Description

Small silver obol struck under Hieron I, Tyrant of Syracuse, circa 475–470 BC. Obverse with the head of Arethusa facing right; reverse depicting a four-spoked wheel.

Hieron I of Syracuse was the tyrant of the city and one of the most powerful rulers of Greek Sicily. He distinguished himself through major military victories, notably against the Etruscans at Cumae in 474 BC. A great patron of the arts, he supported poets such as Pindar and Aeschylus, making his court a major cultural center of the Greek world.