Cleveland Museum of Art

Tetradrachm: Head of Young Herakles (obverse); Zeus (reverse)

Date: 336–323 BCE
Medium: silver
Culture: Greek, Macedonian, minted at Amphipolis (Macedonia), reign of Alexander III [The Great]
Department: Greek and Roman Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 97371

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

On this coin, the head of a youthful Herakles, wearing his lion-skin, appears on the obverse, with his father Zeus, king of the gods, seated on the reverse. For Alexander III (the Great), who claimed descent from the line of Herakles, coins like this one projected power. Thus, while their attributes (lion-skin, eagle, scepter) identify hero and god, the inscription ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ (of Alexander) identifies the leader. The Pegasos protome beside Zeus (on the reverse) indicates that this coin was minted at Amphipolis.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line: Gift of J. H. Wade
Provenance: -1916: Mr. J. H. Wade, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art | 1916-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Oh

Part of a LinkedCulture topic

Ancient Greek Silver Tetradrachms
These objects are all tetradrachm coins, a standard ancient Greek silver denomination, depicting various deities and symbols from Greek city-states and territories across the Mediterranean.
333 objects from 3 institutions