The Restored Smackdown Ix; Gods

Yes indeed Dwayne...and I see all those coins listed as "Head of Herakles" but the story I came to believe was that Alex III was the first to put his image on a coin as he believed himself to be a god. To stop any outrage about it he draped his head with the lion skin as tribute to Herakles...





This is attributed as being Alexander draped in lion skin yet it is clearly the same person as listed as "head of Herakles"

It is interesting because we know and have found busts of Alex and know what he looks like, but clearly we have never seen Herakles in person. I am sure that its a debatable subject whether I look should look on the image as a deified Alex or as Herakles but I am convinced it is the former.

Herodotus names Perdiccas I as being the founder of the Macedonian ruling dynasty. Other (later) sources cite Caranus or Karanus (Greek: ΚάÏ�ανος, 808â€"778 BC) one of the "Heracleidae" (sons of Herakles) as being the founder of the kingdom. Herakles is believed to 'belong' to the city of Tiryns and probably was an early King of "Tiryns of the Mighty Walls". Traditions of the bronze age even credit Herakles with sacking the city of Troy and killing off the entire ruling family excepting one Prince named Podarces (which changes to Priam) over the dispute for payment for killing a sea monster. He had been promised the famous immortal white horses which King Laomedon had received from Zeus. The Trojans were quite famous for their horses (in more ways than one !).
The ancients believed these all to be real people (and so do I actually). Alexander III was exploiting a loophole ..... making use of the 'family resemblance' thing to put his face on the coinage. According to the rules of the time he was within his rights. The fact that an illustrious ancestor, namely Herakles bore such a close resemblance was ...... completely natural.

Investigating the history of the late bronze age is fascinating. Henry Schliemann believed that there was truth woven into and throughout these 'tales' and for the most part I believe he was right.

and a Victory Lap...