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ATTICA, Athens. Antonine Era. Circa AD 140-175. Æ Drachm (21mm, 4.85 g, 3h). Draped bust of Athena left, wearing crested Corinthian helmet and aegis, shield and spear before / Theseus, holding club in his right hand, left hand holding a horn of the Minotaur kneeling right, whom he is preparing to slay. Kroll 276 var. (bust type); RPC IV.1 Online 3462 var. (same); Svoronos, Monnaies pl. 96, 1-7 var. (same); SNG Copenhagen 341 var. (same); BMC 764 var. (same). Green-brown patina, small area of flat strike on reverse, flan adjustment marks. Good VF. Unpublished with this bust type, possibly unique.
Ex Christopher Morcom Collection (Triton XI, 8 January 2008), lot 169 (hammer $2,400).
Theseus, son of Aegeus, the king of Athens, was known for a number of heroic feats on the model of Herakles. The most famous of these feats was his slaying of the Minotaur. Because the city was a tributary subject to Minos, the king of Crete, it was forced each year to send seven youths and seven maidens to the Cretan capital of Cnossus to feed the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull who lived in the Labyrinth. To liberate Athens from this humiliating tribute, Theseus connived with his father to join the next shipment of youths. Once in Crete, he would slay the Minotaur, free his fellow victims, and return home. If successful, his returning ship would bear a white sail; if not, the sail would remain the black with which he left. With the help of Minos’ daughter, Ariadne, who had developed a passion for him, Theseus entered the Labyrinth and slew the Minotaur. On his return voyage, however, Theseus forgot to replace the black sail, and Aegeus, seeing this, hurled himself in despair into the sea which now is called Aegean.
The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 127 lots will be determined during the live online sale that will be held on 17-18 September 2024. This lot is in Session Two, which will begin 17 September at 2 PM ET.
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