ELIS. Olympia. 112th Olympiad, 332 BC. Stater (Silver, 22 mm, 12.00 g, 3 h), Hera mint. Head of Hera to right, wearing ornamented stephanos inscribed FAΛEIΩN, triple-pendant earring and pearl necklace. Rev. Eagle standing left on uncertain oval object, wings spread and head turned back to right; all within olive wreath. BCD Olympia 162 (same obverse die). BMC 101 and p. XIV, 5 (same dies). HGC 5, 396. McClean 6656 and pl. 227, 11 (same dies). Seltman 349 (FH/κβ). Nicely toned. Struck from slightly worn dies and with a small die break on the obverse and minor weakness on the reverse, otherwise, very fine.



The year of the 112th Olympiad, 332 BC, saw Alexander the Great’s conquest of Tyre, Gaza, and Egypt. In Greece, however, tensions mounted. Agis III of Sparta, a staunch opponent of the Macedonians, allied himself with the remnants of the Persian fleet and invaded Crete in an attempt to bring the island under Lacedaemonian control. When false rumors of Alexander’s death spread, the Spartan king took the opportunity to lead a major anti-Macedonian revolt, during which even Elis, with its panhellenic sanctuary, joined the coalition. The rebellion proved short-lived: in 331 BC the insurgent army was decisively defeated by Alexander’s regent Antipater at the Battle of Megalopolis, where Agis himself fell in combat.