Thrace. Thasos. 390-335 BC. AR Tetradrachm (15.39g, 11h). West 32b; Pixodaros 28a (this coin). Lightly toned. Perfectly centered and struck. Some deposits on obverse. A fascinating coin of enchanting beauty. Choice extremely fine. From a private collection; Münzen & Medaillen 1987 (72) lot 550; from the 1978 Pixodaros hoard (CH 9.421)

Heracles is undoubtedly the most famous of all heroes. He would have accomplished innumerables exploits and nobody would have killed more monsters than him! Although some facial details led to caricature (Epicharmus had already left a memorable portrait of him as a greedy pig eating with creaking jaws), the Ancients did not hesitate to transform the hero obsessed about fights, wounds and excesses, into a master of wiseness and a model of all virtues