Dear Friends of ancient mythology! I think it would be a good idea to post a series of articles on Herakles. I have already posted (1) Hylas - Herakles' Favorite (2) The Stymphalian Birds - An ancient Bird Influenza? (3) Telephos - Son of Herakles (4) Herakles and the giant Antaios, and (5) Herakles with Kantharos Here comes "Herakles and the Nemean Lion". Coin #1: Maximian AD 286-305, AD 308 AE - Antoninian, 23mm, 3.88g, 0° Lyon AD 289 (pre-reform) obv. IMP C MAXIMIANVS P AVG Bust, draped and cuirassed, helmeted, r. rev. VIRTV - TI AVGG Hercules, nude, stg. r., strangling the Nemean lion; behind him Victory flying and crowning him with a wreath, his club behind him on the ground. RIC V/2, (Lugdunum) 462; C.654 scarce, VF, thick green patina Coin #2: Moesia inferior, Nikopolis ad Istrum, Caracalla, AD 198-217 AE 17, 2.69g, 16.76mm, 210° obv. [A]V K M AV - ANTΩNINO laureate head r. rev. NIKOΠO - ΛIT ΠPOC I Herakles, nude, stg. r., strangling the Nemean lion ref. a) not in AMNG b) not in Varbanov c) Hristova/Hoeft/Jekov (2018) No. 8.18.14.19 (plate coin) extremely rare, F+, green patina This type (from same die?) is known for Severus, HrHJ (2018) 8.14.14.29, and Geta, HrHJ (2018) 8.22.14.2. So it is not surprisingly that this type now appears for Caracalla too. Mythology: At the northern edge of the plain of Argos, at a short distance from Tiryns and Mykenai, there are mountains over which the road to Corinth leads. The highest is the Apesas mountain where Perseus has sacrificed to Zeus the first time. Below the Apesas mountain the valley of Nemea is situated with several caves nearby. In this region a lion resided and made the whole landscape unsafe. The skin of this lion was immune against iron, bronze and stone. A god had sent him against the inhabitants as punishment. According to one of the tales the snake goddess Echidna was the mother of the lion from her own son, the dog Orthos. Thus he was the brother of the Thebean Sphinx. Hera is said to have him brought to her own land. Some say Selene has born him and has let him fallen on the Tretos mountain, or she has created him from the foam of the ocean and Iris has brought him to the Nemean mountains. Certainly this lion was a very particular animal. He was well connected to death and the underworld in a special manner. The lions which were set on tombs by ancient artists remind on this idea. As hunter Herakles not has exterminated the usual animals of the earth like e.g. Orion and he never has played the role of a master of the underworld as hunting god but he seemed to have chased the death. He conquered and captured weird animals which belonged to gods, sometimes to the gods of underworld too. When after his victory over the Nemean lion he took his head and skin over his shoulder he turned something evil which previously has threatened the mortals with perdition into the promise of their rescue. When Herakles moved out against the lion he came to the little town of Kleonai at the edge of the Nemean forests. According to a later tale his host was a poor farmer and peon named Molorchos originally probably an aborigine and founder of the city of Molorchia. His son was killed by the lion und now he wanted to sacrifice a ram for his guest. But Herakles gave order to wait for thirty days. If after this time he would not return then the lion has killed him too and he should sacrifice the ram to him as hero. But if he would return then the ram would belong to Zeus Soter, the saver. Molorchos told him how he had to fight against the lion. It had to be a wrestling match because sword and spear would have no effect against him. To do that Herakles must enter in the lion's cave which had two entrances. One of them was clogged by Herakles. After sword and spear proofed to be useless he gave the lion a bash with his club that it break apart. The lion tumbled and refused in his cave. In the following fight Herakles pressed the lion's neck so that the beast sufficated. In this fight the lion bit one of Herakles' fingers. Thirty days he needed for all. Not to go from Kleonai to Nemea. But probably to get the depth where the beast was living. Or was it the sleep in which he felt after struggling the lion? It is told about this sleep (Diod. Sic. 45. 4) and one should not forget, sleep is the brother of death. The pictures of Herakles' works on the metopes of the Zeus-temple in Olympia shows the hero almost half-sleeping, reminding of this dangerous slumber. When he awoke on the thirtieth day he crowned himself with celery like those who came out of a tomb; because the tombs were decorated with celery. The same wreath thereafter was borne by the winners in the Nemean games and later of Isthmos too. Coin #3: Moesia inferior, Nikopolis ad Istrum, Commodus, AD 177-192 AE 16, 2.73g, 16.20mm, 315° obv. [AVT M] AVPH - KOMO[ΔOC] laureate head r. rev. NEIKOΠOΛI in ex. in 2 lines ΠPOC I - C / TPON Herakles, nude, resting l. on lion's skin, holding club beneath ref. a) not in AMNG b) not in Varbanov c) Hristova/Hoeft/Jekov (2018) No. 8.10.14.4 (plate coin) rare, F+/about VF, stripped Note: This is one of the rare coins where Herakles is depicted resting. It is quite possible that Herakles is shown here exhausted sleeping after having overcome the Nemean lion. Molorchos already wanted to sacrifice the ram to the hero when he appeared alive. On his back he carried the dead lion. So the ram was sacrificed to Zeus Soter. On the next morning he went over the pass to Argos. From there he sent back a mulus to his host - as promised - and adored him highly. With the lion he came to Mykenai, the residence of Eyrstheus. The king frightened deeply about this uncanny deed and forbade Herakles to enter the castle with his prey now and in the future. Furthermore he let build an iron barrel under the ground and each time when Herakles approached he hid in this barrel. And from that time on he communicated with Herakles only by his herald Kopreus. The invulnerable skin of the lion Herakles removed after he has cut it with the claws of the beast. Zeus put the beast as constellation to the sky to honor his son. Background: Hera was Herakles' great enemy because he was the son of Zeus who has betrayed her with Alkmene. When Kreon, king of Thebens, gave - after the death of Amphytrite - his daughter Megara as wife to Herakles Hera beat him with madness and Herakles killed his and two other children. Being conscious again he banned himself from Thebens to purify himself from his guilt. But the Pythia of Delphi added another punishment: He had to go as servant to his cousin Eurystheus and Hera challenged him with always new tasks. Various tasks are passed down. The order of the twelf workes today (the so-called Dekathlos) was invented by Apollodor and occurs first on the metopes of the temple of Zeus in Olympia 456 BC. The strangling of the Nemean lion is the first labor in this order and is at the same time the most often depicted. The rarest are the Stymphalian birds and the rape of Diomedes' mares. Character and relevance of Herakles: The figure of Herakles is disputed until today. On one side there is the noble-brave Herakles of the epos and the tragedy, on the other side the comical-bawdy Herakles of the comedy or the human-altruistic of the philosophers. Because of his human greatness he was the paradigm of the philosophers who made him a moral sufferer. He was a human being and then god again. Point of cristallyzation for the countless features which he got in the course of time seems to be the heros. The heros - originally anthropological conceived - was already in Mykenian times passed down in a more developed form as ti-ri-se-ro-e = tris(h)eros. The struggle with Kerberos and Hades, the tales of the apples of the Hesperids too, let gleam a myth of afterlife. His name means 'glory of Hera'. How does this match the hate by which he was pursuited by Hera? This antinomy could be understand better if it is suggested that it was originally Hera who sent out Herakles for his adventures to achieve fame and glory (kleos) for himself but for Hera too. The originally good relationship between both is confirmed by their joint fight against the Giants and the Satyrs. The takeover of the Herakles figure by the Romans represents the completion of a long developement. Herakles and Hercules: Without any doubts the Roman Hercules came from Greece, perhaps about Graecia Magna, but that is not sure. In Middle Italy his cult can be verified since the 6th/5th century BC. It was widespread at the Osci (from where probably the name Hercules), the Latins and the Etruscans. He had a place already in Rome's first lectisternium 399 BC. In Rome he was a god of profit and the traders too and in this role he was a rival of Mercurius. Many inscriptions are evidence for his great worship. Often he is a interpretatio Romana for a local god. So he is Melqart in Africa, or Donar in Germania and Gallia or is called Hercules Magusanus, Saxanus or Deusoniensis (Postumus). In the Middle Ages Herakles was understood as antecipation of Christ because of his deeds (descent to the underworld resp. limbo, subdoing of Kerberos = Satan and so on) and because of its personal union of divine and human nature. Like Samson he too appears as one of the pre-Christian heroes. It is well known that Commodus presented himself as Hercules, but it is known of Trajan too. And during the tetrarchy Diocletianus gave his Co-Emperor Maximianus the name Herculius and so keeping a distance to Iovius under which name he adopted himself into the family of Zeus. This Roman bildtradition (tradition of depiction) was later renewed during the Renaissance and kings like Henri IV (1553-1610) and Louis XIV (1638-1715) from France presented themselves with club and lion's skin again. History of art: I have added a pic of the western metope from the temple of Zeus in Olympia, now in the Louvre/Paris like all other metopes. The other pic shows a black-figure neck-amphora. The hero is depicted nude except for baldric and scabbard. He holds the lion around the neck and strangles it to death. On the left, Ioalos, Herakles' companion, moves away looking back: on the right Athena, in peplos and helmet, holds a shield. This subject was especially popular during the middle and third quarter of the 6th century BC. The picture is origínated from the circle of Exekias, c. 550-530 BC. Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of Harvard University Art Museums, 1990 Sources: (1) Der kleine Pauly (2) Karl Kerenyi, Die Mythologie der Griechen - Die Heroengeschichten (3) Robert Ranke-Graves, Griechische Mythologie (4) Aghion/Barbillon/Lissarrague, Reclams Lexikon der antiken Götter und Heroen in der Kunst Best regards
TARAS, CALABRIA AR Diobol OBVERSE: Head of Athena in crested helmet left decorated with Skylla REVERSE: Herakles kneeling right, strangling lion Struck at Taras 380-334 BC 1.2g, 11mm Vlasto 1316
Another example Jochen's coin #3: Commodus (Augustus). 177-192 AD. MOESIA INFERIOR, Nikopolis. Æ (17mm, 2.73 gm, 10h). Obv. AVT M AVP(H) - KOMOΔOC, laureate head r.Rev: NEIKOPOLIT, in ex. in 2 lines PROC I - C / TRON, nude Herakles resting l. on lion's skin, resting head on his left hand, and holding club beneath with his right hand. Not in AMNG; Not in RPC 4; Not in Varbanov (engl.); Hristova/Hoeft/Jekov (2015) No. 8.10.14.4.
Man, @Jochen I can't thank you enough for the incredible content you provide. I'm honestly thrilled every time I see you have a new thread. And I love that you are focusing on my main man...Herakles!!! Hard to beat @Terence Cheesman and @Bing but here's my very humble example. As well as, for my new homie (welcome to the party, pal @Evan Saltis) the aforementioned (and very green) Commodus dressed as Herakles wearing the Nemean lion as a skull cap (I had no idea that TRAJAN liked to play dress up as well. Very interesting, as this is always used as a main exhibit to Commodus being insane. Whereas Trajan is remembered as one of the best. Just anti Com-mon propaganda?):
@Jochen, thank you for another excellent post, with interesting coins and artifacts, a very enjoyable read at the end of the day. I will share this RR denarius: Gaius Poblicius Q.f. AR denarius, 79 BC Obv: Draped bust of Roma right, ROMA behind, wearing Phrygian helmet ornamented with plumes on sides; above, F. Rev: C POBLICI Q F, Hercules standing left, strangling the Nemean lion; between his feet, a club; in left field (F), (bow and) quiver Size: 19mm, 3.49g Ref: Poblicia 9 The Phrygian helmet a reference to Rome's Trojan heritage. The reverse showing Hercules strangling the Nemean lion may allude to the moneyer's family origins and the temple to Hercules at Cora and even further back to Argos and the valley of Nemea where Hercules killed the lion.
