Coin Depicting the Hero Herakles

Art Institute of Chicago

Coin Depicting the Hero Herakles

GreekLinkedCulture matchlcp-c416821d8abc

Date
about 280 BCE
Medium
Bronze
Culture
Ancient Greece
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Institution
Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID
142752

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

The front (obverse) of this coin depicts the hero Hercules, facing right, wearing his signature lion skin cloak tied around his neck. The back (reverse) shows a bow, amphora, and club. Herakles was the consummate hero. Temples across Greece and South Italy were dedicated to him, the son of Zeus, and Romans, who knew him as Hercules, celebrated him as a role model. With brute force, determination, and just enough cleverness, Herakles completed his famous Twelve Labors to become immortal. Herakles is readily identifiable by his knobby club and lion’s skin. The latter refers to his First Labor, in which he killed a magical beast who was ravaging the town of Nemea. The lion’s invincible hide made him immune to weapons, so Herakles strangled him and took his pelt.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line
Gift of William F. Dunham
Provenance
William F. Dunham (1857-1936), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1920.

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Object type
AAT300037334

Part of a LinkedCulture topic

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    18th-19th Century European Portrait Miniatures

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