Gold armband with Herakles knot. Hellenistic, 3rd-2nd century BC, Greek, gold inlaid with garnets, e

Gold armband with Herakles knot. Hellenistic, 3rd-2nd century BC, Greek, gold inlaid with garnets, emeralds and enamel. According to the Roman writer Pliny, the decorative device of the Herakles knot could cure wounds and its popularity in Hellenistic jewelry suggests that it was thought to have the power to avert evil. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.