HERCULES (also known as Heracles)had been told by the oracle at Delphi

that if he accomplished the tasks set forhim by Eurystheus, the king of Mycenae,he would gain immortality. Part I dealtwith the first six of these labours andPart II will deal with the remaining six.The Seventh Labour was to capture

the Cretan bull. This was a large bullthat terrorized the people of Crete. (Fig-ure 1 – map) Some say it was the bullthat carried Europa on its back fromPhoenicia to Crete. Others say it wasthe bull whose offspring became theMinotaur, a monster that was half manand half bull. The Minotaur lived in alabyrinth and ate people, but it waseventually slain by Theseus, anotherGreek hero. Heracles sailed to Crete,where sports involving bulls were pop-ular. (Figure 2) After struggling withthe bull for a long time Heracles even-

tually overpowered it (Figure 3) andbrought it to Greece. This labour ofHeracles might reflect the subjugationof the Minoan civilization on Crete byconquerors from Greece in about 1450BC.The Eighth Labour was to capture

the four wild mares that belonged toDiomedes, who ruled the fierce tribe ofthe Bistones in Thrace. The horses livedon human flesh and terrorized thecountry. Heracles gathered a band ofvolunteers and went to Thrace. On theirarrival the Bistones attacked them, butHeracles had a clever strategy: when theBistones were in a low-lying area he cuta channel from the sea and they had toflee from the water rushing in. Overtak-ing Diomedes Heracles stunned himwith his club. He then dragged the bodyaround the newly-formed lake and left itnear the mares who hungrily devoured

their own master. With their appetitessatisfied Heracles was able to controlthem (Figure 4) and with his way ofdealing with them they were no furthertrouble.The Ninth Labour was to obtain

Hippolyte’s girdle. Hippolyte was thequeen of the Amazons, who were femalewarriors in Asia Minor. The word ‘ama-zon’ means ‘no breast’, and these womenhad their right breast cut off when theywere young so that they were betterable to use a bow. The girdle or belt thatHippolyte wore around her waist wasmade of gold and it had been given toher by Ares, the god of war. Eurystheuswanted to give it to his daughter and hesent Heracles to get it. Hippolyte cameto meet the hero, and being a woman shewas impressed by his muscular body.(Figure 5) She offered her girdle to himas a love gift. Meanwhile Hera, the god-dess who was always trying to harmHeracles, had disguised herself as anAmazon and began to spread the rumourthat the stranger was about to abductthe queen. The incensed Amazons jumpedon their horses and charged towardsHeracles. Thinking that Hippolyte hadbeen trying to trap him he attacked her,pulling her hair. (Figure 6) He killed herand seized the girdle. With his men hedefeated the Amazons and returned toGreece.The Tenth Labour was to fetch the

cattle of Geryon, the king of Tartessus inSpain. The cattle were on Erytheia, anisland in the west. ‘Erytheia’ means ‘thered place’, and it was so-called because

Ruins of the Temple of Heracles at Agrigento in Sicily. (Wikimedia Commons. Photo by José Luiz)

Figure 1 – Map showing locations of Heracles’ last six labours.

the setting sun caused a red glow in thewest, and the cattle were red. They wereguarded by Eurytion, who was the sonof Ares. Eurytion had a two-headed dogcalled Orthrus. Moreover Geryon hadthree heads and three bodies joined at

the waist, and was reputed to be thestrongest man in the world. So it was aparticularly difficult task that Eurys-theus had set for Heracles. When hereached Tartessus he erected a pair ofpillars to mark the strait of Gibraltar,

one in Africa and the other in Europe.(Figure 7) According to the Greek histo-rian, Herodotus, there were two pillarsin the temple of Heracles at Tyre, andthis was probably where the idea of thepillars at Gibraltar came from. Some

Figure 2 – Detail of a fresco from the palace at Knossos in Crete. It dates from 1600-1450 BCwhen bull-leaping was a sport. The athlete would grab the horns of a charging bull and somer-sault over its back. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 3 – Bronze coin of Nicaea in Bithynia. Obverse: head of Elagabalus, 218-222 AD. Reverse:Heracles wearing his lion’s skin and holding a bull by its horn. Seventh Labour. (Nomos 6, Lot 185)

Figure 4 – Bronze coin of Heracleia Pontica inBithynia. Obverse: bust of Macrinus, 217-218AD. Reverse: Heracles subduing one of themares of Diomedes. Eighth Labour. (Stack’sAuction, January 2010, Lot 260)

Figure 5 – Marble statue of Hercules in the NaplesArchaeological Museum. It is a copy made inthe 3rd century AD of an original by Lysippos inthe 4th century BC. (Wikimedia Commons)

say the two continents had been joinedtogether and Heracles forced the cliffsapart creating a channel between them.Exasperated by the heat in Spain he firedan arrow at Helios, the sun god, butapologized afterwards. Impressed byHeracles’ audacity Helios gave him hisgolden goblet, which was so big thatHeracles used it as a vehicle to go toErytheia. When he arrived there Othrusran at him barking, but Heracles killedhim with his club. He then struck Eury-tion with his club, killing him. When

Geryon heard about it he hurried to meetthe challenge, but Heracles killed himtoo by firing arrows at his three bodies.Some say he fired only one arrow thatpierced all three bodies. Anyway herounded up the cattle (Figure 8) for thejourney to Greece. Heracles returned to Greece via Libya,

where the king was Antaeus, the son ofPoseidon and Mother Earth. Antaeusforced strangers to wrestle with him,and he invariably defeated and killedthem because whenever his body made

Figure 6 – Bronze coin of Anchialus in Thrace.Obverse: bust of Gordian III, 238-244 AD. Re-verse: Heracles pulls the hair of Hippolyte whoholds the girdle aloft. Ninth Labour. (Numis-matica Ars Classica, Auction 29, Lot 612)

Figure 7 – Reverse of a Mexican 8-reales coin of Philip V, dated 1739. It shows the Pillars of Her-cules with the Strait of Gibraltar and a crowned image of both sides of the globe between thepillars. Western Australia is clearly shown. The words on the pillars are PLUS ULTR (morebeyond). (Ira & Larry Goldberg Auction 87, Lot 3381)

contact with the earth his strength re-vived. Heracles tossed him to the groundand was amazed to see how his musclesswelled up. Realizing what was happen-ing Heracles held him off the ground andsqueezed him till he was dead. (Figure 9)The Eleventh Labour was to fetch

the apples of the Hesperides, who werethe daughters of Atlas. He was a Titanwho with the other Titans had foughtagainst Zeus, the chief of the gods. Whenthey were defeated Atlas was condemnedto hold up the celestial globe on hisshoulders. He was thought to reside inthe Atlas Mountains in North Africa,and the myth probably arose from the

idea that high mountains supported theheavens. The apples were gold and theywere the fruit of a tree that Mother Earthhad given to Hera on her wedding, andit grew on the slopes of Mount Atlas.The tree had been entrusted to Atlas’sdaughters, and Hera set a serpent calledLadon to guard it. It was a golden applethat caused the Trojan War, but that isanother story.Heracles did not know what to do, so

he sought the sea-god Nereus, who wasan oracle. Heracles forced him to sayhow he could get the apples. He was toldhe must not pluck them himself but heshould offer to relieve Atlas of his bur-

Figure 8 – Bronze drachm of Alexandria inEgypt. Obverse: head of Antoninus Pius, 138-161 AD. Reverse: Heracles and the cattle ofGeryon. Tenth Labour. (Auctiones GmbHeAuction 22, Lot 53)

Dates: 10th,11th and 12th June 2016, Queen’s Birthday long weekend.

The conference is on the Saturday and Sunday. Monday is the public holiday.

Venue: The Sanctuary Resort Motor Inn. Address: 250 Pacific Hwy (South), CoffsHarbour NSW 2450, Australia Contact details: P. O. Box 665, Coffs Harbour NSW2450 PH: (02) 6650 5111 Fax (02) 6652 4725

Email: res@sanctuaryresort.net.au Web-site: http://sanctuaryresort.net.au/

Conference Quoted Prices: Deluxe Queen $130 per night. King $140 per night.King with spa $160 per night. Superior Twin 2Q $149 per night Family Room 1Queen & 2 Single $190 per night Breakfasts hot & cold buffet $18 perperson.Check-in: 2.00 pm Check-out: 10 .00 am

Bookings: Please make your own booking direct with the Resort for your preferredroom or any other location.

Venue Conference Facilities: Equipment supplied - Conference Room 1, Projec-tor, USB connection, 2.5 m screen, presentation table, DVD microphone, lectern,tables and chairs.

Conference Costs: Registration fee of $130.00 per person includes all Teas &Lunches, plus Saturday Night Dinner.

Partners Saturday Night Dinner only: $45.00

Conference Payments: All registration and dinner fees are to be paid in ad-vance to the A.N.S., the organiser of this conference, by 30/5/16 or before, to finalise catering arrangements.The ANS Branch bank account details are:Westpac Bank, Manly BSB: 032096Account name: Australian Numismatic SocietyAccount Number: 245032Please ensure you provide your surname as the reference with your payment. Inaddition, contact Rod Sell with the deposit composition details at:rodsell@rodsell.com

Preliminary Times and Notices: Friday afternoon / evening: setup/check conference rooms and informal get-to-gether for early arrivals in the Tree-house Restaurant & Bar at 6.00 pm adjacentto the motel reception. If you have dinner at the Tree House Restaurant, mentionyou are with the Conference Group and get a 10% discount.We will have a mini auction at 9pm in the confefence room. Members are encour-aged to take up to 20 lots for the auction. Please number the lots with your initialseg my lots will be RTS1 to RTS20, with their reserve and place for a tick. Onlylots with a tick will be auctioned, as they are the only ones with any interest fromthe floor. The ANS will take a 10% commission on all sales and all vendors willbe paid on the night.Saturday morning: 8.30 am registrations and issue of Conference name badges,Certificates of Attendance, voting slips and programmes. Set up displays.9.00-9.15 am Welcome address: A.N.S. Patron/A.N.S. PresidentSaturday Night: 6.30-7.00 pm gather – Conference Dinner in the Tree-houseRestaurantSunday morning: 8.30 A.N.S. Council Joint Meeting by Sydney and Branch Coun-cil MembersSunday morning: 9.00 am Resume conferenceConference close: A.N.S. President John VeltmeyerMorning and afternoon teas – Half HoursSaturday Lunch – One HourSunday Lunch One and half HoursCatering: Should anyone have special dietary requirements, contact or advise the Sanctuary Resort direct.

Refer to the A.N.S website for further details

http://the-ans.com/Conference2016.html

INVITATION TO THE AUSTRALIAN NUMISMATICSOCIETY 2016 BIENNIAL CONFERENCE

COFFS HARBOUR

Figure 9 – Bronze coin of Tarsus. Obverse: bust of Caracalla, 198-217 AD.Reverse: Heracles lifting Antaeus. (Roma Numismatics, Auction May 2013, Lot 895)

den for a while so that he could get them.When Heracles made this offer to Atlashe said he was too afraid of Ladon. Her-acles then went and shot Ladon with anarrow. In a drawing made in 1608 theartist imagined Ladon to be a dragon(Figure 10), but on an ancient Greekvase he looks like a large snake. (Figure

11) He also looks like a snake on amedallion from 200 AD. (Figure 12)What is surprising about this scene ishow similar it is to pictures of Adamand Eve in the Garden of Eden. (Figure13) The similarity between the storiesis probably due to the Phoenicians whocolonized the coast of North Africa. They

were a Semitic people with roots inMesopotamia where the story of Adamand Eve originated, but they also influ-enced Greek culture. It is likely that someof the mythology about Heracles camefrom the Phoenicians, from the storiesabout their god, Melqart, whom theGreeks equated with Heracles. (Figure 14)

Figure 10 – Etching, “Hercules and the Serpent Ladon”, by Antonio Tempesta and Nicolo Van Aelst, Italy 1608. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 11 – Attic red-figured hydria, c. 420-400 BC. It shows Ladon entwined around a tree from which the daughters of Atlas are plucking golden apples while being observed by Heracles. (Wikimedia Commons)

When Heracles killed Ladon Atlasaccepted his offer. So Heracles bent downand took the weight of the heavens onhis shoulders (Figure 15), and Atlaswalked away pleased to be relieved ofhis burden. He returned with the applesthat his daughters had plucked fromthe tree, but he now said that he wouldtake them to Eurystheus himself. Real-izing that Atlas would never return,Heracles pretended to agree and askedhim to support the globe for just a minutewhile he put a pad on his shoulders.

Atlas was easily deceived and when hetook on the tremendous weight Heraclesgrabbed the apples and ran. The story of Heracles and the Hes-

perides differs from that of Adam andEve in various ways. Instead of theserpent tempting Eve with an appleand rebellious ideas about good and evil,

Figure 12 – Bronze medallion of Perinthus inThrace. Obverse: bust of Septimius Severus,193-211 AD. Reverse: The serpent. Ladon, isentwined around the apple tree. Heraclesstands on the left, and one of the Hesperidesstands on the right. Eleventh Labour. (Numis-matik Lanz München, Auction 102, Lot 698)

Figure 13 – Cast silver medal by Hans Reinhartthe Elder, Bohemia, 1536, 66 mms. It was com-missioned by Johann Frederick, duke of Sax-ony. Instead of the Hesperides it shows Evereaching for an apple while Adam standsnearby. (Baldwin’s Auction 67, Lot 2479)

Figure 14 – Sheqel of Tyre, 357-333 BC. Obverse: Melqart riding a hippocamp with waves below.Reverse: owl stands with crook and flail, which were Egyptian symbols, and they show howeclectic Phoenician culture was. (Gemini Action VII, Lot 596)

Figure 15 – Statue, “Atlas passing the celestial globe to Heracles”, by J.M. Felix Magdalena. (Wikimedia Commons)

Heracles (the archetype of masculinity)just kills the serpent and gets the apples.(Figure 16)The Twelfth Labour was to capture

Cerberus (Greek: Kerberos), the dog thatguarded the entrance to the Underworld.Before attempting this feat Heraclesthought it wise to be initiated into theEleusinian Mysteries, which were aboutDemeter, the goddess of the earth, andher daughter, Persephone, who wasabducted by Hades, the god of the Under-world. He is also known as Pluto. Perse-phone’s annual return to her mother

brings about the seasons. Heracles des-cended into the Underworld through acave on a promontory in Laconia in thesouth of the Peloponnesus. He was ac-companied by Hermes, who normallyconducted the souls of the deceased tothe Underworld, and because it was sucha dangerous mission Athena went too.When they came to the river Styx, Charonthe ferryman was so frightened whenhe saw Heracles’ scowling face that hequickly rowed them across. Charon wasthe son of Nyx (also known as Nix), whowas the goddess of darkness and night.

The ghosts that hovered about all fledexcept for Meleager, who had been oneof the Argonauts, and Medusa who wasa Gorgon, a horrible creature whosehead was covered with snakes. Heracles

Figure 17 –Bronze medallion of Perinthus. Obverse: bust of Geta, 209-212 AD. Reverse: Heraclesleading the three-headed dog, Cerberus, out of the underworld. Twelfth Labour. (AuctionshausH.D. Rauch GmbH, Auction 82, Lot 410)

Figure 18 – Silver drachm of Troizen, c. 430-400 BC. Obverse: head of Athena. Reverse: trident ofPoseidon. A conflict between Athena and Poseidon over Troizen was settled when the peopledecided to worship them both. (LHS Numismatics, Auction 96, Lot 1333.

Figure 20 - Sestertius of Commodus minted atRome in 192 AD. Obverse: head of Commoduswearing lion’s skin. Reverse: Heracles’ club di-viding inscription: HERCVL ROMANO AVGV SC(to the Roman Hercules, the Augustus, by decreeof the Senate). (Nomos Auction 8, Lot 234)

Figure 19 – Bronze coin of Sebastopolis-Hera-cleopolis (modern Suluserai in northernTurkey). Obverse: bust of Geta as Caesar, 198-209 AD. Reverse: magnificent temple of Hera-cles. The balustrade prevented worshippersgetting too close to the idol. (Jean Elsen & sesFils S.A., Auction 117, Lot 380)

Figure 16 – Bronze coin of Tarsus. Obverse: bust of Gordian III, 238-244 AD. Reverse: Heraclesstands with his club and holds the apples in his left hand while the serpent hangs dead in thetree. Presumably he has just whacked the serpent on the head with his club and grabbed theapples. This Heracles doesn’t mess around. (Collection of St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane)

drew his sword when he saw Medusabut Hermes explained that she wasonly a phantom. Hades and Persephone came out to

meet Heracles, but when he demandedthe dog that was chained at the gates,Hades said he could have him only if hecould master him without using club orarrows. Heracles grabbed the dog by thethroat and immediately three ferociousheads grew out. But Heracles did notrelax his grip until the dog was subdued.He then led Cerberus out of the Under-world (Figure 17) through a cave nearTroizen in Argolis. Coins of Troizen fromabout 450 BC show the head of Athena,who was Heracles’ helper. (Figure 18)So the twelve labours were accom-

plished and eventually Heracles wastaken up into the Olympian realm wherehe married Hebe, the goddess of youth.She was known to the Romans as Ju-ventas, and there were several templesto her in the ancient world. Also therewere temples to Heracles, who was nowa god. (Figure 19) Some of the Romanemperors were particularly devoted toHercules, notably Commodus, 177-192AD, who identified with the god (Figure20), and Postumus, 260-269 AD, whoissued coins with the twelve labours onthem. In 1977 Hans Voegtli discussedand illustrated almost all the coins of

Heracles’ twelve labours in his book,which unfortunately is in German. It isentitled Bilder der Heldenepen in derkaiserzeitlichen griechischen Münzprä-gung (Images of the Epic Heroes in GreekImperial Coinage). An additional coin wasdiscovered by R.D. Weigel and publishedin ANSMN 31 (1986). It was minted atNicaea in Bithynia. On the obversethere is the head of Geta (209-212 AD)and on the reverse Heracles swings amattock to release a flow of water as inhis fifth labour. Besides coins, Heracleswas shown in paintings and statues,and even on sarcophagi. (Figure 21)

In addition to his 12 labours Heracleshad many other adventures, some ofwhich appear on coins. Several ancientwriters describe a strange episode dur-ing which Heracles was the slave ofOmphale, Queen of Lydia. She wore hislion skin while he dressed in herclothes. (Figures 22 and 23) Moderntransvestites should take heart fromHeracles’ behaviour in this instance.Charon, Nix, Styx, Kerberos and Hydra

are the names of the five moons of thedwarf-planet, Pluto, which was photo-graphed by the NASA space-craft, NewHorizons, in 2015. (Figure 24) Theirnames refer to the 12 labours of Hera-cles. This reference to Heracles is veryappropriate because he accomplishedapparently impossible tasks, and todayhuman beings are set apparently im-possible tasks: to go into space and travelto other worlds.

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Figure 21 – A marble sarcophagus from the 3rd century AD in the National Museum of Rome. It shows nine labours of Heracles. From left: the Nemean Lion, the Lernaean Hydra, the Erymanthian Boar, the Ceryneian Hind,

the Stymphalian Birds, the Girdle of Hippolyte, the Augian Stables, the Cretan Bull and the Mares of Diomedes. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 22 – Bronze coin of Sardes in Lydia, 2nd century AD. Heracles is on the obverse, whileon the reverse Omphale stands naked except for the lion skin. The legend is CAPΔI ANΩN =of the people of Sardes. (Gemini Auction X, Lot 564)

Figure 23 – Roman statue of Omphale andHeracles who wears a dress and holds spinningtools. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 24 – Image of Pluto taken by the ‘NewHorizons’ spacecraft. (Wikimedia Commons)