The New York Sale
Auction 42 9 Jan 2018
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Islands off Caria, Kos. Silver Tetradrachm (14.82 g), ca. 400-385 BC. Lysichos, magistrate. Bearded head of Herakles left, wearing lion's skin headdress. rev. KΩION, crab; above, magistrate's name: ΛYΣIXOΣ; below, club; all in dotted square within incuse square. Stefanaki 153-60; HGC 6, 1301. Attractively toned. Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $3,000
From the Dionysus Collection.
The crab of the reverse was a civic badge of Kos - a perfectly reasonable emblem for an island city - but its combination with the head of Herakles on the obverse seems to refer to a somewhat obscure detail of that hero's Second Labor. In this Labor, Herakles was required to slay the Lernaean Hydra. When Herakles began to gain the upper hand over the Hydra, Hera is said to have sent a giant crab to attack him as well. Nevertheless, the hero still managed to kill the Hydra and crush the crab under foot. Again disappointed in her plot to destroy Herakles, Hera placed the crab in the heavens as the constellation Cancer.
From the Dionysus Collection.
The crab of the reverse was a civic badge of Kos - a perfectly reasonable emblem for an island city - but its combination with the head of Herakles on the obverse seems to refer to a somewhat obscure detail of that hero's Second Labor. In this Labor, Herakles was required to slay the Lernaean Hydra. When Herakles began to gain the upper hand over the Hydra, Hera is said to have sent a giant crab to attack him as well. Nevertheless, the hero still managed to kill the Hydra and crush the crab under foot. Again disappointed in her plot to destroy Herakles, Hera placed the crab in the heavens as the constellation Cancer.