Leu Numismatik AG
Web Auction 16 22-24 May 2021
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BITHYNIA. Nicaea. Commodus, 177-192. Hemiassarion (Bronze, 16 mm, 2.70 g, 12 h). M AY KOM ANTΩNINOC Laureate head of Commodus to right. Rev. NIKAIЄΩN Herakliskos Drakonopnigon: the infant Herakles, nude, crouching facing, strangling a serpent in each hand. RG -. RPC IV.1 online -. Apparently unpublished and unique. A beautiful coin with a wonderful reverse. Light scratches on the obverse and with some deposits, otherwise, extremely fine.
The reverse of this unpublished issue shows the earliest miraculous deed of Herakles. As the offspring of one of the many extramarital affairs of Zeus (in this case, with Alkmene), Herakles and his brother Iphikles aroused blazing hatred from their stepmother Hera, who tried to murder the twins by placing two serpents in their bed when they were eight months old. However, Hera had previously unwittingly nursed Herakles as an unrecognized foundling, and the young hero had therefore received her supernatural powers, allowing him to strangle both serpents with his bare hands.
The reverse of this unpublished issue shows the earliest miraculous deed of Herakles. As the offspring of one of the many extramarital affairs of Zeus (in this case, with Alkmene), Herakles and his brother Iphikles aroused blazing hatred from their stepmother Hera, who tried to murder the twins by placing two serpents in their bed when they were eight months old. However, Hera had previously unwittingly nursed Herakles as an unrecognized foundling, and the young hero had therefore received her supernatural powers, allowing him to strangle both serpents with his bare hands.