Herakles and the Cerynean Hind

413, Lot: 251. Estimate $500. Sold for $1200. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MYSIA, Pergamum. Septimius Severus, with Julia Domna. AD 193-211. Æ Medallion (39mm, 34.17 g, 3h). Claudianus Terpander, strategus. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Septimius Severus right, vis-à-vis draped bust of Julia Domna left / Herakles standing right, wrestling the Cerynean Hind. SNG Copenhagen 497; SNG von Aulock –; SNG BN –. Fine, dark brown surfaces with touches of green and red, some smoothing and tooling. Rare.

For his third labor, Herakles was required to capture the Cerynean hind, with its brazen hooves and golden horns, alive and bring it from Oenoe to Mycenae. Herakles chased the stag for one full year before it finally tired, and then he captured it – as shown on the coin type.