archaicwonder: Siculo-Punic Tetradrachm from Sicily c. 410-310 BC This coin shows Dido-Elissa in a p
archaicwonder: Siculo-Punic Tetradrachm from Sicily c. 410-310 BC This coin shows Dido-Elissa in a pleated Phrygian tiara in the style of a Tyrian Murex shell. On the reverse, the legend below the stalking lion reads (from right to left) “mam mahanat” translated as “from the people of the camp”. A palm tree decorates the background. Dido-Elissa, was a royal refugee from Tyre who founded the city of Carthage in 814 BC. Her headdress resembles a sea shell and is perhaps an allusion to the dye murex for which Tyre was famous. This variety is one of three separate special issues of the Siculo-Punic coinage depicting Dido. These may have struck as presentation pieces for the elite battalion of 2000 citizens that headed the armada sent by Carthage against Agathocles in 314 BC. -- source link