powerful portraits that display the ability of ancient engravers to capture the personalities of their subjects.

Read the Entire Article