Caracalla AE33 Tarsus Cilicia 198-217 11th labor Herakles/Hercules lifts Antaeus
Caracalla, AE33, Tarsus, Cilicia, 198-217
$765.00SNG Levante 1057 (this coin); SNG BN 1526.
Obv.: VT KAI M AVP CЄOVHPOC ANTΩNЄINOC CЄB Π Π, Draped bust of Caracalla right, wearing crown and garments of the demiourgos.
Rev.: ΑΝΤΩΝΙΑΝΗC CЄVΗ ΑΔΡ ΜΗΤP TAPCOV Γ B, Part of the Eleventh Labor of Herakles: Herakles holding Antaeus around the waist and raising him from the ground; club to right.
13.16 g
32.6 mm
Ex. Classical Numismatic Group, Mail Bid Sale 66, 19 May 2004, lot 1187 (Hammered 230$US).
A few scrapes on either side.
Antaeus known to the Berbers as Anti, was a figure in Berber and Greek mythology. He was famed for his defeat by Heracles as part of the Labours of Heracles.
Antaeus would challenge all passers-by to wrestling matches and remained invincible as long as he remained in contact with his mother, the earth. He was also the son of the sea god, Poseidon. As Greek wrestling, like its modern equivalent, typically attempted to force opponents to the ground, he always won, killing his opponents. He built a temple to his father using their skulls. Antaeus fought Heracles as he was on his way to the Garden of Hesperides as his 11th Labour. Heracles realized that he could not beat Antaeus by throwing or pinning him. Instead, he held him aloft and then crushed him to death in a bear hug.
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In stock