Coin: Celtic Tetradrachm copying Thasos; obverse Head of Dionysus; reverse Standing Herakles

Expand

IIIFView PDF

Images(3)

Coin: Celtic Tetradrachm copying Thasos; obverse Head of Dionysus; reverse Standing Herakles

Date2nd-1st century BCE

Dimensions1 3/8 × 1 1/4 × 1/8 in., 13g (3.5 × 3.2 × 0.3 cm, 13g)

MediumSilver.

ClassificationMetalwork

Credit LineGift of the Popplestone Family

Object number

2006.111

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

Label TextWe know that the man depicted is Herakles because he holds a lion skin in his left hand and leans on a knotty club, his weapon of choice. The more defined of these two coins comes from Thasos in Greece, while the more abstract representation is of Celtic origin. The similarities between the coins demonstrate the influence that the Greeks yielded over a wide geographic region. Although they adopted the Greek hero Herakles, the Celts chose to depict him in their own style.