Nomos AG
Auction 27 22 May 2023
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SICILY. Selinos. Circa 455-440 BC. Didrachm (Silver, 24.5 mm, 8.61 g, 4 h). Σ-E-ΛI-N-ONT-IOΣ Herakles striding right, holding his club overhead in his right hand, preparing to strike the Cretan Bull, leaping right, which he holds by the horn with his left hand and tries to trip using his raised left foot. Rev. HV - ΨAΣ The river-god Hypsas standing left, holding an olive branch downwards in his left hand and, in his right, a phiale, from which he pours a libartion over a serpent-entwined altar to left; to right, a heron walking to right with, above, a selinon leaf (the city's badge). Buceti 15a. HGC 1224 (this coin). SNG Lloyd 1247 (this coin). A lovely, toned example, one of the finest in existence, beautifully struck and most attractive. Extremely fine.
Ex Tkalec 24 October 2003, 34, from the collections of W. N. Rudman, Triton V, 15 January 2002, 1205 and P. M. Suter, Münzen und Medaillen 89, 14 June 2000, 53, ex Bank Leu 50, 25 April 1990, 60 and from the collections of the British Museum and A. J. Lloyd.
The river Hypsas - the modern Belice - is personified on this coin as a youth, seemingly completely human save for a pair of tiny horns on his head. Far upstream was the city of Entella, which also portrayed Hypsas on a number of rare silver litrai struck during the 3rd quarter of the 5th century BC. However, at Entella the river-god is depicted as being a human-headed bull of the Acheloos type.
The dramatic scene of Herakles and the bull on the obverse is rather curious since it seems to combine elements from two myths: Herakles and the Cretan Bull, and Theseus and the Bull of Marathon! This is because we see a youthful Herakles (who shown in exactly the same way as the youthful Theseus is shown) subduing the bull with a club; but why a club if the point was to capture the bull alive and bring it back to Eurystheus king of Tiryns (the Seventh Labor of Herakles)? On Attic Black Figure and Red Figure pots Herakles is usually shown wrestling the bull to the ground (as on the: BF amphorae in Mississippi - 1977.3.61a&b [c. 530-520 BC], at the Metropolitan - 41.162.193 - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/254364 [520-510], in the Louvre - F240 - [Leagros Group, c. 510] and in Munich - 1583 (J 591) [c. 510]; or on the BF lekythos in Paris - CA 3759.d [c. 470s] or the RF kylix by the Euergides Painter in Tampa [c. 515-505]. After the bull was brought back to Tiryns Eurystheus, who really did not appreciate getting these monsters from Herakles, let it go. And off it went, wrecking destruction in its wake, until it came Attica where it became the Bull of Marathon, which Theseus ended up killing. Theseus is shown after he has mastered the bull on a RF stamnos by the Kleophrades Painter in the University Museum in Philadelphia - L64.185 = Beazley Archive http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/CB868B21-1290-4210-9F3C-9693434E2B98 (c. 490). But, astoundingly enough, on two Attic kylikes we see Theseus,in almost exactly the same position as we see Herakles on our coin, especially in the way he holds the bull's horn with his left hand and his raised left foot: on RF kylikes in London by the Codrus Painter - 1850,0302.3 -https://www.theoi.com/Gallery/M25.4.html -(c. 440-430) and in Madrid by Aison - L 196 - https://www.theoi.com/Gallery/M25.3.html -(c. 420-410). Can we dare suggest that the figure on the coin is Theseus rather than Herakles? No, we cannot!, that would make no sense - what we have here is a kind of iconographic cross-fertilisation. Do note the way Herakles is shown holding his club: he holds it with his right hand by the 'hilt', with his arm going behind his head to the left, and with the club head pointing forward. How can he strike the bull with it??? The answer is simple, the die engraver was faced with a terrible problem, to be realistic he had to show the club in Heracles's right hand, but if he did that the club would pass over, and obscure the hero's head! And if he had the club held properly to strike the bull, with the club head behind to left, it would be both too long for the die and would destroy the compact circularity of the total design!
Ex Tkalec 24 October 2003, 34, from the collections of W. N. Rudman, Triton V, 15 January 2002, 1205 and P. M. Suter, Münzen und Medaillen 89, 14 June 2000, 53, ex Bank Leu 50, 25 April 1990, 60 and from the collections of the British Museum and A. J. Lloyd.
The river Hypsas - the modern Belice - is personified on this coin as a youth, seemingly completely human save for a pair of tiny horns on his head. Far upstream was the city of Entella, which also portrayed Hypsas on a number of rare silver litrai struck during the 3rd quarter of the 5th century BC. However, at Entella the river-god is depicted as being a human-headed bull of the Acheloos type.
The dramatic scene of Herakles and the bull on the obverse is rather curious since it seems to combine elements from two myths: Herakles and the Cretan Bull, and Theseus and the Bull of Marathon! This is because we see a youthful Herakles (who shown in exactly the same way as the youthful Theseus is shown) subduing the bull with a club; but why a club if the point was to capture the bull alive and bring it back to Eurystheus king of Tiryns (the Seventh Labor of Herakles)? On Attic Black Figure and Red Figure pots Herakles is usually shown wrestling the bull to the ground (as on the: BF amphorae in Mississippi - 1977.3.61a&b [c. 530-520 BC], at the Metropolitan - 41.162.193 - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/254364 [520-510], in the Louvre - F240 - [Leagros Group, c. 510] and in Munich - 1583 (J 591) [c. 510]; or on the BF lekythos in Paris - CA 3759.d [c. 470s] or the RF kylix by the Euergides Painter in Tampa [c. 515-505]. After the bull was brought back to Tiryns Eurystheus, who really did not appreciate getting these monsters from Herakles, let it go. And off it went, wrecking destruction in its wake, until it came Attica where it became the Bull of Marathon, which Theseus ended up killing. Theseus is shown after he has mastered the bull on a RF stamnos by the Kleophrades Painter in the University Museum in Philadelphia - L64.185 = Beazley Archive http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/CB868B21-1290-4210-9F3C-9693434E2B98 (c. 490). But, astoundingly enough, on two Attic kylikes we see Theseus,in almost exactly the same position as we see Herakles on our coin, especially in the way he holds the bull's horn with his left hand and his raised left foot: on RF kylikes in London by the Codrus Painter - 1850,0302.3 -https://www.theoi.com/Gallery/M25.4.html -(c. 440-430) and in Madrid by Aison - L 196 - https://www.theoi.com/Gallery/M25.3.html -(c. 420-410). Can we dare suggest that the figure on the coin is Theseus rather than Herakles? No, we cannot!, that would make no sense - what we have here is a kind of iconographic cross-fertilisation. Do note the way Herakles is shown holding his club: he holds it with his right hand by the 'hilt', with his arm going behind his head to the left, and with the club head pointing forward. How can he strike the bull with it??? The answer is simple, the die engraver was faced with a terrible problem, to be realistic he had to show the club in Heracles's right hand, but if he did that the club would pass over, and obscure the hero's head! And if he had the club held properly to strike the bull, with the club head behind to left, it would be both too long for the die and would destroy the compact circularity of the total design!