Tetradrachm from Argos

A tetradrachm from Argos, the front face showing Hera’s face in profile with a stephane on her head. The back face features a dog between two dolphins.

In Greek mythology, the name of Hera’s giant servant was Argus Panoptes. In addition, the great temple of Heraion, one of the most important places of worship dedicated to Hera in ancient times, was located on Argos. The dog on the back is possibly a play on words relating to Homer’s Odyssey. In the story, Odysseus’s dog was called Argos. Wordplay like this was common on Greek cities’ coins. It is also possible that Argos had some connection with dogs or wolves in ancient times, but Hera has no known connection with either of them and they do not appear among the symbols that are often associated with her.