Georgia Galani, Swedish Institute at Athens
“Heracles in Roman Macedonia: Abolished Symbol or Forgotten Memory?”
Abstract
Heracles was a prominent figure in ancient Macedonia, inextricably connected to the
Macedonian kings and their court. He was considered the mythical ancestor of the royal
dynasty of the Argeads and as such he was worshipped as Patroos, while his cult as Kynagidas refers to his capacity as protector of royal hunting and the hunters. His head with the lionskin is repeatedly encountered on the coins of the kings, until the kingdom’s fall to the Romans.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss aspects of the role of Heracles as a cultural memory in Roman Macedonia. Having the numismatic evidence as a starting point, we will investigate a noteworthy phenomenon, namely the gradual disappearance of the effigy of Heracles from the local bronze coinages of Macedonia under Roman rule. Bringing into the discussion the cult of the hero-god in the region, as well as a reevaluation of the available numismatic evidence, we will hopefully raise some concerns regarding the opinio communis on the reasons behind the aforementioned disappearance of Heracles from the Macedonian coinage under the Romans.
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