Perseus was one of the most celebrated heroes of Greek mythology. He was the son of the Argive princess Danae who was locked away in a bronze chamber by her father Akrisios who lived in fear of a prophecy that he would one day be killed by her son. The god Zeus, however, infiltrated her prison in the guise of a golden shower and impreganted her. When Akrisios discovered the child, he placed the two in a chest and set them adrift at the sea. They were carried safely to the island of Seriphos where they were offered refuge by the kindly, fisherman Diktys. When Perseus was fully grown, King Polydektes commanded he fetch the head of Medusa. With the help of the gods, Perseus obtained winged sandals, an invisible helm and a magical sword. He then sought out the ancient Graiai and stealing their single eye compelled them to reveal the location of the Gorgones. Perseus approached Medusa as she slept and beheaded her with eyes averted to avoid her petrifying visage. On his journey back to Greece, Perseus came across the Ethiopian princess Andromeda chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea-monster. He slew the beast and brought her with him back to Greece as his bride. Perseus was the ancestor of the royal houses of Mykenai, Elis, Sparta, Messenia, and distant Persia. His most famous descendant was Herakles.
A mortal woman who is best known as the mother of Hercules/Herakles. This Argolid queen had the misfortune to attract Zeus’s attention. Alcmene was reknowned for her devotion to her husband, so the father of the gods assumed his form to seduce her. She only discovered the deception when her husband returned the following night.
Hera, angry at Zeus, once more took it out on the mortal woman. She sent Illythia, goddess of childbirth, to delay the birth. This ensured that another child fulfilled the prophecy that Zeus’s child would rule all around him. It also caused Alcmene to suffer during an extended birth. The charm was broken by Alcmene’s maid Galanthis, who was punished by being transformed into a weasel.
This commission is part of a series featuring the mothers of Greek mythological heroes. If you’d like to buy prints, they are available at my etsy store, linked in the header of this Tumblr.
The obverse has the image Dionysos wearing an ivy-wreath and the reverse has the inscription ΘAΣION behind Herakles, who’s wearing a lion’s skin headdress, kneeling and shooting an arrow, a K is inscribed on the right, all within a linear square within an incuse square. This rare coin sold at auction for around 82,500 USD.
Thasos is an island off the ancient Thracian coast in the northern Agean Sea. The island was important in wine trade and also controlled rich gold and silver mines on the mainland. It was colonized at an early date by Phoenicians who founded a temple to the god Melqart, whom the Greeks identified as “Tyrian Heracles.” The temple still existed in the time of Herodotus.
Who but Herakles could rival the gods Lone mortal archer, victor of the gigantomachy slaying the world’s foes and dodging Basileia herself until the zenith earned you Youth’s hand upon Olympus and Zeus parted the sky for you to eternally shine
