Some Observations upon an Inedited Greek Coin of Philistis, Queen of Syracuse, Malta, and Gozo, Who Has Been Passed Over in Silence by All the Ancient Writers. In a Letter to Mathew Maty, M. D. Sec. R. S. from the Rev. John Swinton, B. D. F. R. S. Custos Archivorum of the University of Oxford, Member of the Academy Degli Apatisti at Florence, and of the Etruscan Academy of Cortona in Tuscany

XI. Some Observations upon an inedited Greek Coin of Philistis, Queen of Syracuse, Malta, and Gozo, who has been passed over in silence by all the ancient Writers. In a Letter to Mathew Maty, M. D. Sec. R. S. from the Rev. John Swinton, B. D. F. R. S. Custos Archivorum of the University of Oxford, Member of the Academy degli Apatisti at Florence, and of the Etruscan Academy of Cortona in Tuscany. I. SIR, Read March 1, 1770. THE antient piece I propose to consider (see Tab. V. n. i.) here has a place assigned it in the very valuable (1) collection of the Reverend and learned Mr. Godwyn, Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, who has been possessed of it several years. It exhibits on one side the same veiled head of a woman that occurs on a coin of Gozo, by me (2) heretofore described; and on the other the figures forming the type, or symbol, on the reverse of that coin. Before the face of the veiled head, on Mr. Godwyn's piece, the Greek word ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΑΣ presents itself to our view; and on the reverse the name ΦΙΛΙΣ- (1) This very valuable collection is now deposited in the Bodleian Library, Oxon; Mr. Godwyn, who died in April, 1770, having bequeathed his noble library, and rich cabinet of antient coins, to the University of Oxford. (2) Philosoph. Transact. Vol. LVI. p. 261, 262. ΤΙΔΟΣ, ΤΙΔΟΣ, PHILISTIDIS, in the exergue. The medal is of nearly the size of the middle Roman brass, or rather of some of the Syracusian brass coins of the middle form. The head on the anterior part is tolerably well preserved, but the type on the other is in much the same shattered condition as that exhibited by a coin of Gozo, considered by me in a former (see Tab. V. n. 2.) paper, both of them having suffered not a little from the injuries of time. In fine, were it not for the legends, in different languages and characters, these two antient pieces would agree in all respects, and might be considered as duplicates of the same medal. However, the Greek word on the anterior part, and the Greek name on the reverse, will sufficiently, as I apprehend, announce the piece in question an inedited coin. II. From the very valuable medal before me, in conjunction with those of Gozo, published by the Marquis Scipio Maffei, Sig. Abate Venuti, and the Royal (see Tab. V. n. 2, 3.) Society, and that of Malta to be met with in (see Tab. V. n. 4.) M. Spon, it will most evidently follow, that they are all coins of Philistis; and that this princess was (3) Philosoph. Transf. ubi sup. (4) Scip. Maff. Veron. Illustriat. Lib. iii. c. vii. p. 259. In Verona, 1732. (5) Ridolino Venut. Dissertaz. sopra alcun. Medagl. Maltese, in Saggi di Dissertaz. Accademich. pubblic. let. nella uobil. Accadem. Etrusc. dell' antichiss. cit. di Cortona. Tom. I. p. 36, 37. In Roma, 1735. (6) Philosoph. Transf. ubi sup. p. 261, 262. (7) Spon, Recherch. Curieus. d'Antiquit. p. 452. A Lyon, 1683. queen of Malta and Gozo, when those islands were under the domination of the Greeks, and occupied by them and the Phoenicians. Which if we admit, it will farther from thence follow, that all those pieces were struck before the Carthaginians were possessed of Malta and Gozo. For the settlement of the Phoenicians in those islands was undoubtedly prior to that of the (8) Greeks, and the Carthaginians (9) succeeded the latter in the occupation of them. The medals therefore of Gozo by me formerly named Punic, since the discovery of Mr. Godwyn's coin, I would rather denominate (10) Phoenician, as being struck when the Phoenicians remained in that island. This seems to have been suspected by (11) Sig. Abate Venuti, when he affirms the piece so perfectly similar to Mr. Godwyn's to be a Phoenician medal, or at least one of the most antient Carthaginian coins; but, by Mr. Godwyn's piece, it is rendered absolutely incontestable. We may therefore conclude, that the princess whose head appears on all these medals was queen of Malta and Gozo, before the Carthaginians were settled in either of those islands; though the time when she swayed the scepter there cannot, for want of sufficient light from antient history, with any precision, be so easily ascertained. (8) Thucyd. Lib. VII. Diod. Sic. Lib. V. Phil. Cluver. Sicil. Antiqu. Lib. II. p. 444. Lugd. Batavor. 1619. Ridolfin. Venut. ubi sup. p. 35, 36. (9) Thucyd. Diod. Sic. Cluver. &c Venut. ubi sup. Scyl. Caryand. Peripl. Mar. Mediter. Burchard. Niderst. Malt. Vet. & Nov. p. 35. Helmestadii, 1660. (10) That these pieces were not properly Punic, seems farther to appear from the types, or symbols, they exhibit; which are very different from those, that generally present themselves to our view, on the proper Carthaginian coins. (11) Ridolfin. Venut. ubi sup. p. 36. III. We meet with a (12) very minute Greek inscription, consisting of only the two words ΒΑΣΙΑΙΣΣΑΣ ΦΙΛΙΣΤΙΔΩΣ, cut in the steps of the antient theater at Syracuse, and (13) inserted in the volume of the inscriptions found in Sicily, just published at Palermo, by the Prince di Torremuzza; who from thence collects, not unjustly, as I apprehend, that Philistis was queen of Syracuse. This had been before conjectured by the learned (14) Sig. Havercamp, but conjectured only; whereas the inscription here mentioned renders it, at least, extremely probable, and even, in conjunction with other considerations, almost, if not altogether, incontestable. I say, in conjunction with other considerations, as several reasons have been assigned for placing queen Philistis on the throne of Syracuse. 1. It has been observed, that the bigæ and quadrigæ, with the winged figure in them, which appear on Philistis's silver coins, seem much too grand for the sovereign of only two such petty and minute islands as Malta and Gozo. 2. The medals of Philistis, (15) adorned with the afore- (12) Andr. Pigonat. Stato presente degli Antichi Monumenti Siciliani, Tab. XVII. In Palermo, 1767. (13) Siciliae & obiacentium insularum veterum inscriptionum nova collectio, prolegomenis et notis, a Principe de Torremuzza, illustrat. clas. vii. p. 61. Panormi, 1769. (14) Sig. Havercamp. Sicil. Numismatic. Vol. II. p. 1014. (15) We are told by Baron * Spanheim, who has been followed herein by M. † D'Orville, that none of the Syracusian monarchs * Ez. Spanhem. De praestant. & ut. numismat. antiquior. tom. I Dissert. viii. p. 376, 545, 547. Edit. Lond. 1706. † Jac. Phil. D'Orvil. Sicul. p. 457, 507. Amstelodami, 1764. said bigæ and quadrigæ, both in their type and workmanship, seem greatly to resemble those of Gelo, king of Syracuse, and other Syracusian coins. before Hieronymus, the last of them, ever wore a diadem; from whence he concludes, that all the coins of those monarchs, with diademed heads upon them, and particularly those of Gelo, Hiero I. Dionysius I. & II. Agathocles, and Hiero II. were posterior to the times in which those princes lived, and even to the reign of Hieronymus. But this false notion has been fully and effectually refuted by the Prince di * Torremuzza, in the prolegomena prefixed to his volume of antient inscriptions found in Sicily, and printed at Palermo, this very year. The learned Prince there shews, that Baron Spanheim is inconsistent with himself in this particular; and then to demonstration proves, that the coins of Gelo, Hiero I. Dionysius I. & II. Agathocles, and Hiero II. with diademed heads upon them, were actually struck when those princes sat upon the throne of Syracuse. To which I shall beg leave to add, that the elegance of the workmanship of the very antient Sicilian coins is no argument at all against their remote antiquity; as the Sicilians, and particularly the Syracusians, who were the politest part of them, excelled in all the arts of peace, and therefore in the elaborate concinnity of their money, as well as military skill and bravery, in the days of Gelo, and even before, at least, the latter part of that prince's reign. This has been clearly evinced by the learned Sig. † Bianconi, in the very valuable little treatise here referred to; in which, amongst other things, he incontestably proves the medals of Gelo, and particularly those mentioned here, to have first appeared in the reign of that prince, adducing at the same time several ancient Sicilian pieces even prior to those coins. Nor will it be improper farther to remark, that what has been advanced by Sig. Bianconi on the latter head is confirmed by (see Tab. V. n. 5, 6, 7.) several medals of Leontium, or Lentini, Agrigentum, and Syracuse, now in my small cabinet; the forms of the characters on which most evidently demonstrate * Princep. de Torremuz. Sicilie et obacentium insular. veter. inscription. novi, collect. prolegom. et not. illustrat. prolegom. p. LIV, LV, LVI. Panormi, 1769. † Ioan. Baptist. Biancon. De antiqu. litter. Hebraor. & Graecor. libel. p. 37—45. Bononiæ, 1748. 3. The very (16) learned Father Frölich takes the fabric of these pieces not a little to resemble that of many of those struck in Sicily. I am therefore inclined to believe, that Philistis was queen of Syracuse, at the same time that she was sovereign of Malta and Gozo; and that those islands, whose Greek inhabitants were probably for the most part either Syracusians or of Syracusian extraction, were dependencies of Syracuse, when the medals now in view first appeared. Nor can this, I think, after what has been said here, be well denied. IV. As we find not the least mention made of queen Philistis in antient history, and no certain chronological characters on her coins; I must not take upon me to ascertain, with any degree of precision, either the end or commencement of her reign. It may nevertheless be presumed, that she (17) must have them to have preceded the middle and latter part of Gelo’s reign. Other testimonies and arguments might be offered in support of the point I am now upon, were it not altogether superfluous to produce them here. (16) Erasm. Froelich. Element. Numismatic. p. 133, 134. Viennæ, Pragæ, et Tergesti, 1758. Prin. de Torremuz. ubi sup. As the silver pieces here mentioned were antiently of a greater current value, and more remarkable, than any of the other coins of Philistis; they seem to have appertained to that species of money called PHILISTIDION by Hesychius. I have, (see TAB.V. n. 8.) one of them, perfectly well preserved, of the tetradachmal form. We are told by Beger, that they have been mentioned by Suidas, but this is a mistake. Φιλιστίδου, νόμισμα τι. Hesych. Vide L. Beger. Thesaur. Brand. Select. Tom. I. p. 300, 301. (17) That the reign of Philistis was anterior to that of Dionysius I. will, I believe, from the following considerations, pretty clearly appear. 1. There seems to be a sort of chasm in the preceded the elder Dionysius, who ascended the throne of Syracuse about 404 years before the birth of Christ; which if we admit, it will perhaps be allowed probable, that the coins of Gozo Syracusan history for the interval between the expulsion of Thrasybulus and the beginning of the elder Dionysius's reign, or rather for that part of this interval terminated by the aspiration of Tyndarides to the regal dignity; or, at least, the history of Syracuse during this period must be allowed to be very imperfect, jejune, and indistinct. It is therefore more easy and natural to place queen Philistis there than in any part of the subsequent interval, between Dionysius's accession and the reduction of Syracuse by the Romans: especially, as the Syracusan history during that period is full of great events, contains a pretty regular series of the kings, tyrants, pretors, and rulers of that city; and consequently will not, at least with so much propriety, afford us room for a princess never mentioned therein. 2. Philistis's silver medals so much resemble those of Gelo, king of Syracuse, as has been already observed, that we may from thence conclude her not to have been many years posterior to that prince. 3. She was queen of Malta and Gozo, when the Phoenicians, in conjunction with the Greeks, occupied those islands, and consequently before they were possessed by the Carthaginians. But it seems extremely probable, from the testimony of Thucydides, that the Phoenicians still remained there, when he wrote his history, and consequently at the time of the Peloponnesian war. Nor do I find them mentioned, as possessed of Malta and Gozo, by any later writer. From whence we may conclude it not improbable, that the Carthaginians might have begun to settle there not many years after the end of that war; especially, as they seem to have been possessed of those islands some time, at least, before Scylax of Caryanda, who, according to the very learned Mr. Dodwell, was contemporary with Polybius, wrote his Periplus Maris Mediterranei, as we learn from that curious and valuable author. As therefore the first appearance of Philistis's Phoenician coins, struck in the isle of Gozo, must have preceded the earliest settlement of the Carthaginians there and in Malta, which probably happened not many years after the conclusion of the Peloponnesian war; and as queen Philistis's reign seems to have been succeeded by the exaltation of Tyndarides, which preceded, at least, 20 years the commencement of that war; we may, I would presume, now now before me are more antient than any that have been hitherto transmitted down to us, with Phœnician characters upon them. For that the reign of Philistis was anterior to that of Dionysius I. seems plain from hence, that there is no room for her in the subsequent part of the Syracusian history, as I have just observed; the whole space being filled with the reigns of princes and tyrants, of which we meet with a good account in antient history. Nor will it appear strange, that what is advanced here should be agreeable to truth, though history has been altogether silent as to the princess whose coins I am now endeavouring to throw some light upon. For we may infer from (18) Tully, that there were 27 kings and tyrants of Syracuse, of which eleven have been unnoticed in history; and from (19) Valerius Maximus it ap- safely suppose that princess to have begun her reign above forty years before Dionysius the elder ascended the Syracusian throne. Nor do I apprehend, that the learned, after having maturely weighed what has been here advanced, will refuse their assent to such a supposition. Diod. Sic. Lib. XI. p. 469, 470. Ed. Wefseling. Amstelodami, 1745. Thucydid. Lib. VII. Scyl. Caryand. Valer. Max. Phil. Cluver. Burchard. Niderst. Ridolf. Venut. &c. Univ. Hist. vol. vii. p. 556. Lond. 1747. (18) Cic. Orat. in Verrem, Lib. iv. cap. 55. Vide etiam. Prin. de Torremuzza, ubi sup. p. 62. col. 2. (19) Valer. Maxim. Lib. VI. cap. 2. extern. 2. Prin. de Torremuzza, ubi sup. p. 62. col. 2.—The anecdote here referred to is as follows. "When the whole body of the Syracusians earnestly wished for Dionysius's death, on account of the extreme rigour and severity of his government; a very old woman offered up her prayers every morning to the gods for the continuance of his life, and that she might not survive him. The tyrant being informed of this, and wondering at her unmerited benevolence, sent for her, and asked her how he came to be so much in her favour? She replied in the following terms. "When I was a girl, we had a cruel tyrant, whose death I greatly desired. He was at last cut off by his pears, that there must have been some intermediate princes between the elder Dionysius and Gelo, kings of Syracuse, whose names do not occur in any antient writer. We may therefore, as I apprehend, safely enough place queen Philistis in the interval between Dionysius I. and Gelo, kings of Syracuse, and even somewhere near the earlier of those princes, as her silver medals so much resemble Gelo's silver coins. If therefore it should be supposed probable, that the pieces of Gozo, adorned with Phœnician letters, were struck in that island, about 450 years before the commencement of the Christian era; the learned would not, I flatter myself, refuse their assent to such a supposition. V. When the Carthaginians first possessed themselves of Malta and Gozo, as sufficient light has not been afforded us by any antient writer in this matter, I cannot take upon me positively to say; but that they were settled there before the days of Scylax of Caryanda, who, according to the very learned Mr. Dodwell, was contemporary with Polybius, we learn from that celebrated (20) author. We are informed moreover by "subjects, and succeeded by a greater tyrant; after whom you mounted the throne. As therefore your government is more intolerable than that of either of your wicked predecessors, I am afraid your successor will be still worse than you are, and therefore I pray daily to the gods for your health and preservation." Hence it seems probable, that the interval between the expulsion of Thrasybulus, and the beginning of Dionysius's reign, about 60 years, was filled up by the reigns of the two nameless tyrants here mentioned, and of some others who have been passed over in silence by the historians of Syracuse. Valer. Maxim. & Prin. de Torremuzza, ubi sup. (20) Scyl. Caryand. in Peripl. Mar. Mediter. p. 50. Ed. Oxon. 1698. (21) Thu- (21) Thucydides, that in his days, or rather at the time of the Peloponnesian war, the Phœnicians, and not the Carthaginians, were inhabitants of Malta and Gozo. The Carthaginians must therefore have first occupied those islands in some part of the interval between the Peloponnesian war and the age of Polybius; which is all we can, with safety, pronounce, (22) or decide, in this dark and intricate affair. VI. I have already offered it as my opinion, since an inspection of Mr. Godwyn's medal, that the pieces of Gozo I (23) formerly attempted to explain are not Punic, but proper Phœnician, coins. Nor can it reasonably be deemed an objection to this opinion that the masculine plural termination of the inscription is IN, and not IM. For that masculine plurals, even in the days of Sanchoniatho, sometimes, amongst the Phœnicians, ended in IN, we learn from (24) Philo Byblius. The Phœnician words Beelsamen, or בֶּאֵל שְׁמִין, and Zophasemin, or זֹפַח שְׁמִין, occurring in that author, to omit others that might, with equal facility, be adduced; and (25) particularly the legend צִידוֹנִין, TZIDONIN, on the reverse of a Sidonian coin, (21) Thucydid. Lib. VII. Phil. Cluver. ubi sup. (22) That the Carthaginians, however, began to settle either in one or both of the islands here mentioned not many years after the conclusion of the Peloponnesian war, we may venture to pronounce probable, from what has been advanced in a preceding note. (23) Philosoph. Transact. Vol. LVI. p. 235, 236, 261, 262. (24) Sanchoniath. apud Euseb. Prep. Evang. Vid. etiam Bouchart. Chan. cap. II. p. 783. Francofurti ad Moenum, 1681. (25) Peller. Recueil de Medailles de Peuples & de Villes, &c. Tom. II. p. 221. Pl. LXXXII. n. 19, 20, 21, 22. A Paris, 1763. coin, published by M. Pellerin, will set the point here insisted on beyond dispute. VII. It may not be improper to remark here, that the pieces of Gozo considered in this and two of my former papers were (26), at first, taken for antient Maltese medals, by M. Pellerin. Nor did I know, that he had altered his opinion, with regard to the place where these coins were struck, till the month of June, 1769, when his last very valuable supplement sufficiently apprized me (27) of that alteration. Had I known this sooner, I would most certainly have mentioned it, either in one or both of my papers relative to these coins, inserted in the last volume of the Philosophical Transactions, which was then ready for publication. At such a juncture as this, it was impossible for me to do that learned man justice, in this particular, there; which gave me, as it ought, no small uneasiness and concern. And this I the more readily own, as I have the highest regard for M. Pellerin, on account of his exalted merit and abilities, as well as his singular modesty, candour, and generosity. His works most clearly demonstrate his superior learning, judgment, sagacity, and penetration, at the same time that they discover not the least tincture of that vanity and ostentation which so strongly mark the writings of certain other antiquaries, who yet make a very considerable figure in the learned world. (26) Peller. ubi sup. p. 85, 86. (27) Peller. Quatrieme et dernier supplément, &c. p. 57, 81. A Paris, 1767. VIII. VIII. But though M. Pellerin and I both agree, in our notions of the place where the coins in question first appeared, as well as our ideas of the Phœnician characters with which they are adorned; yet we differ considerably, in our lections of the word formed of those characters. I read it CAVLIN, making it a gentile name, such (28) asTZIDONIN, TZIDONIM, KOSVRNIM, &c., which we meet with on the medals of Sidon and Cossura; this seeming to me the most natural lection, as well as the most consonant to the manner and genius of such minute inscriptions on the proper Phœnician coins: whereas he reads this word COLL, or COLON; neither of which lections will, as I apprehend, prove satisfactory to the learned. For if we suppose both the second and third letters to be Lamed, according to the eastern pronunciation (29), it ought to be read CALAL, or CALLAL, not COLL; but if we should take the last letter for Nun, and pronounce the word COLON, the termination would seem to savour more of the Greek language than the Phœnician. Farther, if we should chuse the first reading given us by M. Pellerin, the correspondent Greek word ought to be ΚΟΛΑΟΣ; if the latter, ΚΟΛΟΝΟΣ; neither of which words, as the old name of Gozo, unless I am greatly deceived, in any antient Greek writer, occurs. IX. Thus have I endeavoured to shew, that, by the assistance of a very curious and valuable inedited (28) Peller. Supplém. aux six volumes, &c. p. 27. A Paris, 1765. Philosoph. Transact. Vol. LVIII. p. 237, 239. (29) Val. Schindl. Lex. Pentaglot. p. 1614. Hanoviae, 1621. Greek coin, (30) some discoveries may be made; which will probably be looked upon as no inconsiderable acquisition both to the science of antient medals and antient history, by those who are the most proper and competent judges of the affair. The communication of this, then, I would flatter myself, will by no means prove unacceptable to the Royal Society; who have always been ready to countenance and promote discoveries in (31) every branch of science and (30) I say some discoveries may be made; as the six following points, never hitherto discovered, seem clearly and naturally deducible from what has been advanced in this paper. 1. The coins of Gozo by me formerly explained, as well as all other similar pieces, are to be reputed proper Phœnician, not Punic, coins. 2. They are Phœnician medals of queen Philistis, and were consequently struck in that princess's reign. 3. Philistis was probably queen of Syracuse, as well as of Malta and Gozo. 4. The two islands last mentioned were, in all likelihood, dependencies of Syracuse, when the coins in question first appeared. 5. Philistis was anterior to Dionysius I. king of Syracuse, and seems to have lived about 450 years before the birth of CHRIST. 6. The Greeks and Phœnicians jointly occupied the islands of Malta and Gozo, during that princess's reign. Other curious particulars may probably hereafter transpire from Mr. Godwyn's most valuable inedited Greek coin, when it has been farther examined, and compared with other medals of Philistis, by the learned. (31) To what is said here, I must beg leave to add, that the Royal Society seem to have a peculiar right to this paper; as they did me the honour to publish two others, upon two Phœnician coins of Gozo, together with draughts of those coins, in the last volume of the *Philosophical Transactions.* I formerly took these coins, and all others similar to them, with † Sig. Abate Venuti, to belong to the isle of Malta; having been led into that mistake by his ‡ dissertation upon them, and hindered from *Philosoph. Transact. vol. LVIII p. 235, 253. †Ridolfini. Venut. ubi sup. ‡Id. ibid. useful literature. You will therefore indulge me the liberty of addressing this paper to you, in order to have it presented to that very learned and illustrious body; and believe me to be, with great truth, and the most perfect esteem, Good Sir, Your much obliged, and very faithful, humble servant, Christ-Church, Oxon. Nov. 27, 1769. John Swinton. discovering the place where they were struck by the draughts of them given us by *Laftanola, Paruta, and Sig. Abate Venuti, in which the second and third characters are manifestly one and the same letter. But having received from the late Mr. Carmey, about twelve or fourteen years since, the two Phœnician medals of Gozo by me formerly explained, and published by the Royal † Society; I presently discovered the second letter on the reverse of the first to be Lamed, and the third Nun. This induced me to attribute the piece to the city, and ifle, of Gozo; and having communicated my notion to three learned antiquaries, my particular friends, one of whom is still living, very soon after the coin fell into my hands, they immediately declared themselves of the same opinion. * Venut. Laftanola, Parut. ubi sup. † Philosoph. Transact, ubi sup. p. 235, 253. XII. A Letter