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Hellenistic Greek Hercules Gold Ring
| Title | Hellenistic Greek Hercules Gold Ring |
| Year | c.300s-100s B.C. |
| Country | Unknown |
| Maker | Unknown |
| Material | Gold |
| Collection | Private Collection |
Description
A Hellenistic god ring,the hoop decorated with rows of plaited filigree broadening at the twisted wire and globular shoulders to support the round bezel with double milled border enclosing the scene in relief of the infant Herakles strangling the snakes.
Commentary
As the most celebrated hero of antiquity, Herakles, son of the God Zeus and the mortal Alcmene, inspired many works of art.
This ring depicts the earliest of this great deeds when as a baby, Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, tried to poison him with the two snakes. However, the infant strangled them with this hands,thus demonstrating his extraordinary powers.
The ring belongs to a group depicting the gods and heroes of mythology in relief, and for another example cf F H Marshall, Catalogue of the Finger rings, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman, in the Department of Antiquities, British Museum, (London, 1907, 1968), no 22 depicting Pallas Athene.