Gold Stater 295-298 BC. Obv. Helmeted head of Athena right. Rev. ΑΓΑΘΟΚΛΕΟΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΟΣ. Winged fulmen. Sear 970; SNG ANS 705 (same dies). AU. 5.65 g. Nice AU
Agathocles was born and raised in Syracuse around 361 BC. It was in 317 that he took control of the city, accompanied by an army of mercenaries, to free her from the alliance she had just made with the Carthaginians. The Carthaginians, controlling the cities of southwestern Sicily, were the greatest enemies of the tyrant of Syracuse during his reign.
Military expeditions against the Carthaginian cities punctuated the policy of Agathocles, who systematically massacred his opponents and hunted any exiles. But his greatest audaciousness, which no one before him had dared to undertake, was the war in Africa, on the very lands of the Carthaginians. He arrives in 310 BC on what is today the current Tunisian coast and causes panic amongst his enemies. Indeed, the Carthaginians, although known for their great mastery at sea, were however not the best on land, so that Agathocles rapidly besieged Carthage.
Called back to Sicily to maintain his power on the island, he left the war in Africa at the command of his son and was named King of Sicily. He was then recognized and esteemed by other Greek sovereigns as Ptolemy I of Egypt, which he benefited from the support in Africa. He then concentrated on expanding his lands in Greater Greece, taking several ports on the Adriatic Sea. He died in 289 BC, probably murdered by his grandson whom he had abandoned in Africa.