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THRACE, Hadrianopolis. Gordian III. AD 238-244. Æ Tetrassarion (26mm, 8.20 g, 266h). Herakles’ 12th Labor. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / Herakles, wearing lion’s skin, standing facing, head right, holding club and drawing Cerberus by leash from Hades. Jurukova 640 (V270/R614); RPC VII.2 716.10 (this coin); Varbanov 4010. Dark green patina, minor marks and scratches, smoothing. VF.
Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 161 (28 March 2007), lot 143.
Herakles, made temporarily insane by the goddess Hera, murdered his wife and children. Once recovered, and distressed by his actions, Herakles 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 of Tiryns, a man whom Herakles despised, for a period of twelve years. Because Eurystheus also hated Herakles, he devised a series of ten feats of such difficulty that either they would be unachievable or they would end in Herakles’ death. Because Herakles received assistance in completing two of the tasks, Eurystheus added two more. Each labor became more fantastic, and eventually Herakles was compelled to break the bonds of the supernatural in order to complete his task. Once he accomplished the Labors, Herakles was absolved of his guilt, and preceded to perform many other heroic feats.
For his final Labor, Herakles was sent to the underworld to capture Cerberus. In order to complete this most difficult task, Herakles was initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries so that he could learn how to enter and exit the underworld alive, as well as absolve himself of his past crime of killing the Centaurs in his Fourth Labor. Finding the entrance to the underworld, he again enlisted the assistance of Athena, while Hermes, the conveyor of souls, guided him along. While there, Herakles was able to free Theseus, who had been imprisoned by Hades for attempting to kidnap Persephone, but could not do the same for Theseus’ accomplice, Pirithous. Herakles sought the permission of Hades and Persephone to take Cerberus. The gods assented on condition that Herakles did not harm the creature in any way. Wrestling Cerberus into submission he brought it to the upper world through an entrance in the Peloponnese. When he returned with Cerberus to the palace, Eurystheus was so afraid of the fearsome beast that he jumped into a large storage jar to hide. With this, Herakles’ punishment was complete, and he was now freed of his guilt.
Closing Date and Time: 25 September 2024 at 12:21:20 ET.
All winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer’s fee.
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