Agathokles of Syracuse: Sicilian Tyrant and Hellenistic King

by: de Lisle, C.

Agathokles of Syracuse
Sicilian Tyrant and Hellenistic King
Christopher de Lisle
Oxford Classical Monographs
The first book-length study of Agathokles of Syracuse in English in over a century
Places Agathokles and Sicily into the context of broader discussions of Sicilian tyranny and Hellenistic kingship
Offers regionally-focussed studies of Agathokles' activities
Provides a full presentation of Agathokles' coinage with images, statistics, and circulation maps

Description
Agathokles of Syracuse ruled large areas of Sicily and southern Italy between 317 and 289 BC. In this book, Christopher de Lisle argues that Agathokles was an important player in the Mediterranean world at a key moment in its history. Agathokles' career has important implications for our definition of the Hellenistic world and its relationship to both the western Mediterranean and earlier Greek history. However, he has tended not to feature in studies of the Hellenistic world or of ancient Sicily.

In ancient discourse about him, in the coins he issued, in his interactions with the world around him, and in the way he ruled, Agathokles is simultaneously heir to a long tradition and actively engaged in his contemporary world. The failure to place Agathokles in both of these contexts up till now has contributed to the development of an excessively deep separation between the western and eastern Mediterranean and between the Classical and Hellenistic periods. This work - the first book-length study of Agathokles in English in over a century - places him in the context of both the earlier history of Sicily, and the developments in the eastern Mediterranean that mark the start of the Hellenistic era. The volume includes a narrative of his career, studies of his coinage and his representation in literary sources, and a series of explorations of important themes and regions.

Table of Contents
Introduction
1:Agathokles' Life and Times
PART I: REPRESENTATIONS OF AGATHOKLES
2:Historiography
3:Telling Tales About the King
4:Coinage
PART II: THE RULERSHIP OF AGATHOKLES
5:Tyrannosiculus Rex
PART III: THE WORLD OF AGATHOKLES
6:Sicily
7:Carthage
8:Italy
9:Mainland Greece and the Diadochoi
Conclusion: Sicilian Tyrant and Hellenistic King
Appendix I: The Lokrian Tablets
Appendix II: Coin Catalogue
Bibliography
Index

Agathokles of Syracuse: Sicilian Tyrant and Hellenistic King

by: de Lisle, C.

• ISBN-13: 9780198861720 / 978-0-19-886172-0
• ISBN-03: 0198861729 / 0-19-886172-9
• Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2021