Herakliskos Drakonopnigon - The Serpent-Slaying Infant Herakles

397, Lot: 15. Estimate $300. Sold for $220. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

LUCANIA, Herakleia. Circa 281-278 BC. AR Diobol (11mm, 0.78 g, 6h). Helmeted head of Athena left / Infant Herakles, kneeling right, head left, strangling two serpents; club below. Van Keuren 125; HN Italy 1422. VF, toned, double struck on obverse.

Herakles was the son of Zeus and Alkmene. This union and the child it produced enraged Zeus’ wife, Hera, who tried to kill Herakles. Shortly after his birth, she sent two serpents one night to strangle the infant as he lay sleeping in his crib. The following morning, the nurse discovered Herakles playing with their lifeless bodies: during the night he had strangled one in each hand. This early example of his renowned strength earned him the name Herakliskos Drakonopnigon, or “the serpent-slaying infant Herakles.”