THESSALY. Koinon of Thessaly. Pseudo-autonomous issue. Assarion (Bronze, 18 mm, 3.04 g, 6 h), Ulpius Nikomachos, strategos, time of Hadrian, circa 123-125. ΑΧΙΛΛΕΥΣ Head of Achilles to right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with Pegasos. Rev. NIKOMAXOY Horse prancing right; below, monogram of CTPA. BCD Thessaly I, 1410. Burrer Emission 1, - (A41/R-). RPC III 459. Rare. Minor smoothing, otherwise, nearly very fine.



Undefeated in direct combat, steadfast in friendship, quick to anger, and a bitter foe, Achilles was the greatest Greek hero of the Trojan War, ultimately besting the Trojan Hector and thereby sealing Troy’s doom. As the son of Peleus, King of Phthia in Thessaly, it is unsurprising that the Thessalians claimed Achilles as a kind of ‘national’ hero, and the Thessalian Koinon accordingly commemorated him on their coins. The choice to feature Achilles may also reflect Hadrian’s renowned Philhellenism. After all, the Trojan War was the first occasion that brought the often-fragmented Greeks together under one banner against a common enemy, foreshadowing later Greek resistance to Persia and Hadrian’s own efforts to forge a grand league of Greek cities - the so-called Panhellenion - in 131 or 132.