Aradus

Historical Overview

Aradus, a seaport city located in South Central Phoenicia, was known for its seafaring in the early Hellenistic period. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, Aradus became part of the territory that Seleucos I conquered (Duryat, 221). However, Ptolemaic influences challenged this, and by the 2nd century, Aradus and its territory became known as a “buffer zone” north of the border between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid possessions (Duryat, 223). Since the third century, Aradus was essentially independent, and by the second century, it began issuing its own autonomous tetradrachms (Jenkins, 162). Over the third and second centuries, Phoenicia began developing into a prominent figure of producing coinage. Aradus was a big contribution to this, as they were minting silver Alexandrine coins well into 170 BCE (Milne, 12). 

Art Historical and Economic Overview

The city of Aradus underwent a series of changes to their political and economic situation over the course of the Classical and Hellenistic period. Aradus switched from the Persian standard to the Attic standard after their revolt in 361 BCE (Betlyon 2019, 394). Following the death of Alexander, Phoenicia was conquered by the Ptolemies, although Aradus itself never established a Ptolemaic mint (Iossif 2014, 66; Milne 1938, 12). During this time, the Phoenician mints abandoned the Attic standard in favor of their previous weights (Iossif 2014, 69). Aradus changes standards back to the previous Phoenician standard later than the other Phoenician cities (as it never minted Ptolemaic coins), and begins minting on a lighter standard that was also in use at Tyre and Sidon in the mid-2nd c. BCE (Milne 1938, 12). Under the Seleucid Empire, which conquered Phoenicia around 200 BCE and remained in the area until the 120s BCE, Aradus operated largely with autonomy, minting coinage under their own power starting at the end of the 2nd c. BCE and using weights that used the Phoenician language, script, and numbers rather than koine Greek (Betlyon 2019, 15; Finkielsztejn 2015, 55-56). 

Over the course of Aradus’ history, the iconography on their coinage changes alongside their shifting political realities. The early coinage of Aradus (late 5th c. BCE) emphasized the city’s maritime power with a marine deity on the obverse and a galley on the reverse (Betlyon 2019, 393). After the conquest of Alexander, the city began minting coins of the Alexandrine types, including the traditional silver type of the head of Herakles in his lion skin on the obverse and an enthroned Zeus holding an eagle on the reverse, and the gold type depicting the head of Athena wearing a helmet on the obverse and a Nike holding a mast and a spear on the reverse (Wheatley and Dunn 2021, 165, 168). Aradus continued minting such coins until 170 BCE, longer than any other Phoenician city (Milne 1938, 12). Iconography of Tyche first appears on coins from Aradus while the city is still minting Alexadnrine coins, with Duryat’s series III hemidrachms produced from 241-110 BCE with the head of Tyche on the obverse and the prow of a ship on the reverse, while in 138 tetradrachms with the head of Tyche on the obverse and a Nike on the reverse begin production (Duryat 2005, 37). 

Iconography of Tyche in the Hellenistic Period 

The image on the obverse of the coin depicts the goddess Tyche, who is related to fate, fortune, and chance. Tyche became increasingly popular during the Hellenistic period as constant conflicts and changing political boundaries lead people to seek control over their fortunes through religious means (Broucke 1994, 37; Bonnet 2025, 761). This interest in Tyche demonstrates several key characteristics of the Hellenistic period: an obsession with fortune and a focus on individualism (Pollitt 1986, 1-2). The turbulence of the time led to greater concerns over exerting control over one’s fortune, with a greater emphasis on one’s own fortune rather than the collective fortune of a city or kingdom. Aradus fell within the territory that the Seleucids and Ptolemies both sought to control and formed a buffer zone between the two powers, therefore experiencing many of the anxieties and uncertainties that caused individuals to turn to Tyche (Duryat 2005, 221-223).

One coin that shows familiar features to the coinage minted at Aradus is figure 1, which was produced in the 5th century in Sidon, Phoenicia. The obverse features an anchored galley facing left with a ram, beneath Sidon’s city wall with four turrets, and perched underneath are two Persian-style lions facing outward, with dots on the edge of the coin (fig.1). The reverse of the coin depicts a Persian king, wearing royal garments and holding a small knife with his left hand, faces a lion standing on its hind legs, with both in an attacking position (fig.1). The feature of Sidon’s walls are similar to the coin of Aradus, as both reverses features their city’s walls. In turn, both of these coins depict the significance of their city, emphasizing that their city is protected, as Aradus shows this with the depiction of Tyche, and Sidon demonstrates with the galley in front of the walls, along with lions beside each other in an attacking position. Sidon, using an image of a galley in front of its city walls, may be a direct result of the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC, where warships were heavily used.

The Nike on the reverse of the coin shows similarities to previous coinage minted at Aradus. A similar standing Nike figure facing left appears on the Alexandrine coinage produced both at Aradus and elsewhere. An example of this type from Macedon shows Nike with a wreath in one hand and a stylus in the other, with the name ΑΛΕΧΑΝΔΡΟΥ [of Alexander] running down the right side (fig. 2). The pose of the Nikes are similar on both the coin of Macedon and the coin of Aradus, as is the meaning of the symbols around her. Both coins depict laurel wreaths (a symbol of victory), either in the hand of Nike as on the coin from Macedon, or as a border around the whole coin, as on the coin of Aradus. The palm branch in the left hand of the Nike on the Aradus coin is also a reference to victory. The aplustre, held in the right hand of the Nike on the coin of Aradus is worth noting. This prow of a ship may reference Aradus’ maritime power, as an important port city on the Levantine coast. 

In conclusion, the coinage from Aradus, Macedon, and Sidon serves as a reflection of the religious and political dynamics during the Hellenistic period. Macedon, with its emphasis on victory symbolized by Nike and its connection to Tyche, portrays a community engaged with the concepts of fate and personal agency, while Sidon's emphasis on its fortified walls and naval prowess showcases the historic significance of defense in the face of adversities. Together, these coins not only represent artistic achievements but also encapsulate the broader societal sentiments of their era through their coinage.

Bibliography

Betlyon, John W. 2019. “'Coins” In Brian R. Doak and Carolina López-Ruiz (eds). The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean, Oxford Handbooks: 384-400.

Bonnet, Corinne. 2025. “Hellenistic and Roman Phoenicia.” In Rubina Raja (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Hellenistic and Roman Near East, Oxford Handbooks, 749-764.

Broucke, Pieter B. F. J. 1994. “Tyche and the Fortune of Cities in the Greek and Roman World.” Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin, 34–49.

Duyrat, Frédérique. 2005. Arados Hellénistique: Étude Historique et Monétaire. Beyrouth: Institut français du Proche-Orient. 

Finkielsztejn, Gérald. 2015. “The Weight Standards of the Hellenistic Levant, Part Two : The Evidence of the Phoenician Scale Weights.” Israel Numismatic Research 10: 55–103.

Gates, Charles. 2011.. Ancient cities: the archaeology of urban life in the ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Iossif, Panagiotis P. 2014. “The Last Seleucids in Phoenicia: Juggling Civic and Royal Identity.” American Journal of Numismatics 26: 61–87.

Milne, J. G. 1938. “The Coinage of Aradus in the Hellenistic Period.” Iraq 5: 12–22.

Pollitt, J. J. 1986. Art in the Hellenistic Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wheatley, P. and C. Dunn, 2021. “Coinage as Propoganda: Alexander and His Successors.” In  J. Walsh and E. Baynham (eds.), Alexander the Great and Propaganda. Routledge: 162-198.