So, is it really Alexander or just Herakles?

Here is an early herakles obverse I own:

It is ex-forum. Here is some more info: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?zpg=20267

I do not have an answer to the question as to whether any of the lifetime tets were modeled after ATG, but I like to imagine some of the fine style examples found inspiration in his likeness.

 

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Whose portrait is on Greek owl coins , Alexander or Hercules ?

 

Greek OWL coins? Many coins have owls, but do you mean the Athens Tetradrachm, like the type below:



Just to double-check... Lemme know if I misunderstood.
But if that's what you mean:


The "owl" (as it's nicknamed) does not depict Herakles or Alexander III. Instead, as un-feminine as it looks, the front of the coin depicts Athena [see Wikipedia for her story].

Athena: Greek goddess of warfare & wisdom, and patron deity for Athens. She tends to wear a crested helmet & earrings. On this coin type she's got weird Archaic bulge-y eyes (some people find them attractive), but she worked on that, and in later centuries developed much cuter features & also slimmed down a bit.




That's her creepy bug-eyed pet owl.
Actually, the "Owl of Athena" is a divine "attribute" of Athena -- a totem, symbol representing her qualities, and so it also became the "badge" or emblem of the city, Athens.



I'm not sure if she ever revealed whether the owl was male, female, or other. Or ever revealed its name. I suspect it's a female owl named Larry. And Athena's wisdom & strength come from eating Larry's eggs for breakfast every morning.



(That owl had its acting debut in the movie Clash of the Titans (1981, not 2010), which is why I became fascinated with this type and made it my first ever ancient coin purchase -- possibly second purchase, the other being an Alexander the Great Tetradrachm, both in the late 1980s Paris.)