v49_0397 - ACARNANIA - LEUCAS Statère

AKARNANIA - LEUKAS

(350-306 BC)

Leucas is an island 32 km long and 12 km at its widest point, connected to the land by an isthmus. The city was located opposite the entrance to the Gulf of Ambracia. Its name comes from the many limestone hills on the island. The Corinthian colony was founded between 650 and 625 BC. As the monetary types indicate, Leucas was a Corinthian colony. These staters were widely used for trade with Syracuse and Italy. The city was the second production center for foals just after Corinth, the metropolis. This coinage lasted until the destruction of Corinth in 306 BC. Leucas was still in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC the transmitting center of the powerful Acarnanian league, created after 196 BC. After the dislocation of the league in 167 BC, the city underwent an economic revival which lasted until the beginning of the 1st century BC..