IGII34 1155 Dedication to Herakles

Dedication to Herakles

IG II³ 4 1155 Date: ca. 370–360 BC

On relief carving of an altar (Altar) of Herakles Alexikakos.^[1]

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References:

IG II³ 4 1155 (Translated text) (IG Online)

SEG 28.232 (PHI)

SEG 57.202

Translation by: Liubov Eliseeva

Images: Boston Museum of Fine Arts - (1)
Wikimedia Commons - (1)

Monument type: Relief

Inscription type: Dedication (private, Herakles)

Findspot: Piraeus (Museum of Fine Arts 96.696)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This Pentelic marble relief portrays two figures. Herakles (in the centre), depicted with his classic attributes, a lionskin and a club (chiselled off), points towards an altar at right. This consists of a base with three steps and two columns supporting an architrave, topped with a krater. The dedication is inscribed on the top step of this altar in stoichedon format. The figure at left, wearing a cloak (chlamys) and a hat (petasos), may represent Hermes or an ephebe. Between the two figures, there are traces of what could be a painted inscription, though it may be marble wear (cf. A. Frickenhaus, AM 36, 1911, 121–122). For further details on the relief, see the website of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (1988), 108–109, and O. Palagia, OJA 3/1, 1984, 121–122.Herakles and Hermes both were patrons of youth and could be worshipped together in gymnasia; see J. Larson in J. F. Miller, J. Strauss Clay, Tracking Hermes, Pursuing Mercury (2019), 49–64 with literature. In any case, Herakles is closely associated with the ephebes and maturity rituals; see R. Parker, Polytheism and Society at Athens (2007), 437–438 and M. W. Padilla, The Myths of Herakles in Ancient Greece (1998), 17.

Herakles’ epithet Alexikakos ('Averter of evil') is connected with his role as a protector and a healer (cf. AIUK (Brocklesby Park) 9, 30–31). Banishing monsters and hostile forces was one of Herakles’ central functions (Padilla 1998, 22). Both the relief and the letter forms can be dated to 4^th century BC. Comparison of the musculature in the relief with other monuments from Athens suggests a more precise date of 370–360 BC (E. Tagalidou, Weihreliefs an Herakles aus klassischer Zeit, 1993, 230–233, no. 32).

Added: 6 Mar 2026
Updated: 6 Mar 2026
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