KINGS of PAEONIA. Lykkeios. Circa 358/6-335 BC. AR Tetradrachm (22mm, 12.43 g, 12h). Astibos or Damastion mint. Laureate head of Zeus right / Herakles standing left, right hand raised to strike the Nemean Lion, which he has in a strangle-hold with his left arm; ΛYKKEI OY above, bow and quiver to right. Paeonian Hoard 63 var. (rev. legend break; same obv. die); Peykov E1000; NBRM Paeonia 32 var. (same; same obv. die). EF.
Ex Classical Numismatic Review XXI.1 (Spring 1996), no. SP1115.
After the death of Perdikkas III of Macedon in 359 BC, the Paeonians, one of the tribes surrounding Macedon, began to rebel. While he consolidated his own hold on the Macedonian throne, Philip II of Macedon temporarily kept them in check with bribes and promises. The Paeonians, fearful of Philip's designs, sought the assistance of Athens and,in the summer of 356 BC the king of Paeonia, Lykkeios, signed a treaty of alliance with the city-state. This proved fruitless as the Macedonians, again under Parmenio, recaptured Paeonia, and for the remainder of the 4th century BC it was an "allied" state, maintaing a sense of semiautonomy while supplying the armies of Alexander III of Macedon with mercenaries.
In the confusion and civil war in Macedon following the death of Alexander IV, Paeonia once again became independent. Kassander, wearied by the struggle to make himself king of Macedon, secured his northern border by assisting Audoleon in defeating the Autariatai. This alliance worked for the Paeonians as well; Audoleon acquired a powerful ally. That Audoleon continued to build such connections with his neighbors is clear through the marriage of his daughter to Pyrrhos, King of Epiros and cousin to the Macedonian royal house through Olympias, the mother of Alexander III. Shortly after the death of Audoleon, however, Paeonia reverted to Macedonian control under Antigonos II Gonatas.
