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Dionysios I, after concluding a peace with the Carthaginians, went about securing his power in the island of Sicily. His troops, however, rebelled against him and sought help from, among others, the city of Rhegion [Diod. Sic. 14.8.2]. In the ensuing campaigns, Dionyios I proceeded to enslave the citizens of Naxos and Katane, with whom the Rhegians shared a common history and identity [Diod. Sic. 14.40.1]. This association was a source of anger and fear for the inhabitants of Rhegion. The Syracusan exiles living there also encouraged the Rhegians to go to war with Syracuse [Diod. Sic. 14.40.3]. The overarching strategy of Dionysios I included extending his power into Italy by using Rhegion as a stepping stone to the rest of the peninsula. In 387 BC, after a siege that lasted eleven months, the Rhegians, on the brink of starvation, surrendered to Dionysios. Indeed, we are told that by the end of the siege, a medimnos of wheat cost about five minai [Diod. Sic. 14.111.2]. Strabo remarks that, following Dionysios' capture of the city, the Syracusan "destroyed the illustrious city" [Strabo 6.1.6].
The next decade or so of the history of Rhegion is unclear, but sometime during his reign, Dionysios II, who succeeded his father in 367 BC, rebuilt the city, giving it the new name of Phoibia [Strabo 6.1.6]. Herzfelder argues that this issue was struck by Dionysios II of Syracuse after he rebuilt the city, and dates it to the period that Dionysios II is thought to have lived there. Due to civil strife at Syracuse, Dionysios II was forced to garrison Rhegion, but was ejected from the city by two of his rivals circa 351 BC [Diod. Sic. 16.45.9]. This event marked the end of the silver coinage at Rhegion.
These tetradrachms of Rhegion exemplify the high aesthetic standard of the Classical Period that is common to the coins of Magna Graecia at this time. The facing lion head is rendered in a bold, detailed manner, as is the head of Apollo, carefully depicted as a serene deity. What separates these coins from their contemporaries is the depth of the relief, which was extraordinarily high. The effect is particularly striking on the reverse, where the lion head has an exceptional three-dimensional quality that is unsurpassed.
The next decade or so of the history of Rhegion is unclear, but sometime during his reign, Dionysios II, who succeeded his father in 367 BC, rebuilt the city, giving it the new name of Phoibia [Strabo 6.1.6]. Herzfelder argues that this issue was struck by Dionysios II of Syracuse after he rebuilt the city, and dates it to the period that Dionysios II is thought to have lived there. Due to civil strife at Syracuse, Dionysios II was forced to garrison Rhegion, but was ejected from the city by two of his rivals circa 351 BC [Diod. Sic. 16.45.9]. This event marked the end of the silver coinage at Rhegion.
These tetradrachms of Rhegion exemplify the high aesthetic standard of the Classical Period that is common to the coins of Magna Graecia at this time. The facing lion head is rendered in a bold, detailed manner, as is the head of Apollo, carefully depicted as a serene deity. What separates these coins from their contemporaries is the depth of the relief, which was extraordinarily high. The effect is particularly striking on the reverse, where the lion head has an exceptional three-dimensional quality that is unsurpassed.