CILICIA, Tarsus. Caracalla. AD 198-217. Æ (33mm, 14.84 g, 12h). Fine.

Electronic Auction 550
Lot: 376. Estimated: $ 150

Roman Provincial, Bronze

Sold For $ 250. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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CILICIA, Tarsus. Caracalla. AD 198-217. Æ (33mm, 14.84 g, 12h). Laureate head left / Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra – Hercules standing left, lion skin draped over his left arm and holding bow with his left hand, holding club overhead with his right hand and preparing to strike the Lernaean Hydra before him. SNG BN –; Voegtli Type 2, pl. 2, q = SNG Levante 1051 (same dies); Ziegler, Münzen Kilikiens 694 (same dies). Earthen green patina, light roughness. Fine. Rare.

From the Dr. Michael Slavin Collection, purchased from Dmitry Markov, 14 January 2006.

For his Second Labor, Hercules had to kill the Lernaean Hydra, the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, and the sibling of the Nemean Lion, the Chimaera, and Kerberos. Inhabiting the swamp near Lake Lerna in the Argolid, the creature possessed numerous mortal and one immortal head on its single body; should one head be removed, two more would grow in its place. When Hercules reached the swamp where the Hydra dwelt, he drew it out of its lair near the spring of Amymone. Thereupon, wielding a harvesting sickle, he attempted to decapitate the creature. When this proved unsuccessful, because of the Hydra’s regenerative ability, Hercules enlisted the assistance of his nephew Iolaos, who devised a plan: once Hercules had cut off one of the creature’s heads, Iolaos would cauterize the stump with a burning firebrand. The plan succeeded, and the Hydra was destroyed. Hercules placed its one immortal head under a large rock on the sacred way between Lerna and Elaius and dipped his arrows in its poisonous blood.

Closing Date and Time: 15 November 2023 at 12:05:00 ET.

All winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer’s fee.