Nomos 1

KINGS of MACEDON. Philip III Arrhidaios. 323-317 BC. Stater (Gold, 8.62 g X), Abydos, 318/7 . Head of Athena to right, wearing pendant earring, necklace and crested Corinthian helmet adorned with griffin leaping to right. Rev. ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ Nike standing left, holding wreath in her right hand and stylis with her left; below her right wing, cornucopiae; to left, monogram and pentagram. Price P36. Thompson, Abydos 171a. Perfectly centered and most attractive. Good extremely fine.

Philip III Arrhidaios, 359-317, was the half-brother of Alexander III, being the son of Philip II and a dancer from Larissa called Philinna. He was older than Alexander but was never considered fit for succession to the throne because he was mentally unfit. Alexander seems to have liked him and kept him safe during his reign; after his death he was acclaimed joint king with the as yet unborn Alexander IV, son of Alexander and Roxanne. He was controlled by regents and his half-niece Eurydice, whom he had married. Both became allies of Cassander, son of the earlier regent Antipater. In the end they were both captured by Olympias, Alexander’s evil mother, and then eliminated. The following year Cassander returned from his campaigns, captured Olympias and had her executed by the friends and relatives of those people she had herself killed.