Iolkos and Pagasai: Two New Thessalian Mints* - Royal Numismatic ...

IOLKOS AND PAGASAI 35
parallels with the coins of Orthagoreia and of Philip II. They are unlikely to be
commemorative coinages, which were normally struck in precious metal,
though the discovery of silver coins of Iolkos and Pagasai in the future cannot of
course be ruled out. Iolkos is not recorded in the ancient sources as being
directly involved in the events surrounding the capture of Pherai and the
overthrow of its tyrants, but it is clear that its fortunes depended on Pherai, for
they were neighbours, and the fact that Iolkos participated in the synoecism of
Demetrias suggests a direct connection with Pherai.
In corroboration of our conclusions about Iolkos and Pagasai, note that in an
important article Warren 94 argues convincingly that some other Magnesian
cities, Eurea, Eurymenai, Rhizous and Meliboia, issued stylistically and
technically similar coins with the common motif of a bunch of grapes; she dates
them to the middle of the 4th century BC, specifically to immediately after the
first incursion of Philip II into Thessaly.
None of the other settlements or small towns near Iolkos and Pagasai are
known to have issued coins after the interventions of Philip II, 95 presumably
because few if any of them were cities. The coins of Iolkos and Pagasai show
that they were cities in the Classical sense of the word. Cities that issue coins
generally meet certain basic conditions: they must be independent, their market
must work well and they must be fortified. 96 The ancient sources and
archaeology have established that both cities satisfied the first and third
conditions, while their coinages, apparently brief though they were, suggest that
they satisfied the second as well.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adler 1916, s.v. Iolkia A. Adler, in RE IX, 2 (Stuttgart 1916), col. 1850, s.v. Iolkia.
Adrymi–Sismani 1992 V. Adrymi–Sismani, ��������������������������������, in �����������������
���� ���� ������� ��������� ���� ������ ���� ����� ��������� �������� (Athens
1992), pp. 272-8.
Adrymi–Sismani (Volos 1994)
V. Adrymi–Sismani, ���������������������������������������������������
�����������������, in ���������������������������������������������������
��������� ��������������������������������������������� (Volos 1994),
pp. 17-43.
Adrymi–Sismani 2000 V. Adrymi–Sismani, ����������������������������������������, in ��������
���� ��������� ������������ ���� ��������� ��������� ���� ������� ����
��������� ���� ����� ��������� �������� ���� ������������� � � � �������������
����������������������� 1998 (Volos 2000), pp. 279-91.
94 Warren 1961, pp. 1-5.
95 A little to the south, Halos issued coins in the 4th and 3rd centuries: Reinders 1988, pp. 164-6,
236-9, 240-1 (Groups A–B, Helle); pp. 241-5 (Groups C–D, Phrixos); pp. 246-51, figs Series 1-21;
Reinders 2003, pp. 143, 322.
96 Sakellariou 1989, p. 492.