Hercules’ Seventh Labor - The Cretan Bull

Sale: CNG 76, Lot: 994. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 12 September 2007.  Sold For $500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THRACE, Anchialus. Gordian III. AD 238-244. Æ Medallion (36mm, 25.91 g, 6h). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from front / Hercules standing right, capturing Cretan Bull. AMNG II 620; Voegtli 4j; Varbanov 1062 (same dies). VF, black-green patina with traces of olive overtones, lightly smoothed.

From the James E. Cain Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 69 (8 June 2005), lot 925.

Hercules, made temporarily insane by the goddess Hera, murdered his wife and children. Once recovered, and distressed by his actions, Hercules consulted the Delphic Oracle to find a means of expiating his sin. As a punishment, Apollo replied that the hero would have to serve his cousin Eurystheus, the king Tiryns, a man whom Hercules despised, for a period of twelve years. Because Eurystheus also hated Hercules, he devised a series of ten feats of such difficulty that they would be either insurmountable, or Hercules would die in the attempt. Because Hercules received assistance in completing two of the tasks, Eurystheus added two more. Each labor became more fantastic, and eventually Hercules was compelled to break the bonds of the supernatural in order to complete his task. Once he accomplished the Labors, Hercules was absolved of his guilt, and preceded to perform many other heroic feats.

Compelled to capture the bull as his seventh Labor, Hercules sailed to Crete. Minos, the king of Crete, gave the hero permission to take the bull away, as it had been causing destruction on the island. Hercules subdued the Bull with his bare hands, and shipped it back to Athens. Although Eurystheus wished to sacrifice the Bull to Hera, the goddess refused the sacrifice because it reflected glory on her sworn enemy. The bull was released and wandered into the town of Marathon, where it became known as the Marathonian Bull.