The Youthful Heracles-Melqart in Tyre. Choosing a Visual Language for a Phoenician God in the Hellenistic Period
The Hellenistic silver coins of Tyre were widely used and accepted in the Southern Levant. They depicted the head of the youthful and beefy Heracles-Melqart on the obverse. In this paper, the image of Heracles is discussed and contextualized within the religious life of Tyre. It is argued that the i...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Italian |
| Published: |
Salvatore Sciascia Editore
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Mythos |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/mythos/5419 |
| _version_ | 1797852686058520576 |
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| author | Achim Lichtenberger |
| author_facet | Achim Lichtenberger |
| author_sort | Achim Lichtenberger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Hellenistic silver coins of Tyre were widely used and accepted in the Southern Levant. They depicted the head of the youthful and beefy Heracles-Melqart on the obverse. In this paper, the image of Heracles is discussed and contextualized within the religious life of Tyre. It is argued that the image was influenced by Heracles’ depictions related to Alexander the Great and that it also recurred on ideas of Melqart being a young god. The coin image thus combined different aspects in its visual language and evoked different ideas for the viewers, contributing to the popularity of the image. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:37:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e907ccf5ed074b67befa38312d6833f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1972-2516 2037-7746 |
| language | Italian |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:37:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Salvatore Sciascia Editore |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Mythos |
| spelling | doaj.art-e907ccf5ed074b67befa38312d6833f02023-04-04T09:49:37ZitaSalvatore Sciascia EditoreMythos1972-25162037-77462022-12-011610.4000/mythos.5419The Youthful Heracles-Melqart in Tyre. Choosing a Visual Language for a Phoenician God in the Hellenistic PeriodAchim LichtenbergerThe Hellenistic silver coins of Tyre were widely used and accepted in the Southern Levant. They depicted the head of the youthful and beefy Heracles-Melqart on the obverse. In this paper, the image of Heracles is discussed and contextualized within the religious life of Tyre. It is argued that the image was influenced by Heracles’ depictions related to Alexander the Great and that it also recurred on ideas of Melqart being a young god. The coin image thus combined different aspects in its visual language and evoked different ideas for the viewers, contributing to the popularity of the image.http://journals.openedition.org/mythos/5419TyreHeracles-MelqartcoinsAlexander the Greaticonography |
| spellingShingle | Achim Lichtenberger The Youthful Heracles-Melqart in Tyre. Choosing a Visual Language for a Phoenician God in the Hellenistic Period Mythos Tyre Heracles-Melqart coins Alexander the Great iconography |
| title | The Youthful Heracles-Melqart in Tyre. Choosing a Visual Language for a Phoenician God in the Hellenistic Period |
| title_full | The Youthful Heracles-Melqart in Tyre. Choosing a Visual Language for a Phoenician God in the Hellenistic Period |
| title_fullStr | The Youthful Heracles-Melqart in Tyre. Choosing a Visual Language for a Phoenician God in the Hellenistic Period |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Youthful Heracles-Melqart in Tyre. Choosing a Visual Language for a Phoenician God in the Hellenistic Period |
| title_short | The Youthful Heracles-Melqart in Tyre. Choosing a Visual Language for a Phoenician God in the Hellenistic Period |
| title_sort | youthful heracles melqart in tyre choosing a visual language for a phoenician god in the hellenistic period |
| topic | Tyre Heracles-Melqart coins Alexander the Great iconography |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/mythos/5419 |
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