BRUTTIUM. Kroton. Circa 350-340 BC. Didrachm or Nomos (Silver, 20 mm, 7.74 g, 3 h). ΚΡΟΤΟΝΙΑ-ΤΑΣ Laureate head of Apollo with long hair to right. Rev. Herakliskos Drakonopnigon: the infant Herakles, nude, crouching facing on rocky floor, his head turned to left, strangling a serpent in each hand. Dewing 513. HN Italy 2157. SNG ANS 385 (same dies). A superb, very well centered and exceptional example of great beauty. Good extremely fine.



The reverse of this magnificent issue depicts the earliest miraculous deed of Herakles. The son of Zeus and Alkmene, Herakles - together with his brother Iphikles - became the target of Hera’s implacable hatred. When the twins were eight months old, she sent two serpents into their bed in an attempt to kill them. Yet Hera had earlier, unwittingly, nursed the infant Herakles when he was presented to her as an abandoned child; through this, he acquired divine strength and was able to strangle both serpents with his bare hands.

Some scholars have suggested that the image of Herakliskos Drakonopnigon ('the serpent-strangler') on the didrachms of Kroton refers to the city’s struggle against Dionysios I of Syracuse, who occupied Kroton from 388 to 376 BC. The coinage is, however, probably somewhat later, and the type may instead relate to the conflicts between the Greek cities and the native Bruttian and Lucanian highland tribes.