THESSALY. Pherai. Alexander, tyrant, 369-359 BC. Drachm (Silver, 16 mm, 5.91 g, 6 h). Head of Ennodia to right, wearing earring and necklace and with a torch before her face. Rev. Α[ΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟY] Lion's head with open jaws to right; below, [boar's head to right]. BCD Thessaly 701 = De Sartiges 227 (same dies). Rare. Cleaning marks from removing horn silver, otherwise, good very fine.


As with many Greek tyrants, Alexander of Pherai’s reign began and ended in violence. Having wrested power from one of his relatives, Alexander set himself up as the new Thessalian tagos or king. While the cities and communities of Thessaly had submitted to the great Jason of Pherai, Alexander soon faced opposition in the form of an appeal by the Thessalians to the Macedonian king, Alexander II, to intervene. The tyrant managed to hold out against the Macedonians, and the Thessalians now looked to Thebes for help. The Thebans duly sent one of their most skilled generals, Pelopidas, against Alexander, who fled when the Theban statesman chastised him for his base character.

Once the Thebans returned home, however, Alexander again began to harass the cities of Thessaly. Pelopidas was sent out once more, but underestimating the callousness of Alexander, he approached the tyrant unarmed and was taken prisoner. The Thebans feared for their general’s life, as rumors claimed that Alexander sometimes buried his enemies alive or would dress them in the hides of wild animals and set his hunting dogs upon them. Though Pelopidas was eventually released, he lost his life in battle shortly thereafter as he attempted to charge Alexander at the Battle of Kynoskephalai in 364 BC. While Alexander managed to survive such external threats time and time again, his undoing would come from within his own family. His wife, disillusioned by the brutality of her husband, snuck her brothers into the tyrant’s bedroom, where he was butchered, and his corpse was thrown to the street for the Pheraians to have their revenge.