Agathokles of Syracuse

Sicilian Tyrant and Hellenistic King

Christopher de Lisle author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:4th Feb '21

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Agathokles of Syracuse cover

Agathokles 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.

includes ... 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 *

ISBN: 9780198861720

Dimensions: 225mm x 145mm x 30mm

Weight: 558g

380 pages