Tetradrachm: Head of Young Herakles (obverse); Zeus (reverse) (336–323 BCE): Art, History and Details

Tetradrachm: Head of Young Herakles (obverse); Zeus (reverse) (336–323 BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

On this coin, the head of a youthful Herakles, wearing his lion-skin, appears on the obverse, with his father Zeus, king of the gods, seated on the reverse. For Alexander III (the Great), coins like this one projected power. Thus, while their attributes (lion-skin, eagle, scepter) identify hero and god, the inscription ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ (of Alexander) identifies the leader.

Object facts

• Title: Tetradrachm: Head of Young Herakles (obverse); Zeus (reverse)
• Date: 336–323 BCE
• Culture: Greek, Macedonian, minted at Amphipolis (Macedonia), reign of Alexander III [The Great]
• Type: Coins
• Technique: silver
• Dimensions: Diameter: 2.2 cm (7/8 in.)
• Collection: GR - Greek
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 1941.294

A detail from the museum

Alexander the Great claimed descent from Herakles and Zeus, picturing them both on his coinage.

Collection credit

Gift of Dr. Jacob Hirsch

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.