Obolos 17

Probus, 276-282. Aureus (Gold, 21 mm, 6.50 g, 11 h), Siscia. IMP C M AVR PROBVS P F AVG Laureate bust of Probus to left, wearing imperial mantle and holding eagle-tipped scepter in his right hand. Rev. HERCVLI ARCADIO Hercules' 3rd labour, the Ceryneian Hind: Hercules to right, kneeling on back of the Ceryneian Hind with his left knee, grasping its antlers with both hands. Cf. Calicó 4155a (obverse legend and bust). Pink VI/1, -. Cf. RIC. 585 (obverse legend and bust). Extremely rare type and an unpublished variety. Well centered with bold types. Plugged and repaired at 1h, otherwise, fine.

After slaying the Nemean Lion and the Hydra, King Eurystheus of Tiryns set for Hercules the task of capturing the Ceryneian Hind. The mythical doe was as large as an ox and faster than an arrow in flight, had golden horns and brass hooves, and was sacred to the goddess Artemis whose wrath against Hercules King Eurystheus hoped to inspire. Hercules spent a year chasing the creature through Greece, Thrace, Istria, and the land of the Hyperboreans, an area inhabited by a race of giants living beyond the North Wind, before finally capturing her. He encountered Artemis and her brother Apollo on his return journey, and begged the goddess for forgiveness, explaining that he had only captured the hind as part of his penance, and that he would soon return her. Once he brought the creature to Eurystheus, however, the king informed Hercules that the hind was to become part of his menagerie. Hercules could not break his promise to Artemis, so he told Eurystheus that if he wanted the animal he'd have to come outside and retrieve her. When the king came Hercules released the hind to him, but before Eurystheus could grab it, it had sprinted back its mistress, such was its speed and agility.

Interestingly, this coin draws attention to to the river Cerynites, from which the hind's name originates. The legend HERCVLI ARCADIO refers to the fact that the river rose in Arcadia before flowing through Achaia and finally debouching into the sea. Also of interest is the fact that the doe is antlered. The only female deer with antlers are reindeer, and the association of the hind with Hyperborea, the land beyond the North Wind (i.e., beyond Thrace where Boreas resided) suggests that the myth reflects the knowledge of that land and its fauna among the Greeks.

This coin is from a series of aurei of Probus illustrating the labors of Hercules and struck in Siscia. So far there are only three labours known on these aurei: this, the third labor; the fourth, depicting Hercules carrying the Erymanthian boar (RIC 586-7); and the twelfth, showing Hercules dragging Cerberus (RIC 588), the three-headed hound guarding the gates of Hell. The inscriptions on these coins likewise indicate the labor depicted: HERCVLI ERYMANTHIO and HERCVLI INMORTALI. It is possible that there are as of yet undiscovered aurei in this series depicting Hercules' remaining labors.