Diameter: 53mm (approx.2")  Weight: 80g (approx.3oz)   Edge/Relief: 5mm

France, 1839 " HERCULE ÉTOUFFANT ANTÉE ", a uniface Bronze medal, by André Vauthier-Galle, superb restrike* in excellent near mint condition, edge marked with horn* (Paris mint).

Bibliography : CGMP p145 Vol2.

This medal is a restrike of the 1839 medal which won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome.

Obv.  Antaeus had promised his father Poseidon to built him a Temple with human skulls; Antaeus is himself beaten by Heracles in search for Gold Apples; lion and one skull in background.

Rev.  blank.

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Antaeus in Greek and Berber mythology was a giant of Libya, the son of Poseidon and Gaia, and his wife was Tinjis. He was extremely strong as long as he remained in contact with the ground (his mother earth), but once lifted into the air he became as weak as water. He would challenge all passers-by to wrestling matches, kill them, and collect their skulls, so that he might one day build out of them a temple to his father Poseidon. Heracles, finding that he could not beat Antaeus by throwing him to the ground, discovered the secret of his power and held Antaeus aloft until he died (Apollodorus ii. 5; Hyginus, Fab. 31). The myth of Antaeus has been used as a symbol of the spiritual strength which accrues when one rests one's faith on the immediate fact of things. The struggle between Antaeus and Heracles is a favourite subject in ancient sculpture.

In Dante's The Divine Comedy, Antaeus is a giant who guards the ninth circle of Hell, and lowers Dante and Virgil down to the iced-over Cocytus.

In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles ("glory of Hera", Ἥρα + κλέος, Ἡρακλῆς) was a divine hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, stepson of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus. He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity, the ancestor of royal clans and a champion of the Olympian order against chthonic monsters. In Rome and the modern West, he is known as Hercules, with whom the later Roman Emperors, in particular Commodus and Maximinus, often identified themselves. The Romans adopted the Greek version of his life and works essentially unchanged, but added anecdotal detail of their own, some of it linking the hero with the geography of the Western Mediterranean. Details of cult were adapted to Rome as well.

Extraordinary strength, courage, ingenuity, and sexual prowess with both males and females were among his characteristic attributes. Although he was not as clever as the likes of Odysseus or Nestor, Heracles used his wits on several occasions when his strength did not suffice, such as when laboring for King Augeias, wrestling the giant Antaeus, or tricking Atlas into taking the sky back onto his shoulders. Together with Hermes he was the patron and protector of gymnasia and palaestrae. His iconographic attributes are the lion skin and the club. These qualities did not prevent him from being regarded as a playful figure who used games to relax from his labors and played a great deal with children. By conquering dangerous archaic forces he is said to have "made the world safe for mankind" and to be its benefactor.

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*About “ Restrikes ” from the Paris Mint :
A re-strike is not a copy it is a medal minted from the same die as the original strike at a later date ; it is guaranteed from the Paris mint as well with the hallmark stamped on its edge ; Advantages for the collector often are : restrikes are usually more affordable, usually in better condition and of higher quality due to progress in medals making tools, you often get a higher quality medal than an original strike which even professionals cannot guarantee to be originals as there has been many restrikes all along since the first strike of a medal.

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Mint Marks used at the PARIS MINT:

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