War and peace and North-West Greece: a study of the fourth century B.C. <i>Pegasi<i></i></i>

<p dir="ltr">This project investigates the motivating factors that led to the minting of silver <i>pegasi </i>(Corinthian-style) coins by fifteen city-states of North-West Greece in the mid-fourth century B.C. The basis of the project is a series of die-studies that will enable the quantification and analysis of each city’s minting activity during this period. The project includes the first diestudies of the <i>pegasi </i>staters of 12 <i>poleis</i>, data that will inform the project’s historical conclusions. Questions of chronology and the purpose for minting, which have been entangled in past literature, are addressed through a comprehensive analysis of the hoards and formation of a relative chronology. Employing postcolonial theory, the project takes a unique regional approach to the geopolitical history of North-West Greece by viewing the minting <i>poleis </i>as an interconnected and communicative network of cities along the coastline of Greece. The thesis also engages with cultural semiotics to evaluate the iconographical significance of the <i>pegasi </i>coin as a symbolic political medium.</p><p dir="ltr">This research has implications for our understanding of the geopolitical history of North-West Greece in the Classical period, a region of the Mediterranean that is under-researched in the archaeology and underrepresented in both the ancient and modern literature. Furthermore, the project highlights the usefulness of coinage as a class of evidence for the interpretation of macro-historical trends such as colonisation, commerce, and conflict in the ancient world.</p>