UTMOST RARITY -- LABYRINTH --Athens, Attica, Greece, c. 125 - 175 A.D.

OF THE UTMOST RARITY.

After defeating Athens, King Minos of Crete demanded that, at seven-year intervals, seven Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls must be sent to Crete to be devoured by the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull monster that lived in the Labyrinth created by the Master Craftsman, Daedalus, first mentioned by the Greek Poet Homer.

On the third occasion of these sacrificial rituals, Theseus volunteered to slay the monster, and took the place of one of the youths. King Minos' daughter Ariadne, out of love for Theseus, gave him a ball of string to unwind behind him, so he could find his way out of the pitch-black hole of the Labyrinth, in much the same way that Ishtar, Isis and other Avatars have worked their way back from the Underworld.

Following Daedalus' instructions given to Ariadne -- "go forward, always down, never left or right", Theseus came to the heart of the Labyrinth and discovered the sleeping Minotaur.

He overpowered the Minotaur and slit the beast's throat. He followed the string back to the entrance, thus escaping the Labyrinth, and left with all the young Athenians and also with Ariadne.

Probably not a repeatable item in our lifetime, this coin is among the rarest and most difficult to obtain.

$650.00