Description
Book SynopsisAgathokles of Syracuse ruled large areas of Sicily and southern Italy between 317 and 289 BC. In this book, Christopher de Lisle argues that Agathokles was an important player in the Mediterranean world at a key moment in its history. Agathokles'' career has important implications for our definition of the Hellenistic world and its relationship to both the western Mediterranean and earlier Greek history. However, he has tended not to feature in studies of the Hellenistic world or of ancient Sicily. In ancient discourse about him, in the coins he issued, in his interactions with the world around him, and in the way he ruled, Agathokles is simultaneously heir to a long tradition and actively engaged in his contemporary world. The failure to place Agathokles in both of these contexts up till now has contributed to the development of an excessively deep separation between the western and eastern Mediterranean and between the Classical and Hellenistic periods. This work - the first book-length study of Agathokles in English in over a century - places him in the context of both the earlier history of Sicily, and the developments in the eastern Mediterranean that mark the start of the Hellenistic era. The volume includes a narrative of his career, studies of his coinage and his representation in literary sources, and a series of explorations of important themes and regions.
Trade Reviewincludes ... important contributions * Kostas Vlassopoulos, Greece & Rome *
The volume's strength lies especially in de Lisle's ability to explain very complex scenarios with clarity in order to make his argument accessible to both students and scholars. The treatment of the numismatic evidence, and the chronological model of Agathokles' coinage put forward by de Lisle will also no doubt prove influential in future scholarship. * Samuel Ellis, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Agathokles' Life and Times PART I: REPRESENTATIONS OF AGATHOKLES 2: Historiography 3: Telling Tales About the King 4: Coinage PART II: THE RULERSHIP OF AGATHOKLES 5: Tyrannosiculus Rex PART III: THE WORLD OF AGATHOKLES 6: Sicily 7: Carthage 8: Italy 9: Mainland Greece and the Diadochoi Conclusion: Sicilian Tyrant and Hellenistic King Appendix I: The Lokrian Tablets Appendix II: Coin Catalogue Bibliography Index
