The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 20, 2024
Tetradrachm: Head of Young Herakles (obverse); Zeus (reverse)
336–323 BCE
Diameter: 2.6 cm (1 in.)
Gift of J. H. Wade 1916.981
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
The Pegasos protome beside Zeus (on the reverse) indicates that this coin was minted at Amphipolis.Description
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.- -1916Mr. J. H. Wade, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art1916-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Oh
- Stories From Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
- {{cite web|title=Tetradrachm: Head of Young Herakles (obverse); Zeus (reverse)|url=false|author=|year=336–323 BCE|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.981