A mid-fourth century BC alliance coinage on Crete? The case of Kytaion reassessed

• Published in: British School at Athens studies 1998-01, Vol.2, p.96-104
• Main Author: Stefanakis, Manolis I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alliances; Bullion; Cities; Coinage; Names; Naming conventions; Numismatics; Place names; Treaties; Writing tablets
• ISSN: 2159-4996

This examination of Kytaion, an obscure polis on Crete, takes as its starting point a series of poorly made silver staters: they bear the head of Apollo on the obverse and a tripod flanked by the letters Kγ on the reverse. The staters, which have been mistakenly attributed to the mint at Kydonia, seem, rather, to belong within the ambit of a typological group which is met only from Axos and the neighbouring Apollonia. Almost certainly they are the result of economic ties, not to say an alliance between Axos and Kytaion. From this perspective the location of ancient Kytaion is re-examined. The majority of scholars have identified it with Palaiokastro Rodias, 16 km w of Herakleion, or with Herakleion itself. The references in Pliny and Ptolemy, however, seem to place it w of Apollonia, that is of modern Ag. Pelagia. An examination of the toponym ku-ta-to found in the Linear with Kytaion, likewise implies a location NW of Tylissos, and perhaps associated with e-ko-so—Axos. On the basis of these data, and bearing in mind the typological link between the coins of the two cities, a location for Kytaion is sought in the vicinity of Axos. The area of the Sises Valley, and specifically the site of Almyrida, are proposed. The latter has remains of a settlement occupied continuously from the Minoan period to the present day. Moreover it has an excellent harbour, and, significantly, is sited much closer to Axos compared with the other harbours/anchorages which suggest themselves: Astale, Bali and Apollonia (Ag. Pelagia). It is highly probable that located in the Sises Valley was ancient Kytaion, a small polis, an anchorage for Axos, which produced a coinage following the prototypes of the latter. In all probability this happened during the decade 350-40 when Knossos first manifested its ambitions for hegemony over the island (346 BC) and when her mercenary tool, Phalaikos, together with his 8000 troops, laid waste northern and central Crete (until 343 BC). Taking these coins as a starting point a more precise chronology is attempted for the hoard IGCH 104, and a date for its burial is proposed in the decade 350-40 BC.