Kardia or Cardia was the chief town of the Thracian Chersonese (today Gallipoli peninsula). It was situated at the head of the Gulf of Melas (today the Gulf of Saros).
Kardia was originally a colony of the Milesians and Clazomenians; but in the late 6th century BC it also received Athenian colonists, as proved by Miltiades tyranny (515–493 BC).
This didn't make Cardia necessarily always pro-Athenian, and when in 357 BC Athens took control of the Chersonese, Kardia under the rule of a Thracian prince was the only city to remain neutral. In 352 BC the city concluded a treaty of amity with king Philip II of Macedonia, and when Diopeithes, an Athenian mercenary captain, in 343 BC brought Attic settlers to the town and Kardia was unwilling to receive them, Philip immediately sent help to the town. He proposed to settle the dispute between the two cities by arbitration, but Athens refused.
The town was destroyed by Lysimachus about 309 BC, and although it was afterwards rebuilt, it never again rose to any degree of prosperity, as Lysimachia superceded it.
Kardia was originally a colony of the Milesians and Clazomenians; but in the late 6th century BC it also received Athenian colonists, as proved by Miltiades tyranny (515–493 BC).
This didn't make Cardia necessarily always pro-Athenian, and when in 357 BC Athens took control of the Chersonese, Kardia under the rule of a Thracian prince was the only city to remain neutral. In 352 BC the city concluded a treaty of amity with king Philip II of Macedonia, and when Diopeithes, an Athenian mercenary captain, in 343 BC brought Attic settlers to the town and Kardia was unwilling to receive them, Philip immediately sent help to the town. He proposed to settle the dispute between the two cities by arbitration, but Athens refused.
The town was destroyed by Lysimachus about 309 BC, and although it was afterwards rebuilt, it never again rose to any degree of prosperity, as Lysimachia superceded it.
Modern location:
(1)
Kardia
Obverse: Wreathed head of Persephone left, wearing earring and necklace
Reverse: Lion standing left, breaking a spear held in its mouth; kernel of grain in exergue. KAPΔIA / KARDIA
Diameter:
0 mm
Die Orientation: 0 H
Weight: 0 g
Die Orientation: 0 H
Weight: 0 g
No notes for this coin
SNG Copenhagen 862; BMC 1.