KINGS OF SKYTHIA. Skyles, circa 470-460 BC. AE (Bronze, 14 mm, 1.46 g, 9 h). Owl standing left, head facing. Rev. ΣK Bow in bowcase; to upper left and right, a star. Anokhin 571. SNG BM Black Sea -. SNG Stancomb -. Extremely rare and among the finest known examples. Good very fine.


Herodot reports that Skyles was the son of the Skythian King Ariapeithes and a Greek woman and hence of mixed origin (Hdt. 4.78-80). His base of power was Nikonion, situated on the Dniester Liman and the smallest of the three remote Greek poleis in the region. Much like its neighbors Tyras and Olbia, Nikonion was heavily influenced by its Skythian surroundings and always in danger of losing its autonomy to the tribes, but the multicultural city was also a center of trade and a great exporter of grain.