This silver coin features an image of Heracles, clad in his traditional lionskin. The achievements of Heracles held great personal appeal for Alexander, and comparisons between the two were made. Both were said to have shown great physical promise from an early age, they both demonstrated courage and skill in battle and journeyed far and wide on their conquests.
On the reverse is the father of Heracles, the supreme god Zeus, shown holding an eagle and a sceptre, with the inscription Basileus, meaning ‘king’. This was a term not generally used in Alexander’s native Macedon and was disdained in city-states such as Athens, which took pride in their democracy. However, once Alexander had control of Macedon, Greece and the Persian empire, he adopted the title hitherto borne by the kings of Persia. The overwhelming extent of his power all but demanded it.
