MYSIA. Kyzikos. Circa 450-400 BC. Stater (Electrum, 19 mm, 16.11 g). Herakles, on the left, wrestling with two serpents, and Iphikles, on the right, extending his right arm in fear; below, tunny to left. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. BMFA 1531. SNG Paris 341. Von Fritze I, 208. A rare type with a lovely mythological scene. Some scratches and deposits, otherwise, about very fine.


The twin brothers Herakles and Iphikles were both sons of Alkmene, the former fathered by Zeus, the latter by Amphitryon. Hera, ever jealous of her husband's amorous escapades, sent two snakes to kill the infants. While Iphikles cried out in fear at the sight of the serpents, the young Herakles was undaunted and strangled them, even playing with the snakes as if they were toys, thus showing his aptitude for the destruction of monstrous creatures