Arados, Phoenicia, 370-346 BC, Stater

Arados (Phoenicia), Stater, AR, c. 370–346 BC, 10.39 g, 22 mm. Laureate head of Baal right; reverse with war galley sailing right, Pataikos on prow, above stylized waves. Hammered on the Phoenician standard at the Arados mint. HGC 10, 35.

Arados (modern Arwad) was a principal Phoenician island city whose economy and security were tied to maritime trade and naval capability under Achaemenid hegemony in the 4th century BC. The Baal portrait reflects the city’s tutelary deity, while the galley underscores Aradian seafaring identity; the Pataikos on the prow is a protective figure derived from Egyptian iconography, illustrating cross-cultural connections in the Levant. These silver staters circulated widely along Eastern Mediterranean trade routes, forming part of the regional Phoenician-weight silver system.