Boeotia. Thebes. AR Hemidrachm (2.85g), 425-375 BC. BCD 412; Delepierre 1362. Very rare denomination. Old cabinet tone. Well centered and struck. A lovely fraction! Choice extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart, Brussels; Jean Vinchon 1986 (13 November) lot 164; Armand Trampitsch (1893-1975) collection.

"He called the country, which was flat and open, 'the dancing floor of war', because they could not rule it unless their hands were upon their shields..." (Plutarch, Sayings of Kings and Commanders, 193e). The Boeotian shield was the emblem of the Boeotians and appeared on the obverse of coins issued by their confederacy. It was also frequently invoked in Attic tragedy (Euripides, Suppliants, 390) when referring to Theban military force! Whereas most Greek shields were circular, the Boeotian one, with its somewhat oblong shape and cutouts on either side, represents an evolution from the Mycenaean figure-eight shields of the Bronze Age.