Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 96 14-15 February 2017
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Crete, Phaistos. Silver Stater (10.99 g), ca. 300-270 BC. Herakles standing left, lion's skin draped over arm, striking at Hydra with club; between feet, crab / Bull advancing right. Reverse: ΦAIΣTΩN, bull standing right. Svoronos 59; Le Rider pl. XXIII, 22 (same dies). Extremely Rare. A fantastic coin! Boldly struck in high relief with amazing detail. Slight porosity. Choice Very Fine. Estimate Value $4,000 - UP
The Hanbery Collection; Ex MMAG (22-23 October 1984), 192.
Despite the fact that the Cretan city of Phaistos was far removed from Lerna in the Peloponnesos, the obverse of this coin depicts Herakles engaged in the second of his twelve Labors - the slaying of the Lernaean Hydra. The Hydra was a monstrous swamp serpent with nine venomous heads and a terrible secret: When one of its heads was cut off two more would grow up in its place! Herakles would have been done for if not for his companion, Iolaos, who discovered that if the neck was cauterized with a torch after decapitation it would prevent new heads from appearing. Thus, Herakles would chop one head off while Iolaos stood by to sear the neck with a torch and in this way they killed the monster. Since this and the other Labors of Herakles were part of a larger plot by Hera to destroy him, she made the situation even more difficult by sending a giant crab to distract the hero while he struggled with the monster. It is interesting to note that while the engraver has been careful to include the detail of the crab on this coin there is no sign of poor Iolaos at all. Herakles always was a bit of a glory hound. It is unclear whether the bull reverse should be interpreted as a representation of Herakles' seventh Labor, the capture of the Cretan Bull. This animal was sent from the sea by Poseidon to test King Minos, who had promised to sacrifice anything that the god sent him. Thinking the bull too beautiful to kill, he sacrificed another bull in its place. This betrayal enraged Poseidon who caused the bull to rampage throughout Crete and beget the monstrous Minotaur on Pasiphaê, Minos' queen. The destructive wandering of the Cretan Bull was only ended when it was carried off to mainland Greece by Herakles.
The Hanbery Collection; Ex MMAG (22-23 October 1984), 192.
Despite the fact that the Cretan city of Phaistos was far removed from Lerna in the Peloponnesos, the obverse of this coin depicts Herakles engaged in the second of his twelve Labors - the slaying of the Lernaean Hydra. The Hydra was a monstrous swamp serpent with nine venomous heads and a terrible secret: When one of its heads was cut off two more would grow up in its place! Herakles would have been done for if not for his companion, Iolaos, who discovered that if the neck was cauterized with a torch after decapitation it would prevent new heads from appearing. Thus, Herakles would chop one head off while Iolaos stood by to sear the neck with a torch and in this way they killed the monster. Since this and the other Labors of Herakles were part of a larger plot by Hera to destroy him, she made the situation even more difficult by sending a giant crab to distract the hero while he struggled with the monster. It is interesting to note that while the engraver has been careful to include the detail of the crab on this coin there is no sign of poor Iolaos at all. Herakles always was a bit of a glory hound. It is unclear whether the bull reverse should be interpreted as a representation of Herakles' seventh Labor, the capture of the Cretan Bull. This animal was sent from the sea by Poseidon to test King Minos, who had promised to sacrifice anything that the god sent him. Thinking the bull too beautiful to kill, he sacrificed another bull in its place. This betrayal enraged Poseidon who caused the bull to rampage throughout Crete and beget the monstrous Minotaur on Pasiphaê, Minos' queen. The destructive wandering of the Cretan Bull was only ended when it was carried off to mainland Greece by Herakles.