Arados, Phoenicia, 3rd Century BC, Tetrobol

Arados (Phoenicia), Tetrobol, AR, c. 3rd century BC, 2.88 g, 15 mm. Laureate head of Zeus. Reverse: Prow left; Phoenician date (Aradian era) above. Struck at Arados during the Hellenistic period; hammered issue. Duyrat 1090.

Arados (modern Arwad) is an island city off the Syrian coast that continued to issue its own dated civic silver under Hellenistic rule, often within the Seleucid sphere. The Zeus obverse reflects the adoption of Greek iconography, while the prow underscores the city’s naval orientation and maritime economy. Use of a Phoenician date in the Aradian era, which began in 259/8 BC, makes this series an early and important example of precisely dated civic coinage in the Levant.