Art Institute of Chicago

Tetradrachm (Coin) Depicting the God Dionysos

Greek; minted in Thasos, Thrace

Date

after 146 BCE

Medium

Silver

Culture

Thásos

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

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. Depictions of Herakles’s other Labors can be seen throughout the galleries. Herakles can be identified on the back (reverse) of this coin by his attributes, the knobby club and the lion’s skin. The front (obverse) of this coin depicts the head of the god Dionysos, facing right, crowned with an ivy wreath.

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