effective control of Cyprus, and then neutralized the Egyptianfleet; then
the Aegean became vulnerable to attack by Persian-led enemyfleets, as
well as by land. The precise chronology of these events is far from certain,
but the successful deployment of Phoenician ships, and the control of
Cypriote ships and harbours, must have preceded and was certainly a
prerequisite of Cambyses’successful occupation of Egypt in 525bc.
What is also clear is that the potential consequences of a Persian naval
attack put those Aegean states with a serious interest in naval assets on
their guard. The battle of Lade of 494bc, in which an Ionianfleet
evidently entirely composed of triremes (triereis: Hdt. 6.8.2–16), was
beaten by a Persianfleet, similarly composed, was a key event in the
development of civicfleets by a number of Ionian harbour cities. The
investment by civic communities in triremes, rather than the older
pentekonters, was‘a massive step-change in the naval armaments of
the Eastern Mediterranean’, and raised the costs of naval shipbuilding
by at least an order of magnitude, as the demand for wood increased
fromc.10(?) to 25 tonnes, and of personnel from some 50 or more to 200
men, with appropriate increases in associated commodities, including
hemp, pitch, and sailcloth.^19
In the second half of the fourth century, a range of other coin types
acquired particular potency in the north Aegean area. The gold, silver,
and copper alloy denominations of Philip II and Alexander III of Mace-
don set new standards of production and volume that less powerful states
could not and did not compete with. Instead, they became models for
subsequent series by rulers and cities alike.
Our understanding of the connection between civic and regal coin
issues on the one hand and the use of coins in commercial contexts on
the other is still rather incomplete. Recent research tends to confirm the
idea that major issues of silver and gold coins were primarily intended as
troop payments. Yet small denominations, particularly fractional silver
and copper alloy coins, were intended to provide‘small change’, appro-
priate for market transactions. If we look at specific historical contexts, it
becomes easier to see how given issuesfit into the matrix of social affairs,
with the exigencies of protection matched by the desire of civic author-
ities to benefit from commercial transactions by setting out the terms on
which merchants and retailers could operate. A regional approach has
(^19) The citation is from Davies (forthcoming 2013a), who also discusses the general
increase in the unit costs of ship construction and personnel, citing Loomis 1998, 36–45,
42 n.40 for the cost calculation, and Gabrielsen 2008. Management and running mainten-
ance costs, borne by the trierarch, also need to be factored in: Gabrielsen 1994, 49–50, 98–9,
118 – 25, 215–16; for the development of the trireme, see Wallinga 1993, 16–20.
Herdsmen with golden leaves—narratives and spaces 51