Skip to Content
Today Open today 11–8

Tetradrachm (Coin) Depicting the God Dionysos

A work made of silver.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of silver.

Date:

after 146 BCE

Artist:

Greek; minted in Thasos, Thrace

About this artwork

Herakles was the consummate hero. Temples across Greece and South Italy were dedicated to him, the son of Zeus, and Romans, who knew him as Hercules, celebrated him as a role model. With brute force, determination, and just enough cleverness, Herakles completed his famous Twelve Labors to become immortal. Herakles is readily identifiable by his knobby club and lion’s skin. The latter refers to his First Labor, in which he killed a magical beast who was ravaging the town of Nemea. The lion’s invincible hide made him immune to weapons, so Herakles strangled him and took his pelt. Depictions of Herakles’s other Labors can be seen throughout the galleries.

Herakles can be identified on the back (reverse) of this coin by his attributes, the knobby club and the lion’s skin. The front (obverse) of this coin depicts the head of the god Dionysos, facing right, crowned with an ivy wreath.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Artist

Ancient Roman

Title

Tetradrachm (Coin) Depicting the God Dionysos

Place

Roman Empire (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

146 BCE

Medium

Silver

Inscriptions

Reverse: ΗΡΑΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΘΑΣΙΩΝ

Dimensions

Diam.: 3.3 cm (1 5/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of William F. Dunham

Reference Number

1920.732

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/141572/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share